Azlyn received a prompt message one week later from her parents. As she opened the letter she could smell the medicinal herbs and spices that always accompanied her parents home.  There was always something going on back home, and it came as no surprise when she read the letter. 

    

The girl smiled contentedly to herself and stowed the response in her desk. The drawer opened showing previous letters she received from her parents. She’d write another letter when she was done with her classes. 

She grabbed a few of her books, checked her appearance in the mirror, and nodded approvingly. She was ready to attend her classes. 

Most of her classes were things about the studies of aetheric energies, The politics behind the City-states and their Grand Companies, and the growing tension between Eorzea and Garlemald. Many of the instructors discussed the possibility of war in the nearby future, but Sharlayan was far from the conflict. It still didn’t help ease those students who knew people in Eorzea. Azlyn had a bit of concern for her Aunt and cousin, but she couldn’t let her worries get the best of her. 

By the end of the day, the girl had a boatload of homework to finish, and she made her way to the library. Many of the students used the archives and library are a place for mingling and studying. Azlyn used it whenever she didn't want to head back to her room. She pulled out a few of the language books that she needed for her independent projects, and started to translate the text into common. 

She was lucky to have found a spot in the back corner. There weren’t many people, but she did see a few people walk by. By the time she knew it, the sun was beginning its slow descent in the horizon. 

“Doth thee have space for oneth to join thee?” Azlyn looked up from her research to see a tall man covered in a black and white cloak from head to his toes. Surprised by the strange way of speaking, she gestured to the empty seat at her table. 

“You may.” She replied. She was curious why he would want to share the space with her. It seemed her curiosity brought him to bring up his true intentions. 

“Forgive mine intentions, we hath met before one fateful encounter long ago. Perhaps thee not rememberth?”

Azlyn frowned, wondering when they could have met, until a memory from when she was young popped into her head. It was as if she were watching from above. She remembered Archon Louisoix and this fellow had greeted her father. But what she didn’t remember was the conversation that played out in front of her. 

“It is good to see you Nahz’el, I hope to call on you in the future. I hope you will answer them.”

She watched as her father nodded. “Of course Master, my family owes you a great deal for what you and the Circle of Knowing had done to extract us from Doma. Our services are yours to use.”

The older Elezen smiled, introducing his companion. “This is Urianger, he will be sending you further information about what we are planning. While the Black Wolf’s conquest has been halted, it won’t prevent the inevitable.”

Nahz’el gave a nod. “Is it true the Dragon King is—“

“Aye—hath slain in ere recent upon the Silvertear Lake.” The young Archon replied, troubled. 

Archon Louisoix continued. “Sharlayan will not aide Eorzea—and if the prophecy of the Seventh Umbral Calamity is true, we must needs act. War is coming.”

“The paragons are behind it?” Her father got to the heart of the matter.

“The Beast tribes hath been agitated like a nest of bees due to the Garleans invasion. They summon out of fear. But the Ascians that provoke this convolution, they have means to bring ruin to all.” The younger Urianger replied, bringing up a scroll for her father to see. When he accepted it, the vision shifted and returned back to the present where she sat at the table.

Urianger was staring at her with a perplexed look. Or what she assumed was one, as she could only see his lower jaw and the marking of a tattoo on his right cheek. He had a bit of hair growing on his chin that differed from the vision she just had.

“Art thou alright? Thou art pale.”

Azlyn shook her head, shaking the sight from mind. She grabbed her head as if she had a headache. “You were with Archon Louisoix back on the Isle of Val. I remember.”

He nodded. “Yes, thou were no more than a bawbling child. Thou rememberst well. Mine eyes doth see thou mother in thy complexion, thy father in your manners.”

She smiled, lowering her hand to the table. “Thank you for the compliment. How are things? The Circle of Knowing has been quite busy these last five years dealing with the city states of Eorzea, correct?”

The man seemed a bit surprised by the question, but answered nonetheless. “Mine companions work hath ever grown complex at the ever impending doom of war that draws nearer. Tireless they worketh to find the path t’ward peace.”

Azlyn nodded, trying to understand his metaphors within the metaphors. Deciding not to think on it too much, she took it with a grain of salt. “It sounds like it’s been quite difficult, but I am sure the city states are appreciative.”

Urianger questioned her, intrigued. “Thine understandeth well the current state of affairs, dost thine parents keep thee afoot in these endeavors?”

She shook her head. “I just knew from seeing the events.” She went to run a shaky hand to her head, the slight buzz of an ache started.

He seemed oddly perplexed. “Has thy head always hurt like that?” He gestured to her still cradling her head with her hand.

Azlyn blinked in rapid succession. “I don’t know—perhaps I studied too hard.” She looked up to gauge the time. Feeling it getting late, she smiled to her older companion. “Its much darker than usual. I’m afraid I have to go now. It was nice to meet you again.”

He nodded, watching her gather her things before leaving. “Dawn may banish even the darkest nights.  I hope you feel better in the coming of days.” 

Azlyn nodded. “Until next time.” 

She gave a courteous bow to him before heading back to her room. As she made her way back she found herself thinking back to that strange vision. How could she have known what they were talking about even if she weren’t there? Her head continued to pound. As she made her way back to the dorm, fumbling with her keys in the door lock. She managed to get inside, closing the door and locking it.

It was then when her head got wracked with a heavy pounding. She gripped both sides of her skull, dropping to her knees until she blacked out and dropped to the floor.

She felt herself listless, floating in a deep dark place. A magic circle surrounded her, with empty slots all around. Typically she would see the stars twinkling in the far distance up above, but nothing existed. She could see a black cloaked figure walking away, disappearing into a portal of dark shadows.

As she stared down at her feet, a resounding echo pulsed around her. She gripped her head as a woman’s voice rung around her. 

Hear—feel—think—

The sky erupted once again, as meteors came crashing down and Azlyn watched in abject horror. The bright star above dropped closer, and closer until the light swallowed everything in its wake. 

Azlyn pulled herself up from the ground. She found herself back in the safety of her own dorm, the morning sun barely slipping in from her window. Her clothes were rumpled, as if she rolled around in her sleep. The books of homework and papers were crinkled from when she collapsed on top of them. Her headache from the previous night was gone, which she was incredibly grateful for. 

She gathered her materials, dropping them in a heap on her desk before she walked to her bed. Despite passing out on the floor and sleeping the whole night, she felt dreadful. She decided to sleep the rest of the day, and hoped whatever she felt the previous day would never occur. 

She even wondered if these visions would someday kill her at this rate. Closing her tired eyes, she succumbed to the sweet embrace of sleep. 

With less than ten days from the ball, Azlyn found herself in more trances than typical. Not that she could control them. One of the days she wound up seeing what a few girls had for breakfast. Another day she saw a glimpse of a boy’s conversation about which girl he should ask to the dance. It wasn’t as if she could turn it off—but she was riddled with headaches shortly afterward. Her week continued like that, picking strange things to show her, from mundane to nonsensical things. She would have locked herself away in her room after the third day, but Krile and G’raha were getting concerned about her. Dark circles had formed under her once crib ant purple eyes, and she lost weight from the stress. It also didn’t help her when she’d collapse shortly after returning to her room. 

All in all, it was a terrible experience. 

“You sure you don’t have a fever?” G’raha Tia asked her for the fifteenth time. It was now one week from the dance and they were sitting outside in a tucked away corner. Krile had suggested the location seeing how Azlyn looked. 

“Yeah, I’m just tired. I wrote home to my parents about it.” Azlyn gave a small smile, thinking back to the recent letter from home. According to them, it became quite apparent that her childhood dreams and voices she heard were manifestations known from the “Echo”. From what they learned at the behest of Archon Baldesion, it seemed more and more like the phenomenon that occurred in her friend Krile, and several other people within the order. Did Azlyn know those other people? No. She thought it best to keep this between herself and her parents. 

Krile reached over to par her hand. Azlyn gave a ghost of a smile. It was then that Krile had a peculiar look upon her face.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be okay.” Azlyn said in reassurance and looked at their small lunch sets. Had she an appetite, she would have enjoyed the food before them. 

“—did your parents send you your dress?” Krile changed the topic and G’raha frowned.

“Yes, I need to try it on. Krile, did you want to see it before you head home?”

The Lalafell nodded. 

G’raha Tia ate silently, gauging the small talk between them. The time seemed too short before Krile stood up. She reached out from Azlyn. “Come on, you should go try it on! We’ll catch you later Raha!”

He seemed bewildered by their strange behavior, but chalked it up to girl problems. He gave a slight wave at their retreating forms. 

Azlyn kept up with Krile with ease. They returned to the dorm room she currently resided in. When Krile opened the door, she then turned to her friend. 

“How long?”

Azlyn seemed perplexed. “What?”

“How long?” She urged, more incessantly than usual.

Azlyn had a feeling she couldn’t keep this up against her friend who had the same gift. Sighing, she walked over to her dress that laid upon her bed. “Since I was a child. Way before we met.”

The room went silent, but Krile absorbed this information. “I see. Did you not want to worry anyone?”

Azlyn nodded.

Krile walked over to the desk, and pulled the chair out to sit down. She had a bit of relief on her face as she smiled. “I wish you told us. We could have helped you.”

The Au Ra girl smiled. “My parents said that they were looking into it themselves. Besides, with the Garleans on Eorzea’s front door step, and the primals being summoned by the beast tribes—the Seventh Umbral Calamity—we didn't want to add to the ever growing list. You know?”

The girl tapped her fingers against the oak desk. She seemed to have something more on her mind, but decided to keep the rest to herself. The silence remained between them until Azlyn picked up the dress her mom made. It was a pretty, long gown, with a high collar, and ornate embroidery. She had open sleeves, adorned with simple decorations. It was quite the formal dress. 

“Are you going to put it on, or leave me in suspense?” Krile said at least, and Azlyn chuckled. It didn’t take her long to change, and she gave two good twirls to show the dress. Krile smiled happily. 

“There’s a bit of foreign flair to it—but it suits you very well! I think you’ll have quite a few suitors afterwards.”

“I doubt it.” Azlyn chuckled, walking over to her standing mirror. Her medium length hair curled and dipped below her collar bone, framing her round face. Her natural color was a silvery white, and had darker colors under the layers. It blended well into the curls. Her figure was smaller than most, and the slight tone of muscle could be seen in her arms. The long slit on the left side of the dress showed off a bit of her leg. With the right shoes, she would be ready to go. The high collar felt a bit itchy against her scales on her neck, but she could live with it for a night.

“To be honest, this ceremony is nothing more than some of the archons inspiring the youth. The dance is to draw all of the students in. At least, that’s what father said.” Krile looked to the stake of completed homework on the desk, and smiled all the same. “Raha will be slightly disappointed.”

Azlyn turned to her. She blinked a few times. “Wait, so this is a ploy to bring in the students? Is there going to be a long ceremony beforehand?”

Krile nodded. “Yes, speeches from several teachers, and the importance of our work, and our choices for the future affect the fate of the world—things like that.”

“That sounds dreadfully long.”

“And tedious.” 

The two laughed. 

“You sure got out lucky Krile.” 

The girl in question acknowledged that. “Yes, well as a Student of Baldesion, my future has been decided. But you—Azlyn you have quite a bit to decide. What do you want to do? Do you want to study? Do you want to travel? Do you want to be a scholar? An Adventurer?”

Azlyn furrowed her brows, but at the mention of adventurer, she perked. “That sounds like fun but I think I’ll help out my parents with their work. We owe our lives to the Archons. So I want to pay it back as best as I can.”

Krile said, “I don’t think you need to be that devoted. Just do what you want. I’m sure everyone will understand. However I won’t deny your assistance.”

Azlyn grinned. “Just leave all the nitty gritty research to me!”

The two shared a quiet moment. The feeling of the future being so far off, but so close one could just reach out to grasp it. Azlyn wasn’t sure what the future had in store, but she hoped everything would work out. 

“In the meantime, however, just take it easy. I’ll go inform the teachers that you aren’t feeling well.” Krile replied at last, pointing to the bed with a firm expression. “No buts. You look like a drowned chocobo on its worst namesday.”

The girl nodded, which gave the Lalafellin much comfort. Getting up from the desk chair, she decided to was time to excuse herself and join group for their studies. “I’ll see you sometime soon. We can talk in more detail if you want about things you’re unfamiliar.”

And like that she was alone in her room. She didn’t waste time removing the dress she had tried on, placing it gently back on the mannequin she borrowed from the leather workers guild. With her dress set up, she curled up around her comforters and pillows, wondering if ditching her classes during this time would be alright. 

And decided that she was too tired to worry about it. 

When she woke up the next morning, with less than six days to go, Azlyn stretched out her neck and arms. The kink in her upper back made it hard to move around, but eventually she rolled over.

It was then that she saw what terror had happened while she slept obliviously.

Her dress, the one her mother made just for her, had been shredded.