Forever Fall

The next thing Raftina knew was someone shaking her violently trying to get her awake. She tensed but when she heard the voice, she realised it was only Eveen. She rubbed her eyes and looked blearily up at the other Guardian. “What’s up, Eveen…?” she asked, voice slurred a bit. When she wanted to sleep, shecouldsleep. She rarely did though… The meds had really knocked her out since part of her had willed it. She really wasn’t used to sleeping so long. Had it been hours? Days? A week? She had promised Anselma she’d check on things with her in a few days, but she wasn’t sure if she had slept the entire week away or not. Her body could and would often just shut down once she finally got a chance to rest. And without being in Adlehyde… Well, there were no stressors in the heavens. For her, it was a refuge and a place to detox when she needed a break from all of her duties. She associated this home with rest and tranquility above all else. So now that she got a chance to be there… She’d really just shut down. “You’ve been out for aweek, Rafti. Anselma said you promised you’d come check on her and you didn’t. When I checked onyou,you were asleep and with as little sleep as you’ve gotten since you returned, I didn’t want to interrupt you… But the planworkedlike we’d hoped. We have all the pieces of Endolia’s soul. Odoryuk just hasn’t made her a body yet. We thought you’d want to be there for your mother’s rebirth.” Raftina nodded and sat up, her mind instantly kicking into gear. “Yes, of course… Can I shower then come?” “Of course. I’ll wait here.” Raftina wasted no time in going to her closet and getting a dress, then taking a very quick shower. She hadn’t showered in a week, so she didn’t want to be unsightly. Her hair desperately needed washing, but she didn’t havetimefor that at the moment. It could wait until she got back to Filgaia. She had to look presentable for politics, but her mother wouldn’t mind slightly greasy hair… Granted, she did only wash her hair once a week since it wasn’t good to wash hair everyday… She came to Eveen who grabbed her hand and jogged with her out to a clearing in one of the forests in the heavens. There, Ge Ramtos, Odoryuk, and Duras Drum were all gathered. Raftina saw Ge Ramtos holding onto what looked to be a body made of pure light and Raftina’s heart dropped through her stomach. The figuredefinitelylooked like her mother. However, there was no response to anything in the surrounding environment. Normally, a soul would react, but considering Endolia was the creator goddess of Filgaia, she worked on different rules than a normal mortal soul. Raftina hoped that this would work… “Odoryuk, will a new body make everything work correctly…?” Her voice trembled. She didn’t know much about the mechanics of souls and bodies since they worked a little different for every group… And her mother wasn’t a typical Filgaian either. “That’s what we’re hoping,” he said, shaking his mane out. “I can put the spark of life back in her once the soul reunites with the body,” Ge Ramtos said. “I’m pretty sure that’s what she needs.” Raftina nodded, her heart thrumming in her throat. Odoryuk lowered his head and, in a flash of light, a body resembling what had once been Endolia’s body formed seemingly from nothing. It didn’t breathe and an unearthly stillness presided over it. It looked like her mother, but it wasnother mother. Her mother was hersoul,not just the body. Ge Ramtos lowered the soul into the body and, murmuring words of the ancient Guardian language, summoned a spell that would hopefully put the spark of life into her. What felt like hours passed until asharpgasp came from the body and sat up, looking around wildly. “What…? What’s… Where am I…? The last thing I remember is the Demons…” It was Endolia’s voice. It was her mannerisms. The look in her eye was the same that Raftina remembered. Her heart clenched and she wanted to rush over to her, but decorum stopped her from doing that. “Odoryuk? Ge Ramtos? Duras Drum? Eveen? Raftina? What’s going on? Why am I in the heavens like this…? Where are the Metal Demons?” The other Guardians lookedpointedlyat Raftina who took in a breath before approaching her mother. She sat next to her mother and forced herself to maintain decorum so she wouldn’t break down sobbing like a small child. She loved her mother above all else and wanted nothing more than to weep into her arms. But there was a lot of explaining that needed to be done, and she was probably the best person for the job. “Mother… It’s been over a millennium since the day you died. We managed to gather your soul back and make a new body despite the difficulties of the task.” Her voice shook a little bit and she squeezed her hands together. No, she couldn’t break down now. She had to help guide her mother. Endolia frowned. “Over a millennium? Idied?How… How didthathappen?” “The Demons ambushed you. That’s how. They…” She let out a breath. “The Filgaia that exists now is not the Filgaia that you remember. It’s changed and in very bad ways. It barely clings to life at the moment.” “What? Why didn’t you do anything to stop it, Raftina?!” There was no anger there, no accusation, just pure alarm. “I fought in the war for over a century following your death. Some events occurred and I was sealed away for over a millennium as well. I only reawakened a few years ago thanks to one of my descendants.” “Children?You?That…doesn’t makeanysense. I know you love children but for you to have any? I thought you were still grieving Elaeah.” Raftina’s heart clenched again. “It’s a lot of personal stuff that I don’t want to talk about right now. I’d…rather just hug you right now.” Explanations could come later. She just… She missed her motherso much.All she wanted was to hug her. She felt like a child right now, but sometimes, that wasn’t always a bad thing. “Yes, of course. Come here, Rafti…” Endolia wrapped her arms around Raftina. The dam broke and Raftina started sobbing. So much pain and hurt from the First Demon War, unresolved, untouched, surfaced and she bawled into her mother’s chest as a child that scraped their knee. So much hurt that went untouched finally got a chance to heal. She had never allowed herself to truly mourn Endolia’s death. If she did, then the Demon War may have been lost. But now… She could finally put that pain to rest now that she didn’t have to hold everything together, at least for a little while. She would have to return to Adlehyde, but for now… She just wanted to be with her mother. How long she sobbed, she had no idea. All she knew was that she was finally allowed to grief, mourn, and heal all at the same time. She didn’t have to fully hold Filgaia together by herself now. She could hand most of it over to her mother who would heal the planet and make sure things would be back to a fully healed planet within just a couple years… Eventually, she slumped against Endolia, totally spent. Endolia rubbed her back and kissed her head. “Rafti, why don’t we go to your house? The planet has been without me for over a millennium… I doubt a few hours for you to recoup will make any substantial difference.” Raftina nodded a bit, her mind numb at this point. Endolia stood up and Raftina rested against her. She looked up and saw her mother frowning. “Raftina… You haven’t been this light in eons. Whathappenedwhile I was dead?” “Too much.” Her throat hurt, raw from all the crying. “I need water.” Endolia nodded and they made the short walk to Raftina’s house. She settled on the couch and Endolia went into the kitchen, coming back with a pitcher of ice water. She offered Raftina a glass, putting the pitcher on the endtable. “I don’t even know the full extent of what happened over the past twelve hundred years… It would take somebody like Mariel to answer that.” “Mariel?” Raftina nodded, holding up her hand and downing the whole glass of water in a couple seconds. That felt alotbetter. She felt a bit more perked up than she had been before. Water was definitely good… She was getting nowherenearenough on Filgaia… Drinking just this glass made her realise it. So she was constantly starving and dehydrated… No wonder she was so pissy and exhausted all the time. Anybody else in her shoes would be as well. “Until recently, the only Elw left on Filgaia.” Endolia looked horrified. “The only— What…? What happened to my precious Filgaia?” She felt bad for her mother. There was no easy way to break any of this news to her. At all. Endolia loved Filgaia and all its children like she had given birth to them. The Tenno, the Elw, the Wind Mice, and the humans… She loved all of them deeply. Raftina loved them as well… It was why she pushed herself so much. Especially when she was the only one that could do half of the tasks in question… She felt bad for leaving Cecilia to deal with things by herself, but with Jack and Elmina… She was pretty certain that they wouldn’t let the advisors push the young queen around. “The Demons destroyed practically everything. Filgaia is no longer lush and green; it’s mostly desert. There’s not much arable land. The Elw had to flee to a pocket dimension so the entire race wouldn’t perish. The Tenno…” She frowned. The screams and the fires flashed before her eyes. Millions of people lost in a single day. “I’m the last one. I call it the Day of Falling Feathers.” She didn’t want to talk about it too much. That genocide left her bereft of her people. Yes, she was only half Tenno… But she was still the last one. She couldn’t even have children that would have wings. Once bloodline dipped below one-half, children would no longer have wings. “Humans are the only race remaining on Filgaia. Only about two hundred Guardians remain. The rest were all killed by the Demons.” Raftina saw Endolia start to shake and she buried her face in her hands, weeping openly. Raftina scooted close to her mother and hugged her, holding her close. There were no words. None. She couldn’t say anything that would soothe the aches and shocks that came with awakening. Part of it felt almost cruel for reviving Endolia, but if they didn’t, the planet would slowly fall to ruin especially if belief in the Guardians didn’t return in a couple of centuries… Even the Guardians themselves would perish. Only minimal belief remained, but if there wasnobelief, they would all disappear. Raftina would be the last one to remain since she had a physical body… It would be a slow, slow death for the woman if Filgaia were to completely disappear. She held her mother until she cried herself out. Raftina filled the glass then offered it to her. Endolia nodded and drained the glass, going back for another one. Raftina’s own throat was still sore but she didn’t say anything. “I…I can’t believe it but… Why would you lie to me, Raftina? You would gain nothing from it…” Raftina shook her head. “I’m not lying about anything. Do…you want to go to Filgaia and see?” Neither of them were in particularly good shape, but she knew hearing all of that, Endolia would want to see and feel for herself. Endolia nodded. “Please. Let’s go.” Raftina opted to just lift the pitcher to her lips and drank from it, a good couple mouthfuls, before leaving the house hand in hand with her mother. They transported down to Filgaia near Adlehyde. Some arable land remained around the capital city, but it was mostly desert. She looked at her mother, seeing the sheer look of disbelief on her face. “My Filgaia… My beautiful Filgaia…” Her tone was hushed and Raftina could see the shaking of her body. She felt awful about this, but what else could she have done? There was no real way to deal with any of this. Endolia would’ve gone to Filgaia one way or another. There was no real right way to handle this…and Endolia definitely would’ve noticed if the other Guardians would’ve attempted to stop her from going to Filgaia. Not to mention that she would’vequicklynoticed the severe lack of Guardians. “I’m sorry, Mother. I did everything I could to protect her, but I failed.” Raftina bowed her head. She had been Filgaia’s protector for so long and she hadn’t been able to do that during the Demon War. She hated it… She hatedherselffor it. She wanted nothing but to be able to protect her beloved planet, but nothing had been able to happen like that… Endolia wrapped her arms around Raftina and kissed her head. “Raftina… You sacrificedeverythingfor Filgaia multiple times over. I know you dideverythingin your power to protect her after I died. Though can I ask what happened? Why were you sealed away? You’re so powerful and yet you somehow got sealed away for over a millennium?” Raftina’s heart dropped through her stomach, but she knew that she had to tell her. She bowed her head before speaking. “To put it simply, I fell into a fling with a man, wound up pregnant, gave birth, and then Luceid betrayed us… Me, Zephyr, and Justine were all sealed away until the Heralds found our statues and their beliefs and convictions were enough to wake us up.” She didn’t want to get into the details too much. “That’s how the Adlehyde line was founded—a fling between me and Arlan.” She hoped her mother wouldn’t press her for too many details. That entire set of wounds was still fresh to her despite it having been over a millennium ago. But she was basically asleep that whole time aside for roughly a decade or so when Elmina had been in Arctica… She’d outrightkilledthe men that had raped Elimna at one point despite being so weakened. Endolia frowned. “What do you mean Luceid betrayed you…? She’s one of the most loyal Guardians on all of Filgaia?” “The very domain she rules over:desire.There was a Metal Demon named Boomerang who had an overwhelming amount of desire and she joined them. The Heralds killed him in the Second War a few years back and Luceid snapped out of it once he was dead.” She sighed. “We can’t be too mad at her… We just let it slide despite the amount of damage she did to the planet in the First War.” Luceid was back to her normal self and was working hard to redeem herself in the other Guardians’ eyes. Not all of them were terribly happy about what was going on, needless to say, but she was still a Guardian Lord and maintained a lot of authority over the other Guardians. She, Justine, and Zephyr had accepted her back with mild reluctance, but other Guardians were far more tentative. It would take time to rebuild bonds and trust… Betraying Filgaia for the Metal Demons wasn’t something most of the Guardians were keen on. “It’ll take her time to regain most of the remaining Guardians’ trust.” Endolia continued to frown. “How many are left…?” Raftina sighed. “Around two hundred.” There wasn’t much they could do about it… Filgaia was in absolute shambles. She had done what she could over the last few years, but without proper support from the right amount of Guardians. And with people not believing in the Guardians, they didn’t have anything to do anymore… The Guardians had needed time to recoup after the war and then by time they had recovered, it’d been centuries and belief had been massively waned. It was really unfortunate and she hoped that the Guardians could recover. Endolia buried her face in her hands and her body shook in silent tears. Raftina rested a hand on her shoulder and bumped her head against her mother’s. “If so many different Guardians hadn’t been killed, you would’ve been restored much quicker. But with the Guardians reeling from the war and then humans generally losing their belief…there wasn’t enough power to restore you. But Eveen got an idea based off of my planning… We managed to find an Elw that knew technology from another planetandthere was a bit of tech that could be used to separate your soul from the ley lines. The other Guardians also merged with the ley lines to my knowledge…” Endolia was the only one that could truly restore the Guardians. Nobody could work with divine souls in the same way Endolia could. But because Endolia had a body like Raftina, Ge Ramtos could work with her and Odoryuk could restore her body… But other Guardians couldn’t work with other Guardian souls. “I can find them, but to know they’re gone…” Endolia’s voice broke and Raftina squeezed her shoulder. She understood. The heavens felt so empty with less than two hundred Guardians. Even the ear-piercing shrieking of the cockatoo Guardian, the Guardian of Noise, was missed. With her sensitive hearing, the loud shrieking was never welcome, but now…She missed it. She missed all the Guardians that were gone even though it’d only been a few years. “What should I start with, Raftina…? The Guardians or the planet itself? Either will take a lot of time…” “With as limited as belief in the Guardians is, honestly the planet… It’s more immediate. The people are sufferingnow.Well. I would heal the elemental Guardians first. Fengalon, Grudiev, and Moa Galt are no longer amenable to humans.” Raftina frowned. “Cecilia, the current ruler of the Aldehyde line, told me they put her, Garret, and Rudy through some tests to see how their hearts were and didn’t offer much help…” “My children…? Bad to humans…? Where did I go so wrong…?” Endolia wept again and Raftina squeezed her mother’s shoulder again. “You haven’t done anything wrong. It wasn’tyourfault, Mother. It was all on the Metal Demons. That’s all it comes down to.” She felt the same way…She couldn’t help the humans and planet in a way that she ought to have been able to. She just… She hated all of this. Filgaia shouldn’t be like this. It should still be lush and verdant with upwards of a couple billion. Now…there might be less than three hundred million. She shuddered to think just how decimated the Elw were… She knew they had been the most damaged after the Tenno who…just simply no longer existed. Endolia wept for a while longer until she stood up and obviously steeled her resolve. “I’ll get to work. I wish you could help me, dear, but with belief in you so weak…” Raftina nodded. “I’m dealing with politics as I always have. Cecilia is my main concern right now.” She wanted to help all of Filgaia, but she was limited. She couldn’t teleport around like the other Guardians could. Her magic was weak and teleportation took alotof energy to do. She couldn’t afford to have that level of magic usage. Even using the Fast Draw magic to help train the Golden Lillies took up energy she really couldn’t afford to expend. She hated it, but they neededsomeoneto show them how to use Accelerator in a masterful way… Granted, not every member of the order was a Fast Draw user but even so… “Well… Maybe I could meet her before I go?” “Mother, maybe half an hour won’t make much of a difference at this point.” It’d been over a millennium since Endolia had been alive. What was another half hour at this point? Endolia nodded and Raftina led the way into the city. She could feel her mother’s heart sinking as they looked around. There should have been flying cars, flying people, electricity, computers, street lights, and so much more. But it wasn’t. It was feudalism all over again. “I can’t believe how far they’ve regressed…” “It’s worse than that. They completely devolved tofeudalism.Cecilia is thequeenof Adlehyde.” Endolia stared in disbelief. “I know you have no reason to lie to me, Raftina, but it’s so hard to believe…” “Just wait.” They made their way up to the castle and she could see her mother’s face fall. “You’re right.” Only a few castles had remained on Filgaia after being built because they just weren’t needed anymore. They were well preserved but now… None of that existed anymore. It was all ruins, buried under shifting sands. Very little of the old world remained. She hated it just as much as her mother did. The guards all saluted Raftina as she passed and, thankfully, none of them stopped Endolia as they walked. Then again, the relation to Raftina herself was more than apparent. They shared a facial structure and the blonde hair and green eyes of the Adlehyde line. Then again, the guards also knew that trying to stop Raftina from doing something was an exercise in futility at this point. None of them could stand up to Raftina’s magic or wit and intelligence. They justcouldn’t.Only a few obstinate guards refused to accept the fact that she was well above them and always would be. She managed to track down Cecilia in one of the meeting rooms where Garret and Elimna stood, obviously doing more thanjustguarding her. However, they had clearly broken up a heated argument and Cecilia let out a breath. “Lady Raftina, you’re back. Who’s this?” “Come into the hall for a moment, Your Majesty.” Raftina bowed to Cecilia and they left the room, going out into the hall. “Sorry for disappearing like that for a week but… This is my mother.” Cecilia’s eyes widened. “They succeeded?” Raftina nodded. “And I’m glad for it. Your kingdom will soon be having bumper harvests as she heals the land. I imagine even the Sand Sea will be healed before too long. Mariel will be happy to know that she no longer has to labor over trying to reverse the damage of the Guardian Blade.” Endolia frowned. “Sand Sea? That’s…ominous.” Cecilia nodded. “The Elw once made an unrefined weapon of mass destruction called the Guardian Blade. It decimated a good chunk of the land on the planet. It’s completely unable to be planted and a young Elw girl named Mariel is attempting to reverse the damage of her brother’s crime.” “I guess that’s the scar I feel far off…” Endolia sighed. “I’ll start with the least affected areas because they’ll be easier to deal with than areas that have been completely decimated… I’ll try to start with areas around bigger settlements. But that aside… It’s good to meet you, Cecilia. I never thought Raftina of all people would ever have children… I can see our genetics arequitedominant… You could be my granddaughter for all I knew!” She chuckled a bit and covered her mouth with a hand. “By the way, Mother, do you have a small, blue gem on a chain?” Raftina asked. Endolia blinked and took it out of her pocket. “Yes. Why?” Raftina handed the necklace over to Cecilia. “We don’t need the Tear Drop any longer. My mother is revived. I know losing its magical abilities will hurt but…our creator is back. We can do so much more than the Tear Drop could on its own.” Cecilia took the little blue gem into her hands and closed them around it, holding it to her chest before slipping it on over her head. “Thank you…Yes, it will hurt to lose the Tear Drop’s magical abilities, but knowing that Landy Endolia is back… Her power will forever be better than what little the Tear Drop could do.” Her voice was soft and wavered with emotion, and Raftina couldn’t blame her. The artifact had been passed down maternally for over a millennium in the Adlehyde line without really knowing what it was. But it was better to have Endolia back than to have her soul fractured and strewn about the planet in the ley lines. “It’s nice to meet you too, Lady Endolia. I hate to cut our meeting short, but I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time for us to get to know each other. I have meetings to attend to. Lady Raftina, will you be joining me?” Raftina nodded. “Sorry for disappearing for a week, but I just…” She looked at her mother. She couldn’t stand to be playing politics. “I would’ve been beyond distracted for the next week.” Cecilia nodded. “I understand. Plus…you work hard. You deserved some rest. But my advisors are being nasty right now and I could use your backup.” Raftina nodded. “Let’s go then. I’ll see you soon, Mother.” She hugged Endolia who disappeared and she puffed up her chest, heading into the meeting room. Boy, the advisors werenotgoing to be happy when they saw her again… Peoplehatedher for how cutthroat she could be, but she wasmorethan glad to show them their place in the world.Nobodywould take advantage of Cecilia as long as she was around…