Forever Fall

Raftina followed Elaeah down the stairs and they wove through the large manor home until they came to the kitchens. “Well, at least this place isn’t quiteasbig as the castle… I kept getting lost there! Elw don’t have homesthisbig most of the time… Why do humans need such extravagant places to live and vacation in? I don’t get it.” “Humans have always been a race of ego unfortunately. In this case, though, it doesn’t reflect on Cecilia. She would prefer just a small habitation if she had any choice in the matter.” She wished she could’ve just taken over Aldehyde castle for Cecilia’s sake, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Things might begin to change with her mother back, but trying to move away from divine right of rule to democracy again would be incredibly difficult. Humans on the whole didn’t like change and would fight massive upheavals to their society unless they were the ones fightingforthat change. In all she’d seen in Adlehyde, the people seemed content with their ruling family, so trying to change that to democracy would be incredibly hard. Granted, democracy wasn’t perfect either, but it was better than divine right in her mind. “Plus, war and such require fortifications…” Raftina pointed out. “That’s why the castle is so heavily defended.” “Those fortifications sure won’t do a lot against mages, though,” Elaeah said. “Mages aren’t as prominent as they used to be.” Once, there had been millions of mages on Filgaia… Now they either died at a young age due to magic going out of control or were sent away to the Curan institutions. There were enough mages to be contained to two entire institutions… It hurt her heart. But the planet simply couldn’t sustain mages now the way it had in the past. However, with the planet being returned to its former glory, she hoped that they would arise again. Though with people being so set in their ways, the Curan institutions would probably fight to continue being the main places of magic learning even though that simply wouldn’t be feasible any longer if mages started springing back up like flies. “That’s true I guess…” Elaeah sighed. They entered the kitchen and Elaeah spoke to the cooks. Despite her warning from earlier, the cook looked outright offended when Elaeah denied the meal he suggested which included fish. Raftina stepped in. “What part of ‘no animal flesh’ do you not understand? Elwdo noteat animals! Poultry, cattle, or fish… Elw cannot andwill noteat animal flesh! If you want to cook meat, then cook it for yourself, not someone with cultural dietary restrictions!” The man cowered away and nodded. “U-Understood, Lady Raftina…” His voice shook. Good. She honestly hated pulling rank like that, but there wasn’t much else she could do sometimes. This man clearly wouldn’t listen unless he had the fear of the Guardians struck into him by a Guardian herself. She took Elaeah over to a little breakfast nook in the kitchen and shook her head. “I don’t understand how they can be so pushy sometimes…” Raftina said. “Well, it’s like you said: humans resist change.” “Touche.” “I mean Elw aren’t perfect either… If Lady Endolia wants to return the Elw to Filgaia, it’s going to be a massive uphill battle. So many of the older generations are unwilling to even consider returning. A lot of the younger generations are curious about humans, but by the same token, plenty of us don’t want to return either.” She frowned. “It seems like change is something a lot of races resist.” “Yeah… I know accepting the Guardians back is going to be tough for humanity. They’ve been without us for over a millennium… I imagine it’ll be the same for the Elw.” Nobody had really dealt with the Guardians for over a millennium. She really hoped that the integration of Filgaia would go smoothly… It would just take time for the Guardians to return to their previous power. She wasn’t really sure how going from a relatively atheist state to a believing one would happen. She wanted to be back at the height of her power and she had definitely felt some of it return, but it was on a very small scale. If the Elw returned, it would give amassiveboost to the Guardians and they would be able to dofarmore for Filgaia…but they would have to wait for Endolia to revitalise the planet, and she was doing that on a smaller basis to speak to people instead of just doing it all at once. “I…honestly hadn’t even thought about that.” Elaeah sighed and put her cheek in her hand. “We’ve been so self-sufficient for the past millennium and some change that I hadn’t even realised the Guardians weren’t part of our lives… It was just natural for me to think and feel that way. The Elw still believe and maintain worship, but I’m not sure how they’d handle suddenly having to have gods intercede for them.” “There are going to be a lot of big changes in the coming years,” Raftina admitted. She had no idea how anybody was going to handle really any of this. Humanity was used to barely clinging to life with what little there was left of Filgaia. The Elw were used to bounty and abundance. Granted, nothing had to be done to change things immediately. They could spend time rebuilding Guardian worship before even thinking about reintroducing the Elw or the Tenno. Though, the lack of people in Arctica was something that bothered her… Her mother would haveno ideawhat the culture of Arctica had been like… It was disgusting and Raftina was honestlygladthat the country was no more. Elaeah nodded. “Mmhmm. Yeah. For sure. There’s going to be a lot of upheaval for the next several centuries most likely. It’ll be interesting to see what comes about from it… I’ve never met a Tenno, so it’d be neat to meet one.” Raftina gave her a bit of a withering look unintentionally and her ears went down. “Uhh…” “Sorry. That was my bad.” Raftina shook her head. “I’m just too used to being talked down to…” She sighed. She was used to being treated as if she weren’t enough. People thought that half-bloods like here weren’t good enough to be considered full members of their respective races. She’d seen it happen with all three races. It all depended on the community itself. Some communities were fine with half-bloods; others weren’t. Nobody on Filgaia remembered the Tenno, not even in myth and legend. They barely even remembered the Elw. It’d just been so long since the races had coexisted largely peacefully… She just feared war if the Elw or Tenno were reintroduced. Filgaia couldn’t handle another bloody conflict. She would have to leave that to her mother and the other Guardians. She knew she’d run herself ragged if she tried to get involved in that. And, well, she needed to be better if she did end up with Elaeah again… It was hard to not be a workaholic. She had such a deep sense of duty to Filgaia and the planet on the whole that her personal relationships were what suffered the most. “I should’ve been a little kinder…” Raftina shook her head again.”No, that was just me being reflexive to past racism, racism thatdoesn’t existanymore. You don’t register me as a Tenno because you’re notused tobeing around themperiod.Plus, I’m more of a Guardian than a Tenno at this point.” She still identified heavily with her people and wanted to be with them, but she wasn’t really sure what to do with that. They didn’t exist anymore. There was no good way to really revive the culture. Bringing back all the Tenno that had died in the First Demon War would result in millions of people withseveretrauma that were also used to a peaceful, quiet existence in the underworld. But starting at square one again… The culture would never be what Raftina remembered. She wasn’t sure how her mother would handle it. It wasn’t a worry right now, but she couldn’t help but worry about Filgaia’s future. She was just too tapped into the planet’s issues. She wanted to do the best by the planet she possibly could. She just…really wanted to be able to work for the planet like she had in the past, but with the state she was in…she needed to put her care for herself first. She would needdecadesto truly get back on her feet again. Even with Geden providing meals, her overactive metabolism would and could prevent her from gaining weight. It was so hard to put weight on for her. She needed twelve thousand per day when justresting, let alone when she was active. She’d lostmoreweight during the Second Demon War which had only put her backeven further.There was no easy way to deal with any of this. “If you’re sure…” “I am, Elaeah. I was just being overly sensitive.” She was pretty traumatised by her past and she absolutely was aware of it. She couldn’t stop even minor things from triggering her sometimes. All she could do was apologise and try to move on. It wasn’t like she could stop it from happening again, though… Triggers just didn’t work that way. At least Elaeah wasn’t calling her a mongrel or half-breed or anything like that… The Elw could still bedeeplyracist, just like anybody else. They liked to hold themselves to a higher standard, but they often didn’t. They were just as susceptible to tribalism as anybody else. They could and absolutelywouldtreat others poorly because they saw themselves as above others… The Elw had aseriousproblem with seeing themselves as better than the mortal races of Filgaia even though theyweren’t. “If you’re sure.” “I am.” “Okay.” Elaeah fell quiet, obviously not really sure what to say or do next. The silence was uncomfortable, not companionable. Raftina wished she could do more for the Elw, but there wasn’t much… Elw society had evolved since she’d last interacted with it, but there were still echoes of the past that she could use as guiding lights to understand what was going on. Elaeah finished up eating and then looked at Raftina. “So, what do you want to do today…?” “That’s…honestly a really good question. I’m not good at this whole ‘vacation’ thing. I’ve never been good at resting and relaxing. I’m just too used to being wrapped up in politics.” She was being honest with what she was saying… She really did honestly have no idea what to do. Plus, it wasn’t like she was taking a vacation in past eras where there were things like jet skis, spas, and so on. There weresomany options during more advanced periods. Now… She really didn’t know. It was like being a child again as far as she was concerned. The world had backslid more than fourmillenniadue to the devastation of the First Demon War and had never recovered. “And it’s not like we’re in the Elw dimension where we can go shopping and all of that…” Elaeah sighed. “What I wouldn’t do for a good shop-till-you-drop trip. Like honestly.” She was using clothes from the heavens at this point. She could really do with a good shopping trip at a mall or something. But there was no such thing as ‘fast fashion’ in this world really. Some mages used their magic to speed up the sewing process, but everythinghadto be made by hand at this point in time. She missed being able to just go to a store, pick something up, and try it on. Now she had to be measured foreverythingand wait weeks if not months for it to be finished. This world sucked. It really did. She sighed. “I hate how limited this world is… I miss the way it was before the First Demon War.” “If it weren’t for you needing medications, I would absolutely suggest we go to the Elw dimension and stay… The Elw would welcome you warmly just like they did before.” “Unfortunately, if I want to sleep, I need my medications.” And evenAnnacouldn’t access the Elw dimension. She’d need to meet Anna every three weeks or so in order to refill her medications which…while annoying, was reasonable. She’d just need an Anna to camp out near the Elw dimension which…didn’t feel like it’d be a reasonable solution, considering how much Annas usually loved to sell things. There weren’t any towns especially close to the opening of the Elw dimension that were bustling enough to justify asking an Anna to stay nearby. “I know… It really sucks. And I’m still hearing the planet screaming in agony every minute of the night and day…” Elaeah frowned. “I really understand why Elw don’t want to come here.” “I’m thankfully immune from it in the way you Elw experience it.” If she wanted to, she could tap into the planet the way the Elw felt it, but she had enough to deal with. She really didnotneed to deal with the suffering of the planet. She still couldn’t shake the dream she’d had though. “Actually, we might not evenneedAnna to fill your prescriptions.” Raftina blinked and looked at Elaeah. “While our technology has backslid some too, it’s not assevereas Filgaia. What prescriptions do you have?” Raftina hesitated,reallynot wanting to give it up. She needed somepowerfulsedatives and nightmare blockers in order to sleep. Though the Elw might also be able to produce the feather oil she needed… She’d been buying it from Anna, but it was at marked-up price compared to what she’d paid for it in the past. Having to source things from another time and place wasn’t easy even for an Anna apparently. “Well…” She listed off the types of prescriptions Anna had given her and Elaeah nodded a bit. “We still have the technology to make those types of prescriptions. So honestly, we could probably go to the Elw dimension and just…stay there until you start feeling better. We’d probably need to speak to Anna about it but still…” Elaeah frowned. “Do you want therapy? We could probably give you therapy too.” “That…would probably be useful for the future, but I need to focus on just letting my body recover first.” Her body was interribleshape from the abuse she’d put it through due to the two Demon Wars. There was no real getting around any of it. She knew her mind needed to heal too, but for now…she really needed to just focus on her body. Elaeah frowned. “We can support whatever food needs you have. We have so much surplus food… We try to scale for the amount of people we have, but a lot of it just gets thrown out and returned to the planet for mulch and such. We haveso much foodthat we don’t need. If even a small fraction of it could go to you…” Raftina sighed. “I really don’t want to leave Filgaia just in case Iamneeded in Adlehyde…” She felt like she’d just be straight-upabandoningFilgaia if she went to the Elw dimension. It feltwrongto her. “Andwhereare you getting your food?” “The heavens, actually. My mother revived Geden, Guardian of the Kitchen and Hearth, and she’s revived a bunch more Guardians in order to make sure Filgaia is taken care of.” “Well, there’s your answer.Filgaia is taken care of.”Elaeah gave her a pointed look. Raftina sighed. She’d walked right into that one… She hated it, but Elaeah was right. “Plus, the people here can’t care for you effectively.Westill have knowledge on how to care for Tenno in a medical way and our medicine iswaymore advanced than what’s on Filgaia. Lady Raftina,please.The Elw can care for you. Your mother is back. The Guardians are being revived bit by bit. You’d bemuchbetter off with us for a half century or so until you’re fully healed. The Guardians can handle whatever is needed as well as your mother can.” Raftina sighed again, bowing her head. “I know you’re right but…” She felt like she was abandoning Filgaia. She’s spent some years on other planets but that was all in the name of delegation and treaties a lot of the time. It was for the good of Filgaia. It was never for the sake of vacation or anything like that. She felt…so beyond selfish for considering it. What if Cecilia needed her for some sort of emergency? She just… She didn’t like the idea of not being able to access Filgaia quickly and easily and basically beingcompletelycut off from it. “Lady Raftina…please.”Elaeah’s quiet pleading wasn’t helping either. She sighed. “…Fine.” She couldn’t say no to Elaeah’s puppy dog eyes. It was so hard to ignore. She’d managed to do it in the past, but with her heart still so raw, she couldn’t say no. She just felt sobeyondselfish that she was going to leave Filgaia to recover. She would have no responsibilities to the Elw. They probably wouldn’t evenallowher to do anything. They understood immortal lives and… Some of them wereolderthan her now. It was crazy to think there were beingsolderthan her by more than just a couple centuries. Elaeah smiled and clapped her hands together. “All right then; let’s get packed up and go!” Elaeah finished eating and they headed back up to their rooms. Raftina packed her clothesagainwhich felt wrong. Something hit her as she thought about it. Moonspark. She found Elaeah again. “Uh…Do you guys have any pegasi there?” she asked. “If I leave Moonspark again, she’s going to go ballistic.” There was no way she could leave her stubborn pegasus behind. No way inhell.Shehadto take the pegasus with her. No other Guardian would be able to calm her down or handle her. Even if it was only a decade or two…Moonspark wouldnotbe happy about it. She had no choice but to bring Moonspark with her. Elaeah blinked. “We have some stock, at least. We can find a nice country estate on a lake or something to stay at… It’d give her plenty of room to roam free and such.” “Do youhavethe money to rent out an estate for two decades?” She wasn’t sure where the Elw sat with money and such. And sadly, it wasn’t like she had her old accounts or anything. That had beencompletelywiped out when the Demons had destroyed the planet. Filgaia had completely given up physical currency by time the Metal Demons came around. They had the digital infrastructure for people to have bank accounts, debit cards, and credit cards. “Thankfully, my family’s pretty wealthy, so we have access to some estates without issue.” Raftina nodded. “All right then. I just… I don’t have any money anymore. We’re back to using gold, silver, and copper in terms ofcoinsto buy and sell things.” Those were absolutely medieval…and it made sense, considering the fact that was when the planet had been forced back to. Elw weren’t perfect when it came to wealth, but they at least made sure there was no poverty or homelessness in their communities… She wondered if that old mindset had continued on after the First Demon War. “I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry.” Elaeah smiled and Raftina felt her heart skip a bit. It’d been many,manyyears since anybody had smiled at her warmly like that in a waymeant for just her.Everyone was in a place of servitude toward Raftina and that was how she was used to…but it still didn’t make it easy. She had given up on close relationships for averylong time… She just…couldn’t bear the thought of losing someone in the same way she had lost Elaeah. She wanted to love only mortals, but even so…the thought of losing her significant other hurt. She’d been through that once and it hurt. Well, she’d been through ittwicewith Arlan now. He was long dead at this point… She put the gloomy thoughts to the side and called up Dan Dairam. “What do you need, Raftina?” he asked as he bounced around a bit. “I’m going down to the stable and getting Moonspark. Do you think you can take us to the Elw dimension?” she asked. The cat raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Yeah, I can… I didn’t think I’d seeyouof all people giving up Filgaia.” She sighed. “Elaeah isveryconvincing.” She wanted to do right by Elaeah this time around… “And I’m not ‘giving up’ Filgaia. I’m letting the other Guardians take care of their duties and let them integrate back into the world for a few decades… I think they can hold down the fort while I recover for a few decades.” She knew decades was quite the span for mortal lives, but after she’d lived for millennia…a couple decades wasn’tthat longto her. She really knew better than to just give up. She just…really needed to rest after the century-long conflict that had been the First Demon War, then the, though shorter but still damaging, Second Demon War. She really needed to rest and recover. Going to and from the heavens multiple times per day really did drain her of energy too… And having more stuff to keep her occupied would help her from going insane. His tail curled. “Well, all right then. If you come back at some point, just let me know. I can’t really access the Elw dimension easily. They sit outside of my area of influence.” Raftina nodded. “I will.” Once they were all settled, Dan Dairam took them to the entrance of the Elw dimension and Elaeah got them into it. Moonspark’s ears went back and she looked around. “Very strange to see a fully green Filgaia again…”the pegasus said. Raftina nodded. “Yeah,” she agreed. She’d grown used to the deserted planet… By time she returned, it would probably look like this again. She still felt like she was abandoning Filgaia but it really was for her own good. But Filgaia would be fine without her… It’dbeenrelatively okay without her guidance for twelve hundred years. The people hadn’t exactly flourished, but there was enough that they could handle things on their own. It was still surreal that the planet had continued on its own without is Guardians… But it really did feel good to not have the planet screaming in agony as she stepped foot off the dias into the forest. She felt her old powers return even though she knew it would only be temporary. It would takecenturiesfor the full belief in the Guardians to return… And without her there, she wouldn’t cultivate her own belief… It would be a long, hard, uphill battle to get herself back to where she’d been. “All right; let’s go,” Elaeah said. “Follow me.” Raftina nodded and did just that, Moonspark’s tail swishing behind them as they headed out of the forest.