Prompt 15: Ache

Spoilers for Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers setting and lore.

Never in her life had she believed it would be possible to miss Norvrandt of all places. She had spent a not inconsequential amount of time attempting to flee from it. And where she still there today she would have nothing but contempt for its blighted landscapes and sorrowful people.

And yet, staring out across Limsa Lominsa's endless view of the ocean, she couldn't help but feel a longing. The sight itself was beautiful, there was no question about it. Eorzea's full moon serving as the centerpiece for a dark blue canvas, full of stars. The water rippled gently as boats maneuvered in and out of the ever busy port, their lanterns reflecting off of the water, giving the harbor the appearance of a colony of fireflies going to work.

There was something about the scene that she hated. Something about it that made her heart cry out for home. But she couldn't put her finger on it. The ships of Eulmore had never moved around as such, with a sense of purpose. In fact she couldn't recall if she had ever seen the ships of Eulmore leave the dock. Likely because she couldn't think of another destination for them to shore up. Perhaps Lakeland.

It most certainly was not the night sky or the ever watching moon. She had never witnessed such until coming to Eorzea, except in illustrations. It had occurred to her earlier that it was a pang she had felt everywhere. In Ul'dah, in Gridania. Every street she walked had struck at her differently, but all in the same spot.

All of it felt so unfair. For all their troubles, the denizens of Eorzea had managed to avoid the worst possible outcome. Their streets were in one piece. Their people able to go about with their lives,  unfettered by the ever encroaching end times. Of no fault of their own, she presumed. No one here would have been able to bring about such a catastrophe if they tried.

So called 'calamities' had apparently plagued Eorzea for some time, but they had survived. Almost like roaches, she mused, before feeling as though the comparison was too cruel. She wanted to hate them, and yet she felt it was undeserved. They had not caused her people's woes, but to watch them mill about their lives felt cruel. It felt fake.

Were she to describe the scene to someone back home they might have hailed it as a grand tale from the past, or a silly dreamscape. To think that the fleeting wants of a flooded world would be to see the water active again. She could only hope that her hand would soon be on the spout.