Chapter Text
Beneath the moon's cold, silken shroud,
A cursed man roams the shadowed wood,
Where ancient whispers beckon like a siren's call.
A sorcerer's ire, a grievous toll,
Transforms their frames into fur and claws.
Moonlit beams caress his feral gaze
As the howl of a lone wolf echoes through the maze.
In fur and fang, he finds his kin,
Bound by the curse that lies within.
Beside him soars a hawk, a creature of the sky,
A woman once, now in feathers, she does fly.
Wings of grace, with eyes agleam,
A creature of the heavens in a cursed dream.
Two spirits intertwined in moonlit dance,
Their destinies sealed in a fateful trance.
A man turned Wolf, a woman turned Hawk,
Cursed to wander, in shadows they stalk.
In the night's embrace, their souls entwined,
A curse of transformation, forever bound.
The eclipse unfolds in the dance of shadows,
A cosmic ballet where destiny molds.
The celestial alignment, a rare occurrence ordained,
Holds the key to breaking the enchantment's chain.
In the convergence of darkness and light,
The curse dissolved in celestial might;
Beneath the eclipse, they find respite.
Fashav woke up with the first rays of sunlight that bathed the ruins of Las Vegas. Another day started, and with it, a fresh wave of fear and dread washed over him. He looked around and took comfort in seeing his love perched on a nearby rock. She was safe. He intended to keep it that way. The Oseram living nearby were not renowned for their archery skills, and the few Tenakth rebels further away seemed to be focused on their own lives, racing with their machines and not paying mind to him.
He was sure their leader, a strange man who wore a mask constantly, was aware of his presence in the ruins. The masked man, however, had not attempted to approach him yet. Good. Luckily, Aloy had given him a focus before all hell broke loose, and he was grateful that they could exchange text messages and communicate that way. He took his focus from its hiding place in the ruin, placed it on this temple, eagerly opening her latest message. The bright white letters against the blue screen calling to him like a siren's song:
My love,
I miss you. More and more each day, but I do not despair as I know we will be reunited one day. I long for that day.
Defeating each Eclipse soldier to break the curse is too big of a task for us in our current predicament. We should target their leader and that will be sufficient to dismantle their operation in the eyes of the ancient magic that turned us this way. I am designing a weapon, a type of bomb I could carry and drop on the target somehow. It might sound silly, but I am willing to try anything to regain our lives as they were before.
Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas to refine this plan.
Be safe.
Your LadyHawke.
His heart ached that they had to hide their names even in such messages. But if it somehow ended in the wrong hands, they would be found and killed. Their enemies had too much at stake to give up easily.
Fashav reread it, finding no fault in her plan. He wondered how she could fly close enough to drop a bomb without being spotted and shot on sight.
He sighed, his hands combing through his hair. Today, he needed to buy provisions, an activity that always brought the risk of being recognized. But there was no way to avoid it - They needed to eat and have enough materials to survive until they found a solution to break the curse. He would have to be quick and keep it to the bare essentials.
He would also continue to study the Old one's information with his focus to see if anything useful could be found to break the curse without Aloy risking herself like that.
The sound of footsteps startled both himself and Aloy. He looked at her, and she stomped her feet in alarm, flying to the top of the ruin for a better view.
"Keeeee-arrrr! Keeeee-arrrr!! She called in distress as the footsteps' sounds grew louder and louder. They had been discovered.
“Go, Aloy, fly away to the top of the ruin and hide. I will handle this."
Fashav drew his knife and hid it behind his back as the footsteps grew closer. The tall, masked form of the Rebel camp leader filled the space, and his familiar voice rang loud and clear.
"Well, well, General. We thought you were dead".
Fashav would recognize that voice anywhere. The bloodiest assassin of the army of the Sun.
"The feeling is mutual; I thought you had perished at Cinnebar sands. What do you want?" Fashav asked. "I have not disturbed your camp, and I do not intend to. I'd appreciate the same courtesy applied to me."
Nil narrowed his eyes at him. "I would happily leave you alone, General Fashav, but I heard you say Aloy's name just now. She disappeared at the same time as you did, and I find it hard to believe she would do that by choice. I know that Carja hates Nora. If you harmed her in any way, I will avenge her. She is my partner."
Fashav snorted.
Before he could reply, a red-feathered hawk gracefully flew inside the ruin, landing on Fashav's shoulder. Her green eyes looked straight into Nil's steel-grey ones, leaving little room for doubt.
Nil removed the mask, dropping it carelessly on the floor, his silver eyes wide as a full moon, shocked.
"Wait. What is this? Is this? Is she? Aloy?" Nil took a step forward. The Hawk flew from Fashav's shoulder to Nil's shoulder and bit his earlobe softly.
"She told me about you.” Fashav said. “That you killed bandits together and that she considers you a friend.That's why we are hiding here, of all places. It was her idea".
Nil kept looking mesmerised into the Hawks eyes. “Ouch!”
Aloy bit harder on his ear when he tried to touch her feathers. Fashav chuckled.
"General, you better start at the beginning. What happened?"
Fashav sighed and glanced at Aloy. It was her story as much as it was his. Aloy nodded her feathered head once in agreement. "It's a long story, but it all began...."