Unwilling Eldritch Horror of Fortune

Xalla noticed that Walter was oddly quiet during their journey to Xolloid, but she could understand his nervousness. She could tell that he was making a concerted effort to seem like nothing was wrong, for her sake, but how could there be nothing wrong given his past?

He was a veteran of the Long War, displaced in time, and about to visit his home dimension for the first time in a long, long time.

If Xalla heard right, then Walter’s only been back for 50 or so cycles. A small part of her felt glad that he was around her age, but a bigger part felt sorry for him. After all, the Long War had finished over 1200 cycles ago, so he was coming back to a world that had changed tremendously.

She knew that many veterans were displaced in time after the Final Assault, but Walter's case was extreme. Plus, the state that Xolloid was in near the end of that conflict left much to be desired, so his hesitation was understandable. Was he still afraid that his home was a war-torn wasteland like it was before? Or perhaps coming back would stir up memories of all that he’s lost.

Xalla was even more grateful that he would revisit such traumatic memories just for her. She had the conviction to ensure that Walter’s new memories of Xolloid would be nothing short of amazing, with her by his side of course.

Yes, it would be Xalla’s job to ensure that her date’s time back in Xolloid was a success! She will show how much Xolloid has risen from its past savagery, and how it’s turned into a cultural hub. And the food!

She can imagine how much of a shock it would be to taste modern Xollon cuisine, especially if he was eating disgusting human food, or, worse still, disgusting humans themselves, for so long. Yes, Xalla will heal his wounded, time-displaced heart, and show him the glory of Xolloid.

She can fix him!

She couldn’t suppress her grin. This was like the plot right out of a fairytale! Here was a handsome, deadly war vet who needed a gentle soul to guide him back into Xollon society. And unlike those annoying idiots she read about in her engrams, she would be the star of the show! She wasn’t going to make the same mistakes as those naïve protagonists in her stories.

The first thing that Xalla did when they arrived at Xolloid proper was to show him the local sights. She giggled privately when she saw how amazed Walter looked, seeing how much their home had changed. And she was proud of her home as well.

The blood rivers were flowing nicely, and they were free of pollutants unlike how it was in yester-cycles. Even the fresh sacrifices used to supply all of this were thrashing vigorously as their lifeblood went into the children’s waterpark and other facilities.

Combined with the fountain of wailing souls, which provided a nice soothing backdrop to this perfect, red-hazed day, Xalla’s date was off on a high note. Why, even the living paving stones were wiggling with enthusiasm when she stepped over them!

Yup, Xolloid was prospering, and she couldn’t be prouder.

“Come on Walter, we have to try some of that!” Xalla said, pointing to a huge Phase Whale in the process of being served. Its desperate attempts to flee the cooks hacking off big pieces of its delicious meat were making a pleasant rumbling vibration on the ground.

“Is that a whale?” Walter said, staring at the mountain of food.

Xalla laughed lightly, it must have been a long time since he’s seen one of those. She had heard that they were almost hunted to extinction in the olden times, but modern Xollon conservation efforts had saved the delicious species.

“Yup! And it looks freshly caught, look at it squirm! I bet you haven’t had one of those in a while!”

They pushed through the crowd of people and waited in line for a whale kabob. Xalla noticed that quite a few other women were eyeing her date, and a small part of her was a little happy knowing that he was with her and not them. She squeezed his arm a little harder and flaunted her frills in pride, making the others glare at her in jealousy.

“We’ll take two skewers, please.” Xalla said as their turn came around, “I’ll have extra house sauce on mine, how about you, Walter?”

“There’s so many selections…” He said, glancing over all the different toppings, “But I’ll take some shredded Shoggoth with extra sauce as well on mine.”

Xalla smiled, she guessed that Walter really liked Shoggoths if he was getting them even on his whale skewer. It’s a good thing she still had so many left; she loved the boyish look of joy he would have whenever he was eating one.

“These things are amazing!” Walter exclaimed, chomping down on his skewer. Xalla found him especially cute when he was enjoying the little things in life. It made a stark contrast to how he is when he’s working as an Arbiter. She could get used to seeing him relaxed and enjoying life more often.

“Haha!” the chef, a big man even by Xollon standards, smiled when saw how fast Walter was scarfing down his portion, “I’ve never seen someone enjoy one of my skewers that much.”

“Sorry.” Walter replied, careful not to spill any of the chewed whale, “I’ve been working out of town for a long time, I haven’t had a chance to have some proper food. But still, this is amazing.”

Xalla shook her head in humour, “He’s been living off of Humans, if you can imagine that.”

“Humans?” the shop owner said, thinking, “You mean those horrible fleshy things that were a popular gag product a while back? The two-legged ones.”

“Yeah, those!” Xalla shuddered, “Ugh…”

The owner looked at Walter with pity and handed him another skewer, “Here, have another one on the house. I don’t know what kinds of hardships you’ve endured, but no Xollon in their right mind will ignore a fellow countryman in need.”

The owner then secretly pushed an image into Xalla’s cortex while Walter was distracted devouring more of his whale. It was a static view of the small circular scars that were peeking through his robes, and the shop owner’s inquiry was clear. Xalla returned the psychic message with an affirmation, and the other man nodded in understanding.

Take good care of him, young woman. He sent, and show him how much all of Xolloid appreciated his sacrifice. How long has it been?

50 cycles. Xalla sent back.

I see.

The big man’s smile returned, and he addressed Walter again, “You two heading to the Plains of Torment, right?”

“Yup!” Walter replied, “My date here’s showing me the sights! It’s my first time going if you can believe that.”

“You’ll love it there! And if you get hungry after your little outing, check out my restaurant after!” He said, and proceeded to write down where it was on a little piece of parchment, “I’ve just received a new haul of goodies, and would love to get an opinion on my menu from a new face.”

Walter looked Xalla, seeing if she was alright with the plan, and after giving him a nod of approval, they thanked the chef for his generosity, and promised to revisit him after the Plains.

Xalla took her date to various other vendors on the outskirts of the Plains of Torment, and she could never get bored of watching Walter eat. He made the cutest expression whenever he tried something new, and she almost burst into laughter when he tried the extra potent Mott sauce. His maw was practically on fire, and the face he was making trying to seem in control was a memory that Xalla would replay over and over again in the future.

After visiting another street stall or two, the two Xollon decided to take a break and rest on a quiet bench overlooking the sprawling countryside. Xalla finished her snack and placed her frills gently on Walter’s side, basking in his warmth. He pulled her a little closer, and they enjoyed the quiet atmosphere for a while.

“Say,” Xalla said, breaking the silence, “I know you don’t want to think about it, but I just wanted to thank you for your service in the Long War. And for today. I don’t know what it’s like to see Xolloid after being away for so long, but I hope you’ll remember what it’s like now and not how it was before.”

Walter’s gaze went unfocused for a second, and Xalla could imagine him recalling all of the hardships he’d faced so far, all those cycles ago. She wondered what this place looked like before the end of the war. She had only heard stories and accounts from history books about those days, and even then it was usually glanced over.

“Yeah, it’s been a really long time.” He said, sighing, “But I like it now, I could get used to life here. Thanks, Xalla, for... everything.”

She squeezed him tighter, “What was it like, back then?”

Walter looked at the horizon again, “Did your mentor not tell you about it?”

“No, he was always vague when he talked about his past. I think Rogue still feels responsible for the loss of so many of his subordinates.”

Walter nodded, “So what do you know about the war?”

“Just the stuff they teach you in school,” Xalla said, “About the tactics the enemy used, how their weapons would erase Xollons from the timeline, and… and the Final Stand, where so many were killed or displaced in time.”

“I remember that.” He replied slowly, “How many were lost in time? How many found?”

Xalla frowned, she didn’t want to make her date sad, but she knew that he deserved to know the truth, “Well, most of the veterans who were caught in the blast were found in the first hundred or so cycles. Some, like yourself, came out later. And the survivors… I’m sorry, but there’s only around 200 Xollons who made it. Counting the command staff that was outside, thats still a mere 250 veterans left.”

“Two hundred and fifty…”

“I’m sorry.” She said, touching his trembling feeler gently.

“No, it’s fine.” He said, “At least there are others out there.”

Xalla felt a little guilty bringing up such tragic memories. She could only imagine what it would be like to lose comrades and loved ones in the war.

"Xolloid was a different place back then," Walter continued solemnly, "Everyone was on edge, anticipating the next battle, and the aftermath. I knew entire families torn apart, and seeing the people I cared for disappear one by one..."

Walter looked like he would collapse right then, and Xalla really felt bad for talking about this on their first date. She wished she wasn't so curious!

But in the back of her mind, she really liked the dark and brooding Walter that she saw now. She felt like she was finally peering into a deeper layer of the mysterious Lord Arbiter. She wanted to know more!

"Let's just say that I am glad that things have changed for the better." Walter finally said, "And that it was you who showed me the new Xolloid."

With a final sigh, Walter’s smile returned, and he helped Xalla up.

“Come on, enough of the depressing talk, let’s go see the Plains of Torment!”