#Azem: Helios

[sunderedazem]

14 - bitter

Ancients? :)

You KNEW what you were asking for. So have some Elidibus POV of Azem and Emet-selch's break-up before the Sundering.

-

There are shards of red on the steps, and utter silence in the square. He blinks. Etheriys feels a little like a dream now, with the soft roaring of so many souls dulling his senses- but this sting of sorrow and shame he feels, distantly. It aches in a way he's sure he's forgotten, almost. And yet he and all those within yet remember…

The people are watching (not saved- but soon) stricken, frozen - all but one, whose cowl hangs down his back, whose silver staff is still tight-gripped in white-knuckled fingers. Who is walking away with a snarl on his lips and tears streaming down his bare face. Who has before the entirety of Amaurot denounced the Convocation, who has accused them of forgetting their duty, who has- has accused him of bias- 

They had to save the star. They have to save the star. And He was their answer. Is their answer. The roaring in his ears will never cease, now. He thinks the stretch of his very self was a small price to pay for the blue of the sky. He knows it. He volunteered.

So many had. And yet-

Azem storms out of the city center with his staff aglow in Light, wreathed round himself like a shield against- something, and he does not look back. There is only the sway of his long white braid as he departs, and Elidibus- watches it. Watches the narrow shoulders and frail stature recede into the distance, until shattered and broken and burning buildings obscure him from sight completely. Watches as one of Themis's closest friends turns his back on Zodiark and all the salvation he promises.

Elidibus does not understand it. He- remembers. Azem had pleaded with the Convocation to stay Zodiark's summoning, to give him time to find an alternative. Half the lives of their people was too awful a price for him - and Elidibus cannot condemn him for that love he has for their star and people, cannot condemn him for his dissent. Azem is the Traveler - the Shepherd. It would go against everything his seat stands for to agree. Lahabrea had not agreed - nor had Pashtarot - but in the end, Elidibus could not be partial. And thus Azem was given his time to find another way. But should Amaurot begin to burn- then they would have to act.

But he returned too late. Three days too late. And his solution was…incomplete. An effort commendable, to be sure. A solution worthy of gentle praise, and perhaps use later. But the star had fallen to ruin, and Zodiark could restore it. And then- then the star could restore their people. And Zodiark would save them all. He would save them.

He will. No matter if one man refuses to understand. Elidibus and Zodiark will save him too.

No matter how bitter that salvation tastes.

There are shards of red on the steps. Emet-selch is kneeling among them, his hands shaking, gathering the pieces one at a time. He is not crying, Elidibus thinks. Not yet, at least. He seems more stunned than anything. Of course, he is not the only one, if the way the silence still rings deafening has any meaning.

Azem has always had a temper, though it was not often apparent. But this- this by far had been the worst outburst Elidibus had ever seen from anyone, let alone from Azem. And worst of all, it had been a willful misinterpretation- a cruel misinterpretation, made solely to make a point about their plans to sacrifice the lesser creatures of the star to return those given to Zodiark to life. And- and perhaps Azem even had a point, if a misguided one.

He had always been thin of aether, incapable of all creation magicks no matter how simple, and sickly for it besides. His elevation to the Fourteenth Seat had been long delayed by a discussion of his health and the risks posed to his own wellbeing, rather than any disagreement with regard to his temperament or accomplishment as a researcher and theorist both. But to use his own recurring illness - which Emet-selch had cared for him through countless times - as a bludgeon to say that the Convocation must therefore count him among those lesser creatures-

I too am thin of aether. Weak, sickly- imperfect. Incapable of creation. Are these the only requirements for you to be willing to slaughter living beings in order to undo the willing sacrifice of half our people? I gave you another option! Those who are thin of aether - thinner than me! - may use this dynamis to restore our star, and you dismiss their capabilities save for their worth as livestock? You swore to hearken unto my solution, Emet-selch- you promised me you would have faith I would find a way and now you- you reject what I have found in favor of dishonoring your seat and returning the dead to life? Fine then! I count myself among these lesser beings freely, for I am more akin to them than you. And should you wish to wet Etheriys with their blood, you will start with me. And you will draw the blade across my throat with your own hands.

But even if he had a point- Emet-selch had only stared, utterly lost for words. The entire square had been quieter than death. Even Zodiark had seemed to still. And then, caught in the folly of sentiment, Emet-selch had stepped forward, had reached out a hand, had called- 

Helios- Helios, please-

There had been a whirl of black, a flash of red- and then Azem's mask had shattered on the wall above Emet-selch's head, had shattered into shards of his office even as his sigil had glared red over silver eyes.

I am Azem,  Emet-selch. I revoke the privilege for you to call me by my personal name- not only do I not know this man you have become, but us lesser creations have no names to speak of, now do we?

Elidibus had not known how to stop him. Emet-selch had just dropped his hand, jerking a little as if he had been struck by a physical blow.

And then Azem had gone.

And now he is gone. And Emet-selch is on his knees, gathering the shards of that shattered mask, cradling them carefully, as if he could piece together what was broken. As if he could repair a heart threaded with thorns, or another cracked down the center. As if saving the mask would save the man.

“...he will come back,” Emet-selch whispers then, staring at the bitter, broken ashes of Helios in his hands. “...I- I will have that much faith in him.”

And Elidibus- and in Elidibus, the dark waxes strong, and he lays a hand on Emet-selch's shoulder. 

“Nay- we will save him, my friend,” he promises, and watches as golden eyes behind a red mask snap to him and glaze over. There is weight in his words now - the promise of a thousand thousand souls and the hope of their people. “We will save him, and the star as well. We will.”

The doubt and grief in Emet-selch's eyes disappears, wiped clean by faith. And Elidibus smiles, heart heavy with certainty and the knowledge that in time, Themis's dearest friends will mend the rift born between them here. They will save Azem - they will - and the star he so loves, and all the people too. Elidibus will not allow for any end other than perfect salvation. The bitterness of these sorrowful days will fade, and Azem will smile again, and look upon Emet-selch with that loving mischief in his eye, and this will all be but a distant memory. 

They will. 

He will make sure of it.

-

Enjoy the angst/keep the change ya filthy animal

[sunderedazem]

My Azem's name is Helios, after the Greek sun god (who is different from Apollo). And maybe that's a little jejune and expected, since Azem's "constellation" is the Sun, but Helios is still named Helios when he's not Azem - and it's because of the whole metaphor of the sun and how it fits with his character.

Helios brings light and laughter to people. He's very much a gremlin of a man, bright and cheerful and willful and he *will* make someone's day brighter via pranking them to pieces! But he also burns, like the sun, and that light comes at a cost. Helios is chronically ill and completely incapable of creation magicks whatsoever - he actually invents a precursor to white magic for regular use, and Hades helps him (and sometimes Seleukos, @azems-familiar 's ancient) invent the creation method that is corrupted into primal summoning after the Sundering. But this means that he frequently burns himself out, and collapses from illness or exhaustion - like the sun will one day.

And then finally- the sun sets. Eclipses happen. But the sun doesn't stop shining, it's still burning itself to cinders, a corona of silver during a solar eclipse. Helios is a fool and an idealist, not a pragmatist- he refuses the Convocation during the Final Days because he refuses to believe Zodiark might be the only way, and he refuses to stop shepherding the people and the star no matter if he is Azem or not, and he refuses to succumb to despair because he cannot but choose to believe in a better way. He's still there, trying to light other's lives, even when all is dark and cold around him. He doesn't know how to do anything else but burn.

And so- he is Helios. (Until he becomes Corrain, that is)

WoLQotd! If you have Azem/Ancient OCs, what are their names and how did you come up with them?

[ketunhanska]

[ transformed ]

[avtorsola]

the fourteenth seat (sketch)

[jalopeura]

what do u think emet-selch would feel if he got his wish and all the rejoinings worked and zodiark brought back everyone he loved. and then when azem saw him azem would be like. icy stare of silent rage. and then azem jumped on emet-selch and started beating him to death with their bare hands. would that be fun, do you think

[anipul]

Slightly redesigned Gevlin's Azem Helios to make him look even more like Gev!

[gwaha]

finally sat down to fill @gibbarts' wol symbolism template !! ( thank you for sharing it, i had a lot of fun filling it !! )

shout out to my friend erin who Explained Tarot to me + also to everyone who had to hear me ramble about exactly which big cat made more sense for her 😭🤡

[jalopeura]

Heres Helios he's one of those chaos gremlin Azems (has to make up for having future sight and the horrors that that bestows upon him by staying silly !!!). Husband to Hades and Hythlodaeus, likes picking them up and carrying them around. Sword Enjoyer. Tried to fix The End of Days by himself after leaving the Convocation but ended up just,, fucking up a perfectly good shard of himself. look at it. its got stuck in a timeloop.

To all of you who have an Azem/Ancient design for your WoL/FFXIV OC: I wish you a very can I see them and tell me their names/lore.

[yarpell]

Commission of Helios (@avtorsola) and Seleukos (@azems-familiar) 💖

[ketunhanska]

blowin raspberries on his tummy :nod: :nod: :nod:

[ishgard]

Helios is the somewhat prickly Chief of the Bureau of the Traveler, an office burdened with the duty of overseeing the assortment of requests, messages, and complaints concerning the Traveler and their duties.

He was an exemplary student of the Words of Lahabrea who came to believe working closely with the Traveler would be one of the best ways of elevating the design and viability of his concepts. Not keen on traveling himself, he chose a desk job.

(He also refined the Proto-Carbuncle concept into something closer to what we know and love today. :'D)

An intellectual mind with a fairly important position, he will nonetheless... kind of cut corners wherever he can, insofar as he doesn't like working overtime - he'd prefer to get back to his own research. His work does fuel his research; discoveries and reports from Azem help inform his concepts, but Azem is also a walking headache and creates just as many problems as she solves (at least in the form of paperwork).

(This is a very loose and specific example and I haven't played in ages but in the slightest sense, if you know Genshin, his vibe is Kind Of Alhaitham and Azem is basically his Kaveh if Kaveh was also Alhaitham's boss 😂)

Edit: Blank template under the cut!

[talesofamelody]

hm? oh is it wol question time?

who is your wol/oc's ancient?

is it Azem, or someone else? what's their name? what was their relationship to the ancients we know (Venat, Emet Selch, Hythodeus, etc.)? do you have a picture of them?

[macchiavato]

Azem embarks on a new journey, but he has a (two) north star(s) guiding him home to Amaurot, always. ☀️🌠🌙

Azem's name is Helios btw.

[yamisnuffles]

38 foy HythAzemEmet if you want!

(first of all, how dare you)

…because they’re running out of time

Hythlodaeus watched Azem pace. Ever was she happiest on the move and that included when it was only her own fear that set her on her feet. Emet-Selch was the one to look to for stubborn calm. Usually. But little existed anymore that acted as it usually did. While Azem paced the length and breadth of their bedroom, Emet-Selch stood on the balcony and glowered at the horizon. The skies over Amaurot still glistened peacefully but they all knew it would not last. And so, neither would sit with him, let alone consider something like rest.

"I'll think of something," Azem said. It had been a common refrain for her of late. Every time she said it, her voice pitched a little higher. Grew a little tighter. One day, Hythlodaeus was afraid it would strangle her. "I just need more time."

Emet-Selch rounded on her with a frustrated growl. "We haven't got it."

"I know. I know. But I can't... we can't..." Azem dug her fingers into her dawn colored hair and pulled. "There has to be another way and I'll think of it."

Emet-Selch strode toward her, his golden eyes ablaze. He hounded her every step. "And how many of our people will die to buy you that time? How long do you think it will be before the star chokes on their blood?"

Finally, Azem stopped. She looked as though she'd been struck. Tears gathered in her eyes but the rest of her face sharpened in anger. "Do you have so little faith in me?"

"Do you have so little faith in me? In the rest of the Convocation you have sworn to serve?"

They'd tread that ground before, many a time. Hythlodaeus knew from experience that it marked the beginning of a very long fight. He'd heard every point of it. He had tried, and failed, to build a bridge between them. However, there was no middle ground to be found. And, since Azem had yet to provide a solution of her own, he knew that he could only help one of them. Which meant, whatever time the star might have left, he had less.

He pushed up from his seat on the edge of their bed and walked between them. "Please," he said. He took their hands and joined them in front of him. He could feel the tension strumming through both of them. "Whatever time we have left, may we not spend it like this?"

"This must be decided," Emet-Selch replied.

Hythlodaeus brought their hands up to his lips and kissed their knuckles. "But not tonight. You can give us one night, can you not, Hades?"

Emet-Selch huffed. Though he tried to remain firm, Hythlodaeus knew he'd won. The anger drained from his handsome features and his shoulders slumped. "One night."

For once, it was Azem who needed further convincing. She bit her lip and turned her head away from them both. Confident that Emet-Selch would not go back on his word once given, Hythlodaeus released his grip on the other man. He used his now freed hand to gently turn Azem's face back.

"One final night of peace is all I ask," he said. "Who knows, perhaps it is all you need for inspiration to strike at last."

Her eyes danced over them both. "Hythlodaeus..."

Emet-Selch crossed his arms. "He has a point," he said, sounding as though every word pained him. "We can put this aside for one night, Helios."

Azem's final mote of resistance fell away. She melted into Hythlodaeus' palm. "One night."

Hythlodaeus closed what space remained between them and kissed her until he felt her lips curve upward. "There's my Sunshine," he said with a matching smile.

United once more, they turned their attentions on Emet-Selch. Lips met lips and fingers found skin until even his stubborn scowl melted away. When their Helios smiled at Hades like that, he could never help but trade a soft, indulgent smile of his own. It was all Hythlodaeus asked for. If he could make sure they lived to smile on, he would happily trade every day that he had left.

[jalopeura]

im so enamoured ive just been running around n doing my weeklies and mooncrafting as him these past couple of days.....i love him

[anipul]

Felt emotional over Azem and had to quickly doodle Gevlin's Azem Helios