Valkyria: Hi! It's been a long time since I've updated. Life and work have been stress-inducing, but I made it with a new story: Chronicles of Minerva: The Vessal and King. You guys have a good time!

Disclaimer: As always, I don't any of this.


Chapter One: Leviathan's Embrace

"Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present."

-Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Meditations.

It was a tradition among the Cetra to send their departed ones back to the Gaia via the sea. It was by this method the Goddess Leviathan would grasp the souls of the lost in her mighty jaws and carry them safely back to the Goddess Minerva - Mother of Gaia - so that she would see to it that their cycle of life would be complete and enjoy a quiet rest.

It was a tradition that Cloud held close to his heart as he pushed his parent's bodies into the sea for their final journey.

"Hold, Cloud." Jason's soothing voice echoed into his ears before he felt a pair of weathered hands grasp his own and tug him away forcing him to realize that he had followed his parent's boats until he was waist deep into the water. "As much as you desire it, you cannot follow them into Leviathan's Embrace."

"I-" Cloud blinked back his tears, staring up into Jason's solemn gaze before lowering his head to the ground, no longer able to bear the pity he saw in his tribal leader's gaze. "How I wish it so. I am alone now and that it is excuse enough to follow."

"You are needed, Cloud." Jason protested swiftly, placing a hand on Cloud's wet shoulder, reminding him that his clothing was salted and drenched from the sea. "Or, Ifrit's Flames would have consumed you as well. It seems that the Goddess is not yet done with you."

"Do you think them safe?" Cloud turned back to the sea, his heart tightening as he watched his parents vanish from sight, but not from the mind. "Do you think Ifrit still yearns for them?"

"A Warrior God he is deemed, I do not think that Ifrit would be so vengeful as to steal your parent's soul right from Leviathan's Embrace and further so from Minerva." Jason looked thoughtful for a moment before giving Cloud a small, sincere smile that, for a moment, made the harsh leader look softer. "I think Leviathan will carry them to safety. You have little to worry about, Cloud."

"O-of course." Cloud swallowed back his doubt at his reassurance. Ifrit, God of Fire, was known to be demanding of his followers and even harsher to those who used his power for injustice, but even He, as just as powerful, could not control his flames and be aware of those who used them for malicious gain at all times thus leading to his parent's demise. Cloud did not know whether to be frightened or angry at such a being, but what could his anger accomplish? What could fear to accomplish in the face of such a God?

"Chief Lockhart?" Cloud's throat tightened at his next question, but he knew it was needed. "What's going to happen to him? The person who-who did this?"

"He shall be tried in front of the Imperial Court." Chief Lockhart responded swiftly. "I have petitioned the Grand Council and it was agreed that Cyrus' crime was too great to be judged within our own court. So, I shall sail with him to the Imperial Capital and there he shall be judged for the murder of your parents and six others."

Cloud's lips thinned and he struggled to hold back his tears-his rage- at the person who did this for no reason at all. "I want to come with you, Chief. I want to be there when he's judged for what he's done to them."

Jason's brown eyes softened at Cloud's adamant tone. "I don't think that it's wise for you to venture to the Imperial Capital, Cloud, but I will not deny you justice." Jason stepped forward, placing a hand on Cloud's shoulder and urging him away from the sea - away from his departed parents. "I ask you one thing in return."

"Yes?"

"Acknowledge him." Jason insisted, despite Cloud protest. "You must acknowledge the fact that it was your uncle that killed your parents and six other innocent people. We don't blame you for his actions. We will never blame you for that despicable man's actions, but if you do not acknowledge him as a family before moving on then this will tear you apart physically and mentally. If you want to find your justice then you must face the man whom you loved and cherished since you were but a child."

"And if I don't?" Cloud challenged. "Will you deny me my justice then?"

"No," Jason responded, his jaw tightening at the tragedy of it all. The entire village was mourning at the loss of Cloud's parents, who, even in their childhood, were known as powerful magic users, even further so considering that Claudia, Cloud's mother, held powerful clairvoyance, that she obviously passed to her son, but as a child, Cloud had become overwhelmed due to the constant visions that Minerva blessed him with and his mother was forced to take measures to ensure that her son retained his sanity thus the creation of the suppression ring that Cloud still bore today.

"I will not deny you justice, but I will deny you the privilege of witnessing it. What say you, Cloud? Will you do this for me?"

Cloud said nothing at first, opening and closing his mouth before lowering his head and taking a shuddering breath. "To ask this of me is most cruel, Chief Lockhart, but I understand it and I will do this for you."

"Good." Chief Lockhart breathed. "Good."


Once upon a time, Cyrus Strife had been considered a genius among magic users with his main element being that of fire which meant if he wanted, he could become a priest under Ifrit, God of Fire, and with time, become High Priest due to his immense talent, but it seemed that Cyrus had other plans.

Tired of the limitations that the village offered, Cyrus proceeded to burn it down in a fit of rage when it was decided that he wouldn't be chosen to proceed to the Imperial Capital for further training and Cloud, his own nephew, had been chosen for his clairvoyance. The pride and joy Cloud had felt that day at being chosen was destroyed in the midst of flames, smoke, and despair. He remembered the smiles on his parent's faces at the announcement and he remembered the pain that followed. Cloud could only watch helplessly as his parents burned to death in the face of Cyrus' demented laughter before he was arrested and thrown into the dungeons that sat below the village. The same dungeon he stood in now with Cyrus staring at him with no emotion in his eyes. It told of a man who held no regrets.

Who had nothing to lose.

"Why?" Cloud croaked, breaking the lull of silence that had surrounded them. "Why did you do this, Uncle Cyrus?"

"I did it because it needed to be done." Cyrus retorted smoothly. "You? Of all people? To be chosen to travel to the capital and to be trained with the best this world has to offer while I, a genius, is here in this wastrel of a village? No, I had to set things to right and delay it."

"At what cost?" Cloud stepped forward, his hands slipping between the bars of the cell, sliding down to his knees. "You realize that you will never see the Goddess? Never be able to travel the Planet? You realize this, don't you?" Cloud shook the bars of the cell. "Don't you?!"

"I realize this, little one." Cyrus sounded exhausted and it forced Cloud to stop and stared at the man he once called Uncle with all the affection in the world. "I realize that I will never see my loved ones again, but to live life all for the sake of seeing the Goddess is foolish. We are to live our life to the fullest and this is how I decided to spend it, regardless of where I end up at the end of it all."

"You-" Cloud's hands tightened on the cell bars until his knuckles turned white. "You took my parents and those people away because you couldn't go to the Imperial Capital. You took them away for such a foolish reason. I loved you and you were my family, but you tossed it back and spat in my face. How could you?! How could you do this to me? How could you destroy my family?!"

"I'll do it again," Cyrus uttered with a soft smile, his deep blue eyes smothered with insanity and it forced Cloud to realize that this shell of a man was no longer his Uncle. This man was a monster and Cloud wanted nothing to do with him. "I'll burn them again if I had the chance and if I get out, I'll burn the rest of the village and the world. I'll burn it all under Ifrit's Banner."

Cloud said nothing, too stunned to let words escape and he could do nothing but watch as his Uncle threw his head back released a bout of wild laughter that drew the attention of the guards who were forced to come and collect Cloud and escort him back to Chief Lockhart's home where the man waited outside the door with solemn expression.

"That's not my Uncle," Cloud uttered, his knees buckled under the weight of his despair as he collapsed on the ground, earning a wounded sound from Jason. "That's nothing but a monster and I want nothing to do with him."

"Good." Jason murmured, lowering himself beside Cloud and placing a placating hand on his back. "His execution will be easier to bear."

"Execution-?" Cloud repeated, turning his head in Jason's direction. "So, the Grand Council-?"

"Decided that Cyrus' crimes are too horrid for a mere banishment. The High King has personally written to me to state that Cyrus will be executed by him personally and he wants you in attendance. You will have your justice, Cloud."

"Thank you, Chief Lockhart." Cloud reached up and wrapped his arms around the Chief earning a hum of surprise from the man below him. "I cannot thank you enough, Chief."

"I am merely doing my job. It was a loss to us all. We loved Crimson and Claudia and we will make sure that their deaths are not in vain. I will make sure that you are well taken care of in the village." Jason rose to his feet, pulling Cloud with him and pushing him in the direction of his home. "Go home and pack your belongings, we leave at sunrise tomorrow."

Cloud nodded, forcing his feet in the direction of his home that he knew would be empty and devoid of life, but it was home nonetheless. He opened the door, swallowing when nothing but silence greeted him and closed it tightly behind him and proceeded to his room. He ignored the smells of cinnamon that his mother insisted the house smelled like and he ignored the smell of sword polish his father always seemed to have on hand. But, most of all, he ignored the soothing voice of his parents that reached his ears through the Lifestream.

He ignored their whispers and their anguish at having left him alone as he stuffed his clothing into a small case before stripping out of his damp clothing and moving towards their bed where their voice was deemed the loudest. He pulled the blanket over his head to muffle his mother's sobs and his father's deep sighs. He ignored it all and closed his eyes where he knew they would greet him in his dreams. He hoped that one day he would greet them with pride instead of the shame that clawed at his throat. Shame for suppressing his powers which would have saved them. Shame at being afraid of what the Goddess Minerva willingly gave him at birth and shame at the satisfaction of seeing his uncle's execution. Cloud knew that one day he would face the days ahead without despair or anger or shame.

For now, however, he would ignore the whispers and shame.