11.Ghost city

Dear diary,
 
I woke up full of sand this morning. I had a nice sleep. Xebec woke up full of energy when he felt the wind in his hair. We all got up went to the ship and sailed away to the Great Western Desolation once again. This time Xebec had another route in mind, one that avoided Fool's Peninsula as much as possible. Nothing in particular happened during the first day. We gathered round in the evening and I came with an idea for us to bond some more for when the true challenges come our way. Each one of us had to say what pressed him the most.
 
We started in order, firstly with Heron. He talked about regaining his family's honor. His biggest fear being that he won't be able to do that because of the nature of people in power, and that nobody would believe him or want to help him, therefore condemning the name of his family to dishonor for eternity. We supported him and told him that honor isn't dictated by the opinions of the others, but by your own soul. If you keep true to yourself you will be the most honorable person there is. And people will see and feel that in you. If you concern too much with people's opinions you will meet you own demise. Maybe I should learn from that as well.
 
Then it was Verfy's turn. She talked about how she felt she couldn't protect us and all of us will die eventually before her eyes, just how her friends and family died when she was back home in the war. We made sure to assure her that that won't happen, and we were here for everybody and we will do everything we can to protect one another. We are her new family now. And we care deeply for her, as we do for each one of us. Nixie told us about how she feels about home and her family. She and Verfy both left behind everything they had and came here to save themselves. We all know how strong elves are, and that they never die out like a smothered flame. Her family and country surely are alright. Even though they left their country while still in a war, it was near it's end, and they were on the winning side.
 
Eve told us about her uncertainty we could do something. She read about the deeds of the highest and most achieved people in the world, people she admires, like Illien the Great, trying to conquer the Western Desolation. They all failed in their attempts to bring back the life to these lands. We tried to comfort her by telling her that we had more simple ways than them, and that's what might just make the difference. We had no school of magic to indoctrinate us.
 
Talion bailed out at first. He said he didn't want to play this "game". Which I found unnecessary hurtful, as did Verfy who yelled at him. I managed to calm Verfy down, as I knew Talion didn't mean what he was saying. Eve then wanted to say something. She told us she lied to us, and that she is sorry for that. She told us what she really is most afraid of. That she would eventually die having lived a life devoid of the things she likes and loves. That in the moments before death she would feel regret rather than be at peace with herself. We thanked her for being sincere with us. She said we don't have to talk about it, so that's where we left it.
 
It was my turn, so after gathering myself a bit I spilled out what went in my head and everything about my life until now. How I was treated until now, and how I feared most of all that sometimes I am just a nice voice playing the lyre that smiles at people from time to time. That nobody ever liked me, or will ever do. Although we were all quite close I still had that feeling mostly because I have nothing to bring to the table. Everybody was kind enough to convince me the opposite and it really helped me at that time. I felt good about myself for once.
 
The night passed calmly. I went to my room a bit earlier that usual to reflect upon this day some more. The next day we had a nice amount of wind and we made some good progress towards the Western Desolation. At some point Xebec spotted a black figure in the distance. As we watched it we noticed it was rapidly approaching our ship. "A Lady of the Sea" everybody started yelling. A black specter, representing a woman, holding a great scythe was flying towards us, ready to cut our boat in half. There was nothing charming about this lady. Nixie panicked and stop the wind altogether when she tried to push us away from it. Talion tried to lift to the sky and throw lightnings at her, but he fell into the water. He still managed to throw a flare of arcane from the water into the specter damaging it, but it wasn't enough to stop it. Suddenly the Black Sylph came on deck at the bow of the ship and spawned a great black sword made of shadows with which she cut in half the lady and it's scythe, before disappearing just as she appeared. We went to check on her below deck in Eve's room. She was not alright, her fragile body was affected by that. She saved us at her own cost... We saw a few bits of her on the ground, and now she only had three fingers left. I have no words to describe how sad I felt at the sight of that. Such a precious and powerful being has the weakest of bodies. Eve said she would take care of her from now on. We all did. We decided to spend some more time with her than usual.
 
When we got closer to the shore the same mist from a week ago appeared in front of us. This time we saw the everyday lives of the people of Iziper. We saw merchants trying to negotiate theirs prices, workers complaining about the heat, children playing, soldiers marching, everything. This mist was the imprint left by their souls. Their memories trapped by the curse of necromancy. It was horrifying and sad. Human greed and power-lust have indeed no limits. At some point the mist dispersed and we were left with some fog. We could see the city of Iziper. It was strangely... untouched. I wanted to go there and see the city for myself. Eve wanted too so we took a rowing boat and rowed our way to the pontoon. On the way there Eve wanted to talk with me. She said I am an idiot and that I am a very likeable person and I shouldn't be concerned with that. I felt very good after that. It meant a lot coming from her. It's a special feeling when a woman wants to tell you something nice and she starts by telling you you're an idiot.
 
Anyway, we docked the boat and started to explore the city. It was as empty as it could get. There was nothing nowhere. Not even a spec of dust. It was very strange. We walked down the main road which was frequently used to transport gold from the gold mines from the mountains nearby. Eve told me a lot about the history of the place and I listened with fascination. We went though some houses and uncovered the fate of some inhabitants. It was dreadful, everything was like a painting in only shades of grey. It had a beauty in it though. The city was preserved perfectly, it somehow gave us a hope, that even in this devoid of life city, things could still go back to normal and life could once again sprout. I wanted to enter the fortress of the city which holds the highest building around, but we found some unnerving symbols of a lich lord all over it. Eve and I decided we shouldn't push our luck so we headed back. Despite the nothingness that was everywhere we still had to be careful. We climbed into a tower of the Vanki-Sen monastery and saw the city from above. It was spectacular, in a way. Seeing a city so empty. On the way there Eve found a small banner of the Ael Velle. She took it without hesitation. She is very fascinated with the whole Holly War lead by Illiel the Great. It was a nice souvenir.
 
We started to head back to the boat, when the fog started to worsen and thicken. We could barely see in front of us. I could see Eve was frightened by the scene. She grabbed my arm and came closer to me. I told her everything will be okay and kept walking alongside her to the boat. We struggled a bit to find the ship as I couldn't see 10 meters in front of me, but we managed.
 
It was a good walk, dear diary, a good walk.
 
After we got onto the boat we went to check with the Black Sylph. She was hurting. The death from all around us was hurting her. She usually doesn't feel anything, so we got worried. We decided to protect her from the death around by shielding her with life. And what better way to shield her than making her a new mask painted with everything that makes the Black Sylph feel alive. After we carved it we each took a spot on the Sylph's mask. Eve took the nose and drew a sword with a poppy on top, it was adorable. Nixie gave her wings back, this time around the eyes, while Verfy drew a circle of hands on the left cheek with a small heart inside it. I drew a small lyre with a nice and cute musical note made of a cookie and a small sun and star on the sides, symbolizing we would be there for her day and night. When we gave it to her I could feel the warmth of her heart and the smile on her face when she put her mask on. We saw a small spec falling when we gave her the mask. I swear I could have cried right then and there. The amount of pain she must be going through must be unbearable.