Welcome to Eorzea

It didn't take long for Melanie to walk through the gateway into the dark cobblestoned streets of Revenant's Toll.  The tall stone walls surrounding the small village and the rocky landscape shielded the inhabitants from the chilly winds coming in from the north.  The air had also started to change into a thin pink fog that had an unnatural slick sheen to it as if the fog was made of oil vapour.  Despite the air humming and loudly crackling with energy from the remains of Dalamud's core nearby none of the residents seemed phased by it, nor did it or the fog seem to cause any ill side effects.

At the heart of the village was the aetheryte crystal spinnning above a dark metal and stone dias on a small patch of grass.  Whilst it looked a lot less impressive than the one she saw in the Crystarium it was still a sight to behold especially under a pink sky.  Its shape reminded her of the mothercrystal she encountered before arriving on the First, only this one was hollow with a static metal object floating in the middle.  For a moment she was distracted staring at the crystal that she almost forgot why she was here in the first place.  Further ahead up on top of a small hill were various small outdoor market stalls that when looking at took her back to her childhood back on Earth.  In fact this small village despite looking like a medieval fortress was the only place she could relate to and it began to make her feel a little homesick.

Behind her a doorway opened as a small number of villagers walked outside chatting.  Inside was the sound of chatter, laughter, music, and clinking of cuttlery.  This was the place known as The Seventh Heaven, the village tavern that also acted as a headquarters for the Scions of the Seventh Dawn that was nicknamed The Rising Stones.  Melanie walked inside the stone building and looked around.  A doorway at the back of the tavern with what looked like a No Entry sign marked the entrance to The Rising Stones.  Boldy she walked up towards the door and gave it a heavy shove to open it.

Inside The Rising Stones looked much more prestigeous than the actual tavern itself.  Fancy wooden furnishings, planters and rugs that looked like they belonged in mansion greeted her.  At the back of the room was a private bar area where a female miqo'te in a blue dress and glasses tended.  The rest of the room was where all the tavern's wine and food stocks were being held in various crates and barrels.  Even further to the back were a pair of doorways, one that lead into a smaller room where the Scions often held their meetings, and another doorway to the side that as of yet she hadn't any idea what was for.  As she began to ponder where to go next the side doorway opened and a very exhausted lalafel with ocean green eyes wearing a yellow cape with ears that reminded her of a certain pokemon stumbled out.  This was Krile Baldeison, one of the lead bodies of the Scions who had a gift of premonition and would oversee many of their adventures.

"Oh, Leineya you're baaaack!" an excited voice was heard behind her.  Melanie turned around to see another lalafel sporting pink leathers and a red beret ran up to her excitedly as if she was about to pounce on her and give her a big hug.  This was Tataru, the receptionist for the Scions who had a very lively personality.  On hearing Tataru, Krile opened her eyes wider and tried to straighten herself up with a smile before greeting Melanie.  "Ah, full glad am I to see you again Leineya.  What brings you back to The Rising Stones?" she asked.  Before Melanie could even utter a word Krile suddenly stumbled and clutched the side of her head with her hands as if experiencing a severe migraine.  Melanie was ready to rush to her aid when she realised what was happening.

"Wait, this is the echo."

Tataru began to do a panic dance on the spot with a worried look on her face.  "Ooh, Mistress Krile is everything alright?" she asked worriedly.  Krile grimaced for several seconds with her eyes tightly closed and then lowered her hands and raised her head back up again.  "It's alright Tataru" she said to her with a smile.  She then turned towards Melanie with a slightly more serious look on her face.  Melanie wondered what it was that she had seen in her vision.  "Well now, it appears we have quite a situation here" she said looking up at Melanie's face.  "I guess you know about why I'm here then?" Melanie asked.  Krile nodded slowly.  "I think it's best that we go to the Solar so we can talk in private" Krile replied, then she motioned to the doorway at the back of the room with Melanie and Tataru in tow.

Once the doorway closed behind them Krile turned around to face Melanie again.  "Let me be the first person to say welcome to Eorzea" she said to her.  Tataru looked confused at Krile's words.  "Our Warrior of Light is none other than a traveller from an entirely different universe who recently arrived on ours but a couple of days ago" Krile explained to her, then she turned her attention back to Melanie.  "However at present you're anything but a Warrior of Light, and that is a problem for all of us.  I have no idea why Hydaelyn chose you to fill in the place of her champion and the timing couldn't be any more worse than it is now, but I trust in her decision."  Krile closed her eyes and let out a sigh and slowly shook her head.

"I cannot stress just how pressed we are for time, especially since you'll be needing every second to relearn everything from the ground up in order not just to become Eorzea's champion but to fit into our society.  Your world is so very different from ours that this will be one of the biggest and difficult of all tasks that you'll have ever faced, that is should you choose to follow through with this path."

Krile then opened her eyes and looked back up at Melanie.  "Whilst I do not wish to put pressure on you, know that our friends' lives and quite possibly our own future fully depends on whether or not you choose to take up this task.  Either way we're going to need to have to involve all leaders of the Eorzean Alliance and inform them of the current situation so they can be ready to act if necessary."  Krile turned around to a nearby desk, took a seat and started jotting down on a small piece of parchment paper.

Melanie approached the desk expecting to be given a task.  "Will I need to travel to all the different cities and outposts?" she asked.  Krile stopped writing for a second and looked up at her with a big smile.  "Don't be silly" she said with a slight chuckle.  "We now have use of other facilities that allow us to do those things much more efficiently that doesn't require you to have to run around on our behalf.  Besides even if I were to give you missives to hand around I doubt you'd be capable of running the task."  Melanie frowned, did not being the Warrior of Light make Krile have so little faith in her?  Krile raised up the piece of parchment she had been jotting down on and showed it to Melanie.  "Here, take this and see if you can read what I've written."

Melanie looked at the small piece of parchment.  The words written down were in Eorzean which almost resembled English that she could make out what some of them said.  She strained as she picked out a select couple of words that looked familiar.  "Limsa Lominsa" she said looking back at Krile.  Krile continued to grin at her.  "Very good, now try to read what's below that" she said, her eyes locking onto Melanie's.  Melanie looked back at the parchment.  There were 2 long words that she wasn't able to decipher no matter how much she tried to piece together similar looking letters.  Krile nodded satisfied with her judgment.  "You see, were I to give you missives you wouldn't be able to give them to the right people since you can't read our language."

Tataru gasped in surprise.  "She can't read our language?  Then she really isn't our Leineya?" she muttered under her breath.

"Don't worry, Tataru can see to it that the message gets across to the right people.  For now I would advise staying within Revenant's Toll for your own safety.  You must try to keep a low profile and pray do not speak to anyone what's been discussed today or about your own origins, and needless to say the same goes for you too Tataru."

The Crystal Landscape

Travelling through a rift between worlds was certainly not something Melanie wanted to do so soon again nor did she believe she'd ever get used to.  Rushing at high speed through an invisible tunnel in space, seeing and hearing echoes of people and places she visited in the game.  Melanie screamed out but she was moving so fast it was as if no sound left her lips.  Terrified she tried to shield her vision with her hands and grit her teeth.

Melanie had no idea how much time passed whilst she was being hurled through the rift.  Although it felt like minutes it was most likely mere seconds.  A blinding light that engulfed her marked the end of her journey and she stumbled like a drunk person ready to hurl as she landed on solid ground inside a deep and dark trench at the Crystal Tower's foundations on The Source.  Here the air was damp and earthy and had an ancient musty smell to it.  Several large crystal formations protuded from the rocks giving off a faint glow that barely illuminated the walls of the trench.  In the nearby distance a small number of shadows were seen lurking around.  One of the shadows carrying a lantern moved towards her and stopped several feet away.  "Who goes there?" a woman's voice was heard.  The woman raised the lantern lighting the area where Melanie was grappling against the wall.  "Oh, Warrior of Light it's you!" the woman exclaimed.  "We didn't even know you were coming back this way.  Are you alright?  You look a little pale" the woman came close up to Melanie and gave her an arm to support her.

The woman sporting a black and blue padded leather outfit bearing the symbol of the Garlond Ironworks at the top of her sleeves and long white boots escorted Melanie towards a small group of other excavationers who were gathered around several boxes with various documents and blueprints scattered across them.  The group looked up and caught sight of Melanie as she leaned against one of the boxes and groaned.  "Wow you look worse for wear, the journey this time must've been a rough one huh?" one of the excavationers said to her.  A blue skinned roegadyn pulled a small flask from his belt, poured some of the contents into a tankard and walked over to her.  "Here, this'll put some fire in yer belly."  Melanie raised her head slightly to see him holding out the tankard to her and slowly took it from the roegadyn and began to down some of its contents.  The liquid in the tankard was a very potent spirit with a blend of fruit and earthy flavours that made her throat burn but once it reached her belly it was as if an inferno was alight inside her.  Her nausea was now replaced by a slightly spinning head and a burning throat and stomach.  "Great gods, what is that?" she asked, gagging as she passed the tankard back to the roegadyn.  "Blackbelly whiskey, a fine vintage at that too.  Used to be common among fledgling pirates who weren't used to the water yet, but a flagon of this an' ye troubles were no more.  Of course most of 'em would pass right out."

Melanie stood upright and stretched her back, the burning sensation of the whiskey feeling like it was spreading and warming every inch of her body.  Her head slowly came around that she could walk straight again.  "I think I can make my way out now" she said as she thanked the excavationers.  The roegadyn nodded at her.  "Before you leave you probably don't know about some of the changes that's been implemented all across Eorzea" he said to her.  "Since The Awakening there's been a few changes put in motion so don't be too surprised if you see things looking a little different."  Melanie was now curious to what was awaiting her outside the crystal tower's foundation level.

Continuing down the dimly lit trench it wasn't long before the smell of water reached Melanie's nostrils.  The trench led upwards above the tower's foundation levels and into the open where a large lake stretched before her.  Nearby a greyish skinned roegadyn sporting a brown cotton robe and a leathery hat with goggles hailed her over to a small rowing boat nearby.   "G'day miss!  Heading over to mainland?" he asked in a hearty voice.  Melanie nodded and looked at the small rowing boat.  She hadn't ridden many boats back on Earth and definitely not one of this size before.  She swallowed hard as she proceeded to climb into the boat.  One foot in and the boat started to sway wildly causing Melanie to jump back and panic.  The ferryman gave her a startled look.  "I'm sorry miss, need me to try to hold her steady for you?" he asked.  He pulled in the boat with his strong arms and with all his strength he held onto the boat.  Melanie made another attempt to climb into the boat which was now a bit more sturdy thanks to the ferryman.  She sat down and placed her backpack next to her.  The ferryman then climbed into the boat, causing it to rock wildly.  Melanie grasped the sides of the boat quickly and bit hard on her lip trying not to cry out in fear.  Using a pair of oars the ferryman pushed the boat from the nearby river bank and then sat himself down and began to row into the wider part of the lake.

Melanie's fears were soon replaced with awe as they sailed further into the lake, revealing a rocky landscape covered in hundreds of large glowing blue crystal formations.  The gigantic ruins of the Garlean warship Agrius protuded from the heart of the lake entwined by the petrified remains of the great dragon Midgardsormr, whilst not much further in the distance the towers of Revenant's Toll and the highly energetic remains of Dalamud's central core peered from behind the rocks at the other side of the lake.  Melanie could understand why the land that was the impact zone of Dalamud was known as the Singing Shards as the energies emanating from the blighted land resonated in a high frequency that sounded almost like ethereal music.  Behind them the Crystal Tower of the Source glimmered brightly in the dank landscape.  Despite it being the very same tower as that on the First Melanie could sense the difference as she looked back on it.  It was as if the tower itself was sleeping with the younger G'raha Tia inside it.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the ferryman spoke out to her.  "I must admit, I'm surprised anyone still requires my services now with the new changes an' all" he said.

"What changes?" Melanie asked.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" he asked surprised.  "Since The Awakening the whole world's been abuzz with people proposing new laws and alterations to our current ones.  For example, did you know that the flight restrictions for chocobos across Eorzea has now been lifted?"

Melanie opened her eyes wide as she shook her head.

"Well now that everyone can fly wherever they fancy it's putting people like meself out of business!  Mind you those things can only carry so much so I guess there's still need for ferries to transport large cargo, but it makes me wonder how much longer I'll still be in business 'fore they start using airships to do even that."

"What other changes have taken place?" Melanie asked curiously.

"Well, for most of it you'll have to see for yourself, although much is still being debated over and some things are taking a little longer to put in motion.  At least those city guards now have a rain coat to protect them from the weather.  As for me I still have yet to be taken notice of" he said, tugging at his damp and slightly ragging cotton robes.  The ferryman then folded his oars back into the boat as it approached land again.  The boat jolted as it hit against the rocks, startling Melanie and causing her to gasp in panic.  "Here we are" he said, his voice livening up as he pushed himself onto his feet and waded out onto the embankment and pulled the boat further inland.  Melanie grabbed her belongings and climbed out onto shore.  "Do me a favour miss, when you pass through Revenant's Toll could you pass word for me to get some better overalls?  If these get any more damp I doubt they'll last long before they turn to rags."  Melanie nodded then turned to face the landscape.

It was eerie seeing MorDhona in person.  Nearby the ruins of what looked like a small cathedral leaned unnaturally towards the ground held up by large crystal rocks protuding from underneath them.  The land was littered with huge metallic chunks of what was once the hull of the moon Dalamud.  Whilst there wasn't much wildlife what little there was was enough to strike fear within Melanie.  Along the lake shore serpents as tall as double decker busses slithered across the ground and muscular giants wielding huge clubs the size of tree trunks stomped around inland.  Melanie swallowed hard, her nerves getting the better of her and her feet planted on the ground unable to move.  Her heart started pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode.  The beasts hadn't noticed her yet but she was pretty certain if they could smell her fear they would soon take notice.  She clenched her fists tight, closed her eyes and took in some deep breaths to try to calm her nerves.  At best she could try to feign being a fearless warrior and hope the beasts would be fooled and turn a blind eye on her.  Taking one last deep breath she opened her eyes.  "It's now or never" she thought to herself.  Boldly she put one foot in front of the other and started to walk towards the heavily worn dirt path leading up to Revenant's Toll.

As she started to move forward the beasts nearby began to move closer in her direction.  Melanie pretended not to notice and continued pushing foward.  "Just keep looking forward and stick to the road, don't even look at them" she thought to herself.  A nearby giant turned around and looked directly at her, his spiked club covered in congealed blood, his muscular body covered in white warpaint, and his sunken stomach and protuding rib cage showing that he hadn't eaten well in several days and could easily make a meal out of her if he decided to attack as she had no means to defend herself and there was nobody else nearby who could come to her aid.  Walking across this hostile landscape was suicide, but she knew of no other way to get to Revenant's Toll.  She could maybe summon a mount but she had no idea how to ride one, and what if it decided to fly?  She realised that her doubts were adding to her fears and if she wasn't careful this lumbering mass of muscle would sense her fear and bring her to an untimely end.  Quickly she dismissed her thoughts and clenched her fists even tighter.  "No, I will not let my fears get me killed!" she thought with determination.  She took in another deep breath and then looked towards the giant, her eyes blazing with defiance and determination.  The giant stopped in its tracks and lowered his gaze towards her as she continued to walk past eyes firmly set against his.  The giants' eyes followed her for a while and eventually he turned around and walked away.  Melanie felt adrenaline surge through her excited that she had won a staring competition against a giant twice her height and at least 5 times her build and couldn't help but smile, even though deep down she was quaking with fear and silently breathing a sigh of relief.  Her eyes turned once more to the path ahead of her, more confident than ever, adrenaline and determination guiding her feet swiftly and safely towards Revenant's Toll.

Journey to the Source

"What do you mean you're not the Warrior of Darkness?  Are you an Ascian spy?!" Thancred growled as he reached for the hilt of his gunblade from his back, his face contort in anger and confusion.  Alisaie also readied her rapier whilst Alphinaud, Ryne and the Exarch stared at Melanie in horror.  Y'shtola still glared at Melanie through her blank gaze and folded arms.

"No, I'm not an Ascian, that's why I asked the Exarch to summon you all here so I can explain all this to you" Melanie spoke in a flustered tone, her arms raised in defense.  Thancred narrowed his eyes still clutching onto the hilt of his weapon.  "Believe me when I say I'm no threat to you" she continued, looking at Thancred with pleading eyes.

"For you to have occupied our friend makes you every much a threat" Alphinaud chimed in.  "But pray do tell whatever it is that you could not speak to us yourself and let us decide whether you pose as a threat or not."

Melanie closed her eyes let out another sigh.  "This is not how I planned to tell them.  What am I thinking, I didn't even plan this out at all."  She then looked up at them all and began.

It all started 3 years ago in my time, which for you is, I don't know how long ago.  The time when the Warrior of Light first set foot upon Thanalan soil.  Up until that point nobody knew of her existance, where she was born or where she travelled from.  That's because she wasn't born.  She was a creation that I designed.

"Wait, what?" Thancred laughed.  "Do you seriously expect us to believe that?"

"Tell me then Thancred, or any of you, if you know of where the Warrior of Light's homeland is, or how nobody not even the M tribe knew of a M'leineya Leoh until her arrival at Uld'ah.  The M tribe has only 1 male breeder, were you to ask him of a M'leoh Tia or M'leoh Nuhn he would tell you no such tribe member exists."

The Exarch began to ponder for a moment and then addressed the Scions.  "It's true that in all of the textbooks that cover the Warrior of Light's exploits there is no mention of our friend's birthplace nor anyone who knew her before her registration at Uld'ah.  Normally all of Uld'ah's records detail a place of origin for its new citizens but for our friend there was none.  It was as if she just appeared."

"You're honestly not buying into what she is saying?" Thancred scoffed with a sarcastic expression on his face, his hands held out in question.

"For the moment, I think it's best we listen to what else she has to reveal to us" the Exarch replied.  He then looked back to Melanie.  "Go on" he gestured.

You see, where I'm from is a very different world than yours.  There is no magic or dungeons with monsters.  We have much more of a stable and technologically developed infrastructure where many of our major cities resemble Amaurot.  Most of us rely on technology for almost everything from working to travelling and even for personal entertainment.  One form of entertainment is a video game where we create a digital character to represent ourselves and fight monsters in an imaginary fantasy world.  3 years ago I picked up a game called Final Fantasy 14.  It was a video game based in a world... called Eorzea, and the character I created was M'leineya Leoh.

"Hold on" Y'shtola chuckled.  "Am I getting this right that you're implying we're all part of an imaginary world?" she said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Not exactly" Melanie replied.  "From what Hydaelyn told me when she summoned me here was that your worlds already existed and when the game was created it also formed a bond between our worlds.  Somehow everything we did in the game on my world was affecting everything here."

For a moment the room was slient.  They all waited hoping for Melanie to tell them she was jesting, but when she said nothing more the reality that she was telling the truth sunk in and suddenly they all reacted at once.

"You mean to tell us that countless people went to war and died because of you?!" Thancred was now red with rage.

"I think I'm going to be sick" Alisaie said faintly, her skin paling as she thought about her friend Tesleen and so many others who suffered and died over the years.

"I spent 200 years sleeping in this tower, travelled 100 years back in time to a world that wasn't my own, watched countless people suffer and die, but for what?  Was it even necessary?" the Exarch gasped to himself.

"I was locked away in a small room in Eulmore since I was born having never known my own parents or received any visitors other than my captors, was that all for nothing?" Ryne wept.

Y'shtola raised her hand over eyes in shock.  "I sacrificed my own eyesight by throwing myself into the Lifestream, but that was being decided for me?"  She then looked back up at Melanie, her eyes glaring fiercely towards her.  "You dared to make me blind?!!"

Melanie quickly waved her hands in front of her in protest.  "No no, it wasn't like that!  We had no idea this was happening nor that your worlds really existed!  If we had known we wouldn't have done this to you."

"And what about you?" Alpinaud asked, his voice breaking slightly as he tried to hold back his anger and retain his composure.  "You were with us this whole time, yet it is only now that you bring this news to us.  How could you have held all of this back from us for all these years?"

"It was only yesterday that Hydaelyn brought me here and told me everything, although what she said was very brief and she didn't even give me the chance to refuse.  Even then had I known beforehand there was nothing I could've done.  My interactions were limited to controlling this character remotely from my world completely oblivious to what was really happening here and following a story that was already narrated for me."

"Like a puppet" Thancred said folding his arms, his anger cooling down although by his facial expression he was still unimpressed.  "All this time we thought you were the selfless hero for jumping head first into danger and putting your life ahead of others, but in reality you were never in danger by hiding safely on your own world whilst manipulating our friend into one dangerous situation after the next for your personal entertainment."

"I..I'm sorry, it sounds very bad when you put it that way and you have every right to be angry at me" Melanie tried her hardest not to sob.

"I never really thought Hydaelyn could be capable of summoning peoples' souls from other worlds, especially since it was brought to our attention that she herself is a primal" Y'shtola said a little amused at the thought.  "Seems she is not just any mere primal, that is if one is to believe anything Emet-Selch revealed to us."

"So why couldn't Hydaelyn have just brought you here instead of occupying her body?" Alphinaud asked.

"She said the Warrior of Light cannot exist without the one who created her."

Alphinaud lowered his head and raised a finger to his chin as he pondered for a moment.  "That explains why our friend collapsed yesterday."  Alphinaud lowered his hand and looked up to the rest of the room who were now all focused on him.  "At the time she collapsed everyone, including myself, felt a change within us, something the locals are referring to as The Awakening.  If the awakening was the result of the bond between our worlds being severed then suffice to say so too would the bond between our friend and the one controlling her become severed."

The Exarch motioned towards Alphinaud.  "From what you described it almost sounds like you're saying our friend solely relied on her creator to order her around, almost as if she was a vessel without a will of her own or maybe even a soul."  He then raised a finger to his chin and pondered for a moment.  "I know of one person who might be able to enlighten us on the subject and confirm if this is the case, but I'm afraid reaching her is nigh to impossible as she is not want for visitors.  Let's say my last attempt at requesting an audience her almost singed my tail and my dignity."  He then faced Melanie.  "And I dare say that without the Warrior of Darkness as she was we still won't have a chance at that."

Melanie averted his gaze, her stomach turning and her face redenning in shame.  "Even if I've never used magic nor know if I ever can I also don't know how to fight."

"Then we no longer have a Warrior of Darkness" Y'shtola added, her arms flailed around her helplessly as she started to mope around the room.

"Then what are we to do?" Alisaie asked facing the Exarch.  "If this was all Hydaelyn's doing she wouldn't put us in such a difficult position as to leave us without her own chosen warrior."

"Not unless this is all part of her plan.  Let's not forget that our friend here is known as a primal slayer.  If Hydaelyn is indeed a primal herself then perhaps she fears that she too could be expelled" Thancred said.

"We don't know that for certain" Y'shtola spoke from over her shoulder.  "There is still much we don't know about Hydaelyn and Zodiark but I'm not about to believe that Hydaelyn is some kind of malevolant entity."

Melanie closed her eyes tightly as Hydaelyn's words began to echo in her mind "thou must become the Warrior of Light, for there are none other who can save us."  For years she had lived in comfort sheltered from worries and labour.  To admit now what she had to do would mean turning her life around and leaving her old life behind which scared her.  Yet she could not stand to see her friends suffer, even more so if their suffering was by her own hands.  "Hydaelyn said that I must become the Warrior of Light.  That's what I have to do."

"But how?  If your aether has become anything like mine then even should you learn to wield a sword you would still not come close to being the same hero of legend." Thancred interrupted.

"As I recall your inability to manipulate aether was down to traversing the Lifestream" the Exarch piped in.  "But since hers hasn't been distorted the same way then perhaps there is yet a more simpler explanation to why she couldn't use teleportation."  He then turned to Melanie.

"Tell me, when you placed your hand upon the device did you feel an energy flowing through you?"  Melanie nodded in response.  "And what about afterwards?"

"I saw a bright light and then I appeared beside the large aetheryte outside" Melanie replied.

"I think I know what happened" the Exarch said confidentally.  "Whilst you were touching the device did you try to meditate on travelling to the Oculus?"

Melanie raised her eyebrows.  "No, I guess I didn't" she said in a surprised tone.

"That will be why you were sent back to the aetheryte outside then.  Without having a destination in mind where you want to go your body will simply return to the location with which it resonates the greatest, in this case the aetheryte outside."

"Oh, it makes so much sense now" Melanie.  "Damn I feel so stupid for not realising I needed to have a destination in mind."

"It's not just that simple.  There is also some training required to ensure you don't keep accidentally teleporting to your home point.  Without knowing how to meditate on your aether to direct it to a different destination you'll always end up returning to your home point instead.  I know of someone back on the Source who can help you with this as well as help you relearn how to use magic."

"That's all fair and well" Y'shtola added as she stopped moping around the room "but there is still the matter of how she'll become the Warrior of Light."  She then stepped up to Melanie.  "You said you don't know how to fight.  From our point of view it took years of fighting one battle after another against all odds for her to become the hero we all knew, time we can now ill afford.  How do you propose to become the Warrior of Light before we all die of old age?"

Melanie clenched her fists tightly and swallowed hard.  She knew this was her last chance to take back what what she said, but she knew if she did she might never return back home to Earth and would have to spend the rest of her life living in shame and regret of doing nothing to help her friends.  "I have to try" she replied, her voice wavering slightly as she tried not to tremble in front of them.  Y'shtola closed her eyes and exhaled deeply through her nostrils.  "I dare say you have the gall, but whether you really are capable of becoming a fighter is yet to be seen."

"I don't see us having any other choice" the Exarch exclaimed.  He then looked at Melanie again.  "If you're ready and willing I can send you back to the Source."  Melanie nodded eagerly.  The Exarch smiled then removed a large golden staff that had been hiding in the folds of his cloak on his back.  "Let's make this easier for us all" he said, then he tapped the base of the staff on the floor whilst whispering an inaudible spell and everyone began to glow brightly.  Melanie looked at her hands in a panic to see them become transparent, then in a bright flash she was no longer at the bottom of the stairs but now standing in a round and dimly lit blue room.  The air was cooler from there being very little sunlight entering the room despite there being many small arched windows made of crystal and gold lining the entire perimeter of the room.  The walls and floor appeared to be made of dark blue crystal with a circular pattern in the middle of the floor of what looked like planets and stars etched in gold.   Behind her a large glowing portal pulsed above a small set of steps.  They were in what was known as The Ocular inside the tower.

Melanie was in absolute awe at how pretty the room looked in person.  The artwork that was put into the etchings on the gold panels were astounding.  She was so enthralled with the room decor that she barely noticed the Exarch beckoning her towards the portal.  "Ahem, if you may Leineya?" he coughed gently to catch her attention.  Melanie quickly ran up to him and stood by the portal.

"Pray tell us, is Leineya your real name or should we call you by another?" Alisaie interrupted them.  "Oh, my real name is Melanie.  The name I chose for my character was a play on my own name, but since I've been accustomed to being called Leineya you can still call me that.  Besides most people here know me by this name so it would be a bit confusing if I went by another."  "Ah, fair point" Alisaie replied.

Melanie turned back around to face the portal.  "I strongly advise that after your arrival to the Source you travel to Revenant's Toll and relay to Krile your situation.  Do not speak openly about everything you've revealed to us today to anyone else as I fear if word gets around the Empire wouldn't waste a moment using the opportunity to strike back against Eorzea and her allies.  Krile should be able to assist you in finding the right people who can help train you in manipulating aether and becoming a warrior."

Melanie nodded.  As she looked at the portal she felt a surge of adrenaline rush through her body making her tremble.  "I can't believe I'm really going to do this" she thought to herself.  She began to imagine herself as her character shooting fire and lightning balls at monsters and leaping at them with her sword drawn.  It was all too unreal and a little disturbing to imagine that she tried to shake the image from her head.  "I'm ready" she said outloud.  The Exarch backed away from the portal and watched as she readied herself.

"I'll be back before you know it, and I'll be the warrior you need" she said facing the Exarch one last time before stepping forward through the portal.

An Audience at the Tower

Seeing the sunlight reflecting from the walls of the Crystal Tower was still a beautiful sight to behold.  The countless layers of tall clear crystals spiraling around immeasurable blue crystal rocks shaped into uneven spires and reflecting soft blue light throughout the city, its tallest peeks sparkling brightly high in the sky as a beacon of hope for all to see for many malms across Lakeland and beyond.  The games' graphic limitations gave it no justice.  Its height was overwhelming to look at that Melanie struggled to even see the top section of the tower.  Somewhere up there the Crystal Exarch was residing and watching over all of Norvrandt.

It never occurred to Melanie how she was going to reach the Ocular until now.  Every visit to the Ocular in the game was a small cutscene with one of the gatekeepers outside the tower entrance who would escort her there.  From some of the various cutscenes she recalled there was a spiral stairway similar to the ones found in Syrcus Tower that led to the doorway into the Ocular.  This would mean at some point she would have to go down, but down from where?  The tower was as wide as the city itself and surrounded by a tall stone foundation that was already 70 feet tall.  A wide stone stairway led up to the lavishly decorated golden doorway that was far bigger than any living being, which meant that inside the tower was no exception.  To fully explore the tower itself would be like visiting all the major cities back on Earth, meaning this place was huge and without a guide she could easily get lost in there.  Not to mention that wherever the Ocular was it was very, very high up!

Melanie started to feel butterflies in her stomach as the realisation that she would be climbing this humungous tower, her fear of heights gripping at her chest as she began to scale the stone stairway.  Barely a few feet up and already her heart rate had increased and her breathing became shallow and rapid.  Her body began to fight against her, every limb felt heavier and stiffer by the second until she could no longer move.  Though she was only a few feet off the ground her anxiety was getting the best of her and she started to feel light headed.  "No, I cannot give up now!" she thought to herself angrily.  Gritting her teeth she clenched her hands tightly and looked up the remainder of the stairway.  There was still many steps to go before she would reach the entrance, but to turn back now would be to look downwards and face her fear head on and that would no doubts cause her even more panic.  Melanie closed her eyes and took in several deep breaths, focussing not on the issue at hand but at the varying sounds and scents around her.  From sweet aromas of varying fruits and fauna, to the sound of wild birds and the wind rustling through the leaves of nearby trees, Melanie began to focus on everything else around her and slowly she started to put one foot slowly ahead of the other.

Before long she had scaled the stairway and was now standing in front of the huge entrance leading into the crystal tower.  Melanie opened her eyes and was wowed by its scale.  The entrance itself was at least as tall as a skyscraper.  Why anyone would create something of such extraordinary scale baffled Melanie.  The amount of energy just to open the entrance doors must've been immense, not to mention the amount of time it must've taken to shape the doors and carve out with such detail the artwork etched on the doors.  To have assembled it must've taken an army of giants or golems or whatever else the ancient Allags must've had being slaved at their disposal.

As Melanie's mind carried herself away she failed to notice the gatekeepers looking at her confused and one of them coughed to catch her attention.  "Excuse me, I know you are well acquainted with the Exarch, but I must ask for you to move on unless you have business with him" he spoke to her in an assertive tone.  Melanie snapped out of her enchantment and started to feel a little sheepish.

"Oh, yes I'm supposed to meet with him today" she replied.

The gatekeeper proudly stuck out his chest.  "In that case I shall escort you to the Ocular" he responded with a big grin, the other gatekeeper's mouth bobbed like a fish and let out a sigh shaking his head as if he just lost in a gamble.

Placing the palm of his hand up against the surface of the door caused the etchings to light up as if an electrical current ran through them.  With a loud roar the doorway opened up, exposing the entrance to the Syrcus Tower.  The doors locked in place with a loud clang that echoed through the tower, the noise was so loud Melanie felt her bones shake.  The gatekeeper walked inside and beckoned Melanie forward.  The size of the interior was overwhelming causing Melanie's heart to pound fast and her head start to spin.  There were no windows however the unnatural glow of several crystal pillars and alien looking wall patterns gave enough light to dimly illuminate the interior of the lower level with a blue hue, revealing an unusual combination of what looked like ancient Aztec architecture combined with fururistic technology.

The gatekeeper walked ahead towards a large glowing cube spinning on its axis above a pyramid-shaped platform and placed his palm upon it.  He then beckoned Melanie to come forward.  Melanie looked nervously as she placed her own hand up against the cube.  The cube started to vibrate as if a current was flowing from it and through her body.  She could feel her body becoming more lighter and the world around her became brighter until there was nothing but light.  A few moments later her vision returned and she was at the aetheryte crystal outside the tower.

"Huh?  This isn't right..." Melanie thought to herself.  She looked back at the tower and groaned.  "Man!  Now I'm gonna have to climb those steps all over again."

It took a while for Melanie to climb back up to the tower entrance again.  Both gatekeepers were stationed outside once more, her escort looking at her with a frown.  "What happened?  You were supposed to teleport to the Oculus" he said quizzically.  "I...I don't know..." Melanie stammered.  "I placed my hand on the cube and next thing I was at the aetheryte."

The gatekeeper looked at her with a slanted eye.  "Okay, let's try it again then."  He placed his hand upon the door causing it to light up and open and together they walked inside again and approached the cube.  The gatekeeper readied to place his hand upon it when he looked up at Melanie.  "This time try not to teleport to the wrong place.

"Wait, how do I do that?"  Melanie asked him quickly.

The gatekeeper stared up at her looking a little angry.  "Are you jesting with me?  We've done this many times before.  Come, the Exarch is waiting."

"No seriously, I don't know how to...I've forgotten" Melanie stammered.  The gatekeeper removed his hand and stood upright.  "You're serious?"  Melanie looked away feeling foolish and helpless and could feel tears starting to well in her eyes.  The gatekeeper realised she wasn't jesting and let out a deep sigh.  "All right, we'll have to get you there the long way" he said shaking his head with a tone of regret in his voice.  He walked towards the nearby stairs and started to make his way up.  "Come on, the longer we tally the longer this'll take" he said looking back at Melanie over his shoulders.

Melanie went into a panic.  "Wait, you mean we have to use the stairs?!" she cried out.  "What else do you expect?  If we can't use the teleport then we have to go on foot" he turned towards her.  Melanie thought she was going to pass out on the spot as she tried to catch her breath.  "No, no I can't!" she wailed.  The gatekeeper was now starting to become annoyed with her.  "Why not?  Oh, don't tell me you've forgotten how to climb stairs too?" he bellowed.  "No it's not that" Melanie whimpered.  "I...I'm scared of heights."

The gatekeeper stopped for a few moments staring at her, then he flipped his head back and let out a loud laugh.  "Now that's a good one, the Warrior of Darkness afraid of heights!" he said loudly as he wiped a tear from his eyes.  "No really" Melanie began to slump helplessly.  The gatekeeper took a long look at Melanie realising she wasn't jesting and after taking a deep breath quickly regained his composure.  "Okay" he said in a calm voice.  "Just wait right there and I'll try to sort this out."

The gatekeeper raised a hand to his ear where a small pearl-like object was clipped and touched it.  "What is it?" a voice that sounded like the Exarch was heard from the pearl.  "Forgive me Exarch, but we seem to have a bit of a situation on the ground floor.  The Warrior of Darkness, well, it seems she's stuck" he spoke outloud.  "Stuck??  What do you mean?" the Exarch's voice responded with confusion.  "For some reason she's unable to use the teleport and she also claims to have a fear of heights so we can't even use the stairs" he replied.  The Exarch was heard stammering lost for words from the pearl.  "Well then, if she can't come up to us then I guess we'll have to come down to her.  Please have her wait below the stairs and we'll be down shortly" the Exarch replied.

The gatekeeper lowered his hand and looked down at Melanie who was looking very unhappy with herself.  "You heard what he said, we wait here" he said making his way back down the stairs towards her.  "Man what a mess" Melanie thought to herself.  "The Exarch is for sure gonna know something's up now and I still haven't thought how to explain everything.  There's no going back now."

Not a moment passed before several bright lights appeared beside the Allagan teleportation device and the Exarch and a number of the Scions materialized - Y'shtola, Thancred, Alphinaud, Alisaie - and Ryne who was more-or-less a honory Scion.  The Exarch stepped forward to the gatekeeper.  "Thank you for waiting, you may go now" he said to the gatekeeper.  As the gatekeeper bowed and began to make his way back to the entrance the Exarch followed him and leaned towards him and began to quietly whisper to him.  "Stay on your guard, don't leave the building but keep a watchful eye on our guest.  If something looks amiss I need you to call in for backup" he whispered to his ear.  The gatekeeper flashed a wide-eyed gaze at the Exarch and slowly nodded his head then stationed himself at the entrance whilst the Exarch returned to Melanie and the Scions.

"Now then, where do we start?" he said to Melanie in a slightly cheery voice.

"I think we start by knowing who you really are" Y'shtola spoke up above the Exarch in a very stern voice.  Everyones gaze turned towards Y'shtola in surprise, her clouded eyes staring right at Melanie as if staring through to her soul.  "It doesn't take a blind person to know you are not the Warrior of Darkness."

"What do you mean she's not the Warrior of Darkness?" Thancred gasped.  Y'shtola turned towards Thancred.  "Oh please, "fear of heights?"  Since when have you ever known our friend to have a fear of heights?"

"Oh crap!" Melanie thought she'd be the one to break the news to them, not be ratted out by Y'shtola.   "Y'shtola's right" she said as she straightened herself up.  "I am not the Warrior of Darkness."

All eyes turned on her and a deathly silence filled inside the tower.