Chapter Text
Warm.
Encompassing, blinding.
Pressure, gentle and steady.
A dreamless sleep broke, exhaustion still weighing her down like rocks. Her body was heavy, weak. Consciousness came slowly, like light filtering down from far below sea.
She felt a deep hum release in her chest and she pulled air into her lungs, inhaling until it almost hurt. She held it, the pressure grounding as air pushed against her ribs. The breath left her with a heavy gasp, limbs sagging as feeling began to return to her fingertips.
Someone was holding her hands.
Her head swam, and she fought the urge to twitch out of the grip.
She woke slowly, taking deep breaths as the world began to come into being around her at last. She lay on her side, hands folded in front of her chest - enclasped in a soft, grounding pressure.
The fingers were long - dotted with callouses and smooth burn marks.
She fought a hysterical laugh as she opened her eyes, Percy’s blue gaze bright and gentle in the deep violet dawn.
The day before flashed by in a blur, her heart hammering in her chest as she stared at her hands in his, supple and young and here, chest rising and falling in front of her. And eyes...eyes that held someone so familiar and so new.
He squeezed her fingers gently in his, and she sighed into the mattress at the touch. Eighteen hundred years, seventeen hundred of them without him.
Out of all of his chaos had emerged a steady and humble man, always eager to lend an ear or a hand. They relied on each other more and more as they grew older, each settling into their own unexpected leadership.
In some ways they were achingly similar - both never meant to bear what they did. So young, so impossibly, stupidly young, as their narrow shoulders took cities and nations on their backs. There was no guide to what they did, and they made mistakes together, sharing their mutual miseries in the light of his shop, bottles of whiskey passed back and forth, back and forth.
She would stoke the forge as it dimmed, drinking mug after mug of coffee together as they kept each other company on sleepless nights. Her alchemy skills grew as the years went on, Percy expanding the workshop gleefully to allow for a massive host of compounds and tools. They worked side by side, often in silence save for the roar of the forge.
In a world that always asked for their attention, it was a blessing to simply exist with each other.
He returned the favor at her side in Zephrah as she greeted new dignitaries and nobles, those who sought to give their thanks - and their connections - to the Tempest, and Vox Machina. Sorting through scrolls and bitching about dignitaries and ambassadors, passing wine back and forth in the dark of her home before transporting him back to Whitestone, his eyes kind as he slipped away.
She knew the earth as herself, the elements as an extension of her will and being. But people - they were more difficult. For all of her wisdom and power, her tongue had still tied itself in knots so many times, especially in those first few decades.
Percy, a message away, had always known what to say. Or if he didn’t, he knew the right thing not to say.
Years passed by like migrating birds, the days and months sliding by as she grew older. The world spun on around her, the years bearing down on all those she loved as she watched, unchanging. Her face in the mirror stared back as blurry decades settled into centuries, her first grey hairs showing as the village celebrated her five hundredth birthday.
Percy had aged so quickly - all the humans did. She was bewildered as she watched him become a loving father, and then a grandfather, great-grandchildren following rapidly.
So much time, unyielding and uncaring. Time, taking and giving, his bright blue eyes echoing through generations as she pulled new De Rolos into the world with steady, blood drenched hands.
He said that he lived as long as Whitestone lived - but it was a half truth. His legacy, his work, his name - they lived on.
But Percy, the arrogant, humbled man with dry jokes itching at his lips. The grin, manic and proud, as he pulled a new cast from the forge. The boy who had driven her half mad as he lashed and struggled towards his destiny. The man who had loved her, as he swore he would.
The man had died, like everyone else, warm in a bed as she watched with a pounding headache.
After all this damned time, even with his hand strong and steady in hers, it still hurt.
Brilliant, powerful Percy, breath rattling as they waited, the room warm and crowded. Keyleth and Cassandra sat around the bed, Scanlan and Pike clung to each other beside her, Scanlan taking deep, careful breaths as Pike watched with red rimmed eyes. Descendants crowded the room, several of them fetched and ferried from distant lands.
Percy became so much, to so many.
She felt almost drunk, the heaviness of her heart nearly pulling her into the earth.
Across the bed - Cassandra, her lined face tight as she held Kynan’s hand, the other gripping her brother’s. Vex’s grey streaked hair spilled across the pillow as she lay curled around Percy, a trembling hand resting over his heart as the last rays of the day cast them in golden light.
The sunset had been so dazzling, so draped in sparkling gold and gleaming crimson that none could mistake the touch of the Dawnfather. The silence pressed in as the breeze ceased, all waiting with awed breath as the sun lingered on the horizon, blessing the redeemer of His city.
The city lingered, people standing in silence in the streets, eyes lifted with wonder.
There were songs that were written, after, songs that sang of gods and heroes, songs that broke her heart.
The city lay in silence, thousands of hearts pounding in a silent cacophony.
And there, waiting, for a cold breeze, for a flurry of feathers. For the light of the sky, and the light of the eyes of the Lord of Whitestone - to go out.
It was a scene that she would see many more times - Whitestone struck silent as she watched a De Rolo die.
Keyleth took a deep breath, staring unashamed. He let her, an understanding smile on his lips as his eyes grew softer.
It still felt like a dream - he couldn’t be older than thirty, laughter lines pulling at the corners of his eyes. The vision of his deathbed was far more familiar than the warm grip of the young man before her, his calloused hands sure against her shivering fingers.
She felt Vax snuffle at her back, and she bit her lip as a sob threatened to rise in her chest.
So much.
Percy saw, his other hand slowly cupping her cheek as soothing circles were rubbed into her temple, into the span of the back of her freckled hands. She shivered at the touch - it was casual, intimate, caring.
They had been like this - this easy touch, anchoring and familiar. Holding her hair back, leaning into him as they exhausted the last of Sandkeg’s hide - the fiftieth year after Vecna.
His hands, so brilliant, so clever. Drawing and smithing the tiniest of gears, the cruelest of weapons. She had watched them give death to countless, but she had seen them do so much more.
Holding Vex’s waist tightly as Vesper rested against his hip. Changing countless diapers, his low voice echoing as he sang Celestial lullabies. Designing room after building after city, bringing order and light to the world even as his creations stole life from it. Standing by Vex, open adoration in his eyes as they orbited each other, leading their family and city and country alike. Clapping a hand across her shoulder as they stumbled down the halls of Whitestone, giggling in tandem.
She shook herself, forcing another deep breath as Percy’s warm hand stilled on her face.
It's all so much.
“Good morning, Keyleth. How do you feel?” He asked, his smooth voice soft in the dark room.
She smiled weakly, her mind reeling at his calm eyes on hers. She closed her eyes and tried to focus.
“Dreaming,” She manages, her voice scratchy and hoarse.
“Like I’m dreaming,” She said weakly
He laughed softly, his hand squeezing her cheek.
“I know how overwhelming it is - we all felt the same way, at first. You spend so long missing someone, and it hurts for so long, but eventually you get used to it. You heal, as much as you can. And then, like magic, they’re right in front of you. And it tears you open all over again.” He said gently.
Tears were warm as they fell across her face, and she sniffled with a weak smile as Percy wiped them away, his eyes soft. She had missed him so much. She caught her breath, shivering as she felt Vax shift at her back.
She closed her eyes and he turned on his side and tucked himself against her back, the heat of his breath across her neck sending a wave of chills down her skin.
She fought to catch her breath, heart pounding as Vax - Vax - snuggled against her.
My dead lover is holding me, and my dead best friend is holding my hand. He was the Raven yesterday, and I was alive. I am shaking out of my skin. I want to hold you all until my arms ache, until I can barely begin to believe this is real.
She closed her eyes, listening to the deep breathing all around her. How many long nights they had spent in a heap like this, how many nights they had split beds in a reeking tavern room because they couldn’t afford the gold for more rooms?
“Vax said that too, but it's...it’s really overwhelming...I have so much to tell you, Percy. So much to tell you all. I got so old. Older than the dragons. Older than Whitestone. I knew I would but...Eighteen hundred years...is a very long time. I...I’m someone else now. And I don’t know who that is anymore.”
Her voice was hoarse as she spoke, the chords in her throat aching from crying. She felt another shift behind her, and her eyes opened weakly. Percy nodded as he raised a brow, clever mouth twisting.
“We are all different now. A few millenia will do that,” He says with a smile, and a hysterical giggle bubbles out of her chest.
His hand grips hers, bright blue eyes held tightly to her own. She caught her breath, Percy stroking the back of her hand as she gathered herself once more.
“You are Keyleth. You are an awkward, powerful creature. We grew up together - we saved the world together. And you were my greatest friend. There is no amount of time or experience that would change how deeply, I and we, love you. We have waited for you for as long as you have waited for us. I know it hurts, and it will for some time. But this? This is real. You’re safe, and you’re here.” He says, stilling her with his gentle conviction.
She takes another deep breath, her chest hitching as Vax nuzzles against her shoulder blade, lips soft against her bare skin.
“I’ve been alone for so long, Percy. Alone in so many ways. Pain - pain I know. I’ve been in pain...my whole life, now. But this?” She whispered, gripping his hand in hers as he listened closely, a soft smile on his face.
“This is...new. Vax...described it so well. He called it ‘heartbreak in reverse’.”
Percy nodded, sighing as he moved his other hand to grip both of hers.
“An apt description. I can understand some of what you feel - I had quite the crowd waiting for me,” He said with a small grin, fond memories on his face.
She stared at him, blinking as she remembered - the De Rolos. They had been names, dusty paintings with dark hair and bright eyes. Percy’s greatest heartbreak, a family ripped away and painfully avenged.
“...wow,” She said weakly, Percy laughing.
“Yes, I had quite the welcoming party. But I still had many to wait for. You have the opposite problem, I’m afraid,” He said dryly, looking behind him as Vex sat up and rubbed at her eyes.
“It takes time, dear. But you know this already.” He said, turning back to Keyleth and squeezing her hands once more.
“We had to corral the children yesterday not to break down the door - I wouldn’t expect much more from them today,” Vex said, stretching her back and looking down at her and Vax with a fond smile.
He was shifting, his breath warm at her back, the blanket pulled over his eyes. She laughed as he burrowed against her back and grumbled, a clumsy kiss pressed to her shoulder. She blushed, her heart racing at the easy intimacy, the feverish feel of his skin against hers.
Yesterday, he was the Raven, perched on her trembling arm.
Now, after almost two thousand years he was here, hot skin blistering against her.
Surrounded by…everyone else.
She shook and rolled her shoulders, Vax grumbling as he let her slide away. Without the heat of him she could almost focus as she sat up and crossed her legs, mind reeling as she shook her head.
“Oh gods, the children. And...Tary! And Cassandra, and Shaun and Zahra and Kash - “ She pressed her hands against her face, heart racing as their hazy faces swam in her memories.
Vex reached out to grip her shoulder, her easy grin steady. Keyleth forced her eyes to her beautiful face, full lips smiling at her sweetly as she brushed a bright red lock from her face.
My hair is white. Has been white, for five hundred years.
“Breathe, darling. Percy - coffee?” She yawned, a sly grin pulling at the corner of her cheek as Percy pressed a kiss to it and rose dutifully.
Grog slumbered heavily at the foot of the pallet, grumbling as Percy tucked in the blankets around him. Keyleth watched as he moved easily in Vax’s kitchen, setting a gleaming copper teapot on the stove to boil. The motion was domestic, easy.
He must visit often.
Her head swam, questions filling her mind. Centuries away from them, cut off as they were...here.
Making memories.
Vex rolled her eyes fondly as she looked down at her brother. She leaned over and pulled back the blanket, snickering as he squinted against the light.
Her full lips pursed before her smile grew weak. Eyes, sharper than any mortal, trembled briefly, and Keyleth remembered the cold touch of the Champion. His voice, gravelly and distant, all youth and innocence sundred to a Goddess - to the cruelty of chance and fate itself. Vax, twisted and strange, loving and unnerving all at once.
Making memories - with the ghost of her brother.
Vex glanced over to Keyleth, her smile returning as she looked on her once more. They shared a moment, eyes catching like a summer dress on a thorn. As desperately as she knew Vex longed for her, she was not the only one who had returned.
Half of Vex’s soul lay before her once - Vax, warm and safe
Vex ran a trembling hand through his hair, smacking his shoulder fondly. Keyleth watched as she looked at him for a long moment before setting the blanket back down, laughing weakly as Vax snuggled against Keyleth’s leg. She looked back to him, long hair tangled and messy, a slight line of drool arching down the sharp lines of his jaw.
So…alive. Warm, skin bare and unmarred beside her. She felt another bit of her heart break as she watched him breathe, the unbound waves of his hair loose and gleaming it they splayed across her thigh. She traced a hand along his scarred shoulder blade, giggling as goosebumps bloomed across his back.
Keyleth took a deep breath and wound a hand in his hair.. He hummed against her grip, and she took a steadying breath. She watched him, her heart pounding as she ran her thumb down the elegant bones of his face. She could feel Vex’s eyes, watching her and Vax with a desperate, aching joy.
They were wound together so tightly, even now. The De Rolos had saved her, given her a different purpose than what the world demanded of her. She cared for all of them - and their children. But to be as linked as they were, as family and Council members alike, the De Rolos held a grasp on her heart that transcended time.
Vex had mourned for her brother, as they all had, but she had mourned for Keyleth. For a time, she still had her love, steady and sure by her side, and children to love and follow in his stead.
Keyleth had her people, her duty. But her love, and the short, aching year or so that it had lived, was gone.
Keyleth met her eye, laughing weakly as they both began to cry, wiping the tears from their eyes.
Pike stood and crawled over to them, the informal circle warming her heart as the smell of coffee began to fill the small cottage. She glanced up to Pike, her kind face watching her with rapt attention. She was used to that, after all of this time - but this would take some getting used to.
“I have so many questions,” Keyleth said softly, Pike pressing a reassuring hand on her knee.
Vex settled in front of her, her bright eyes gentle on her face. She reached out and held her free hand, sneaking another glance at Vax before meeting her eye once more.
“So do we, darling. We will answer everything we can.” Vex’s musical voice was soft, lilac light falling across the supple planes of her face.
Keyleth shook her head, running her fingers through Vax’s silken hair as he breathed deeply beside her.
She looked around the room, the purple dawn growing lighter. The smell of coffee filled the air as Percy set the pot to brew, returning to the pallet and sitting by Vex.
She took a moment to gather her thoughts, looking down - at Vax, his sharp face slack with sleep.
The blanket had shifted, revealing a bit of the scar, pale in his sun-starved skin.
She bit her tongue as tears welled in her eyes again, heart pounding in her ribs.
Pike gave her knee a squeeze, her kind face reassuring. Keyleth looked from face to face, a weak laugh escaping her as Grog and Scanlan woke, grumbling and snuffling at the end of the bed before looking at Keyleth and growing quiet once more. Grog sat up and looked around, his eyes wiser than Keyleth remembered as Scanlan crawled up to sit beside Pike, resting his head against her shoulder.
Their eyes were heavy on her, and she let the tears fall weakly down her face as she looked between them all.
I have longed for you all.
She sighed heavily, her chest aching as she took them all in. Vax snuffled by her leg, and she glanced down with a weak smile as he woke at last. He was so damn beautiful, dark eyes rapt as he watched her face.
She forced herself to close her eyes, questions burning against the new fire in her chest.
“So this is Elysium?” She asked, looking at Pike.
Pike nodded, taking Scanlan’s hand as he offered it.
“It is.” Pike said, her voice gentle.
Vax nodded at her leg, his eyes steady on Keyleth’s face. She forced herself to look away from him again, a blush coloring her cheeks. Soon she would hold him, until her arms ached, until his scent was the only thing she could sense, until her lips were bruised and full of his taste.
After.
“Is everyone...here?” She asked weakly.
Pike nodded as Percy patted her shoulder, settling back down on the pallet beside his wife.
“That was one of my first concerns as well. It seems that all of our misery was good for something. Our families and friends are all here, though some are farther away. My family had already settled here, so we stayed.” Percy said, his voice kind.
“And we knew you were coming, so everyone that lives farther out is here,” Vax mumbled, sitting up beside her and leaning into her side.
She shivered at the feel of his skin against her, Vex giving her an understanding glance at her stunned expression. Keyleth watched as Vex looked Vax over, her smile weak as she took them both in.
They look alike again.
The realization stills her, and she sniffles as she feels Vax squeeze her leg gently.
“Vax told us, after he spoke with the Matron. We’ve been waiting for you too, Kiki. There are some that have traveled very far to welcome you,” She said, reaching out to pat her cheek as Keyleth smiled, Vax wrapping his arms around her middle.
Percy looked back to the kettle, rising and returning with mugs of steaming coffee, each dressed to her liking. She took it gratefully, sighing at the familiar taste. Percy leaned against the table as he drank, watching the door. Vex stood and padded to the bedroom, bringing back a shirt and throwing it at Vax, snickering as it hit him squarely in the face.
“Your nieces and nephews should be here any minute, not to mention the rest. Get decent, at least.” She said with a grin, glancing at Keyleth with a wink.
Keyleth gripped her coffee as Vax shrugged on the shirt and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Her heart began to pound again, warmth filling the cottage as the dawn burned away. Vax was steady beside her as he pulled her to her feet, helping her to sit at the table once more and settling beside her. Vex sat across from her, nursing her own coffee.
“Pike?” She asked.
The gnomes, like them all, had been watching her with an unwavering eye. Pike almost jumped as Keyleth spoke, her eyes wide as she smiled. She waited, letting Keyleth gather her thoughts.
“I - how does food work, are there like - markets? And - where are we actually, I remember coming here but I don’t - “
Her heart sang as they all began to laugh, Vax’s grin wide against her thigh as Scanlan put his head in his hands.
“I knew it, I knew she was going to ask about the fucking booze,” Percy said with a giggle, bright eyes warm as he leaned into Vex’s side.
Pike laughed, the sound bright and clear.
“Its a good question! We are…alive, for the most part. Food and drink - they just kind of appear? It depends on the situation - I’ll tell you about it later,” Pike says, her golden face reassuring even as Keyleth feels her heart begin to race once more.
A new reality.
They all grow still as a knock pounds at the door, Keyleth’s chest growing tight as a familiar voice rings out.
“AUNT TREE!”