Far, far away from Kobold, Tonberry, and all in between - a few Miqo’te and a familiar Au Ra sat in the sands of the Sagolii Desert, watching a sandworm. Well, some of them were watching. It wasn’t what the Au Ra - Bolormaa - was doing. Instead, Bolormaa had dug up a tinier worm. Before nibbling on it, tail swishing. “When the night falls, they’ll grow slower. Because they’re cold-blooded.”

“Aren’t you cold blooded?” One of the Miqo’te asked. No, not Y’shtola - but a purple-haired, shorter Miqo’te - who laid on one of the bits of fabric set up for them to wait on. There was no sense pitching the tent, they had agreed.

Bolormaa paused, before nodding. “I do not know. If Xaela were cold-blooded, though, how could there be some who live deep in the snow? And those such as the Torgud - how could both survive if we were so?”

The Miqo’te chuckled. “So why do you snuggle people so much, then?”

Ah, now that was simple. “I like cuddles, Phae. And I’m big enough to give them.” As she spoke, though, Bolormaa paused. Looking out again. “I still don’t get why this’ll prove our worth. I believe that Sandworm are common food for those of this tribe… at least, that is what I read.”

Y’shtola nodded, standing a little. “I dislike this as much as you two. This is why I never enjoyed tribal culture,” she admitted, her tail flicking again and again. The desert burned down over them, and yet, that didn’t bother her too much. Whenever it got too much - or when Phae let out a little groan - Y’shtola summoned a slight splash of water. A slight misuse of her power? Perhaps. But it kept the two cool. Bolormaa, though, seemed to love the bright sunlight.

Turning, Bolormaa kneeled down to Phae - beginning to stroke her tail. Phae gave a sigh. “Tell me about it. Like, don’t actually tell me about it, but I understand completely. I don’t like Nunh at all.”

Bolormaa had to ask. “Are Nunh really that bad? …Do all tribes have them? I apologize for my ignorance, friends.”

But before she could be answered, footsteps interrupted them - another Miqo’te wrapping around Bolormaas’ back. Bolormaa looked to the smaller, blue-and-white haired Miqo’te, and gave a soft smile. “Oh! Did you find anything, Lady K’pandolu?”

“Please, don’t call me lady? We’re all just friends here,” K’pandolu replied, her tail flicking - before she frowned a little. “And it’s just as we thought. The Amalj’aa had become listless. Confused. There haven’t been any signs of any more being tempered, but they’re… I dunno, still worrying?”

A pause, before Y’shtola spoke up. “You were meant to look for signs of Garleans.”

“I sort of found that, too.” K’pandolu said, before retrieving a small metal device. A deactivated drone, of sorts. But it looked almost too smooth to be a Garlean invention - but, as with much Garlean invention, had a resembelence to a sea beast. In this case, a manta ray. “It was already destroyed when I got there. But - the weird thing? There was only one.”

Y’shtola put a claw to it, examining it. “…They were likely seeking to study the aetherial balance. Or perhaps… they have caught on to Minfilias’ plan.”

Both Phae and K’pandolu looked at Y’shtola, as Bolormaa nodded sagely. “What plan? And who’s Minfilia?” K’pandolu asked, as Phae tilted her head and let out a confused meow.

Sighing, Y’shtola looked across the sand. “I did not mean to not introduce you. Minfilia, well… she is another new recruit, like you three. However, she has multiple quirks. One of them being that she claims - with substantial evidence - to be from five years ago - somebody who vanished in the Calamity.”

“The Warrior of Light?” Phae asked, a little quietly. Heart beating fast. Y’shtola shook her head, and continued.

“She seems to have been the one who founded the Path of the Twelve, and, thus, the reason we know much about the Echo.” And why so many Echo-bearers seemed to be with them. “However, she also seems to have a soft heart - and one which cares for those the world at large calls the beast tribes.”

A soft heart, Y’shtola said, but she would not dismiss that level of care. No, it made Y’shtola respect her. “She is currently seeking a way to negotiate with the Kobold. She has also—”

“She made friends with a dragon and a primal!” Bolormaa added, wiggling a little - as she sat, and the two Miqo’te began to snuggle onto her for warmth. Or just because Bolormaa, truly, was good at hugs. “Well, the dragon isn’t really a dragon, but an Ishgardian who was… also thought dead for years.”

It was Phae who spoke first. “She sounds like an amazing woman. Is she doing okay, though? It sounds hard.”

K’pandolu nodded. “I think we should meet her sometime? We’re all in this together.” Y’shtola gave a warm smile, before shaking her head.

They still had work to do, after all. Hunting. That, and… “Minfilia has found a way to end the Primal threat, once and for all.”

There was a silence, as Y’shtola looked up at the setting sun, tail curling around her leg. Saying it like that felt wrong, somehow. The Primal still existed - in a way. And they had not found a violent one yet, one who fought back. But what if they did? Could they instead have a Primal who escaped, in their smaller form, and still enthralled and killed? These thoughts filled her mind, but not her tongue - not yet. Both the Miqo’te were scrambling - how, what, why hadn’t they heard?!

And, thus, Y’shtola had to explain. “Using paticular runes designed by Urianger, she is able to seal their aether into a smaller space. It seems to make it harder for them to enthrall others, as well as calming Ifrit and Ramuh.”

K’pandolu let out a few clicks. “Wait a second. If they’re just all… squished down, what if something could expand them again? Wouldn’t that cause a lot more trouble?”

That was true. But again, Y’shtola bit her lip. That was all the answer that the other Miqo’te needed. “And we’ve just been letting her do this?”

“It is her idea,” Y’shtola tsked to herself. “Still, we should do more study into it. That can wait until after Titan is sealed. We also have kept these Primal monitored.”

“And that’s why the Amalj’aa are like this?”

A sigh. Y’shtola nodded. “Ifrit is currently with Minfilia, seeing as Ifrit also carries the mind of an Ala Mhigan—”

“What. Are you serious?” Phae asked, tail swishing and eyes wide. “But how— I thought Primal carried the will of their summoners?”

This time, Bolormaa answered - her large tail curling around them, the fabric they sat on finally beginning to shift with it. The sun was nearly down, and she didn’t have her answer on Nunh. Oh well, perhaps later. “That is only one school of summoning. I am not familiar with all the tales, but I have heard other tales. For example, some believe that summons are powered by souls which were never able to be reborn. But in the case of Ifrit, there is one tale I heard of.

In one of the ancient lands, it was more common to give sacrifices to the Gods. The sacrifices were willing, though, because… well… they wanted that power.”

“And if it is an ancient method, perhaps it is Ascians.” Y’shtola added. “Like the ones you dealed with in Hakkue Manor, Phae and K’pandolu.” Even if Minfilia was their Primal fighter, other adventurers had to handle other tasks. And Ascian still were curious about them - just not like Lahabrea. Their plans were a messy web. But as long as they had adventurers, they could do all these tasks. “They have been becoming a lot more active - and a lot more visible. We still do not know to what ends.”

They did not even know the extent of their powers. Quietly, K’pandolu nodded. “After Titan, maybe we can look into them more? You know, if Garlemald doesn’t make more problems for us.”

Phae nodded, and then looked up. The sun had set - and the stars seemed to fade, as a mild sandstorm began. “Bleh. I think that sandworm should appear soon,” she said as she covered her mouth. Bolormaa nodded, standing - before beginning to lead them.

It really did not take long to find what they were hunting - the sand had begun to part, and a large sandworm had begun to emerge. Even if night made it more sluggish, it also made it harder for some to see how the sand shifted. But with Miqo’te, they could see it - and it was massive. Larger then it should be. Perhaps this was not a simple sandworm, but Ulhuadshi - one of the hungriest and devestating beasts. It moved silently, sand parting like the sea. How would they kill it?

Perhaps the time spent discussing Minfilia and Primal would have been better spent discussing such.

None of them expected Y’shtola to be the one who came up with the plan. But perhaps they should have. “Look - those middle segments seem to have scars. If we were to attack there, we may be able to sever it. But how to stop it from moving…?”

“I know!” Bolormaa said, before lowering her voice. “Phae, you can run towards that ravine, right? Um, if you think you can’t, I can do it. But we need to trap it.”

Of course! Phae nodded, and the plan went into action - she ran in front of the blind worm. The smell of fresh prey caught Ulhuadshis’ attention, and it began to sliver towards the Miqo’te. The sand still parted, it was nearly overwhelming. It got closer… closer… until Phae felt the cliffside, and instead of dodging, went over the edge! Ulhuadshi followed, of course, and got caught - the gap was too thin. But Bolormaa let out a snarl, K’pandolu let out a concerned whine, and Y’shtola prepared her staff.

Until a moment later, when Phae popped up from the side of the cliff. Beaming a little. “Sorry ‘bout that. Wanna kill some sandworm?”

The group beat at the scarred exterior, the worm wiggling and struggling. It was not likely what the tribe expected, but it was how they did it. The large beast let out one last death cry as it was severed, the sound echoing though the entire desert.

After the sound grew silent, after Phaes’ wounds were mended, there was one question left. How would they return it to the tribe?

Eventually, the sun was rising, and the four of them had dragged the sandworm across the Sagolii Desert, back to the Forgotten Springs. Phae, however, was clearly uncomfortable. Bolormaa gave her a soft look. “You can stay out, if you want. Is it the Nunh thing?”

Phae nodded, letting out a lot of her stress with a sigh. “Thanks, Bolormaa. And… yeah.

And to answer your question from last night - no, it’s not all Seeker tribes. It’s just super common, and a lot of Nunh act like all women should want them.” She knew that a little too well, and her tail continued to flick. Phae sat in the waters just out of town, as she noticed a small frog sitting on the other side of the pond. Curious. And fascinating!

Bolormaa, of course, was the one who went into town and went to speak with the one who requested this. They were seeking people who had fought Titan before - the Company of Heroes. And when they had found any before, they had requested proof of their strength before finding a way to Titan. It was concerning, but Bolormaa reasoned they were afraid that people would die recklessly. But if none did this, then how would Titan be stopped? It was silly, and weird, but it was as Minfilia said. Getting their trust was important.

The large Au Ra towered over the dark-skinned Miqo’te, U’odh Nunh. “We have slayed a worm, as you instructed. The remains are outside, delivered.” Barely looking up, U’odh let out a hoarse laugh.

“Your skills as a hunter rrrival those of our best, Bolormaa. But I would expect little else from a Dotharl,” he said - looking up to her, eyes blinking slowly. “Quite a few Dotharl had lost their lives in the Company of Herrroes.”

Bolormaa remembered a few of them had gone out then and not returned. She smiled warmly. “Then they died happy.”

U’odh did not agree, but he did not argue. “The meat will need to be heavily smoked before I ship it to Wheiskaet. Worry not - you have my word that he will rrreceive it in time for the banquet.”

Ah, right. This mysterious banquet. Something about it made Bolormaa upset, but it upset Y’shtola a lot more. Both of them were impatient…

“You must be eager to obtain the third ingrrredient. I regret to say that I know naught of its location. For the nonce, you should return to Costa del Sol and seek Wheiskaet’s counsel. Ah, but hold on a moment.” He stood, and returned with a sand-dusted bottle. “The captain was always fond of this brandewine. I would be grrrateful if you could deliver it on my behalf. He taught me much.

…he taught me so much.”

Placing the bottle in her pocket, Bolormaa nodded. “Worry not.

Me and my allies shall go there anon!”