I do one disclaimer and one only. That being said, I would like to state that I do not own the Final Fantasy series. Any and all characters, weapons, names, and places are copyrighted to Square Enix except for those I have created. Any similarity between characters and events in this story to living people and actual events are purely coincidental. Furthermore, I am not making any money for writing this story. This was done completely spur of the moment after a design I came up with several years ago evolved on its' own. Items from other series, such as soul gems, ebony, glass, ademantium, and dwarven armors/weapons from the Elder Scrolls saga, belong to their respective companies.
Now, with all the stuffy legal crap out of the way, I would like to say right now that there is still a chance to escape from reading this if you press the back button or deviate away from this page. This isn't my first try at fan fiction, but it is the second I've posted up; the first is in another area of the web. That being said, if you are still interested in finding out what is going on here, I would like to calmly welcome you to the 'Hymns of Eternity' saga. Enjoy.
-GC
Prelude: Crash, Burn, Flatline
The brought the young man into the ER at Mach 3, the family running in thirty minutes later. The husband managed to catch a glimpse before a doctor screamed for a nurse to get him out of there. He almost lost what little food he'd had for dinner as he was guided to the waiting room; the body was more burns, lacerations, and metal than flesh. Looking at the mutilated form that was his son broke his heart.
As he sat in the white room, his wife pacing, eldest daughter crying with her rosary in her hands, and his youngest son stacking magazines in strange patters before knocking them over and starting again, James Dmitriev thought about the events he'd witnessed that day. His son had been having bad luck since he rolled out of bed, starting with a freezing cold shower, followed by running late. When James had returned home, Gabriel was trying to get past his mother to kill the eight-year-old, Lucifer. Of his three sons, Gabe and Luke always fought the least, preferring to work together to torment the oldest, Raphael, when he picked on them.
He remembered grabbing the sixteen-year-old, pushing him out the door with amid screams of, 'Go cool down, Gabriel!' The teenager had snarled something, grabbed the keys to his bike, and rushed out the door, slamming it behind him. A few seconds later, a roar from a rebuilt engine heralded screaming tires; when James looked out the window, his son was already tearing away, his custom bike easily hitting 60 mph in seconds.
Three hours later, Gabriel still hadn't returned. James was a bit worried, but he figured his son would return when he was ready; he remembered all the times Raph had run off when Gabe and Luke got him with a particularly mean prank, and the teenager was no different from the 20 year old college student. He'd be back when he was ready. However, the five remaining in the house had just begun their dinner when the phone rang. Within five minutes of James picking up the handset, the family was out the door and heading towards the hospital in the next county.
Memories and thoughts flooded his mind as he gazed at the wall. He blinked when he glanced at the clock, revealing the time to be 12:43 AM. James and his family had been sitting there for almost seven hours. He was almost lost in his own thoughts again when his daughter turned her reddened eyes on him.
"Dad? Please tell me Gabby is going to be OK…." Amelia whispered, using the pet name she'd given her younger brother when he four and she was eight. Raphael looked up, staring at his twin before his own bloodshot eyes followed her gaze. James sighed inwardly at his perceptive daughter; ever since the day Gabriel was brought home from the hospital, she'd immediately wanted to protect her brand new baby brother. Because of that, she worried for him almost as much as her mother, Dona.
"Ami, honey, I can only pray that he will," he replied, his voice just as quiet. He refused to lie to his children, especially when he didn't know the answer himself. That was one thing him and his wife had always agreed on: No matter what, they would be honest and open with their children. He was about to add a little more, seeing his daughter on the verge of tears again, when a gentle voice coughed behind him. James turned around and looked at the doctor, ignoring all his features except his blue eyes.
It has always been said that the eyes are the windows of the soul. The Dmitriev family fully agreed with this statement, believing that it was the eyes that first greeted someone more than kind words or a smile. However, James found himself starting to loathe the man who came up with the phrase as he gazed into the doctor's; a deep sadness born of having to tell too many people that their loved one had died, was almost glowing from the man's eyes.
"Mr. Dmitriev? I am Doctor Johnson. May I speak to you and your wife for a moment?" he asked, motioning for us to follow him. He led us halfway down the hall before turning to us, understanding in his eyes. "I am not here to bring you happy news, unfortunately. I'll tell you now that your son died at 12:30 this morning. We tried for thirteen minutes to revive him, but it didn't work. I know the pain of loosing a son and a brother, so I made sure everything was done to save him. However, the damage was far too extensive for it to work. I give you my condolences for your loss." He stared at the grieving couple for a moment before walking away, knowing all too well that they would need time to mourn and move on, and that an outsider was the last thing they needed.
Outside, a cold wind howled, almost as if it were carrying the tears and voices of broken hearts through the Michigan night.
IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX
Pain; that was all he could feel.
All around him, burning, agonizing pain. It felt like his veins had been filled with magma and his skin torn from the muscle! Everything hurt, right down to the very atoms that made up his form. Darkness encompassed his vision, his voice going raw from his screams as his right eye boiled in its' socket. What felt like molten steel coated his hands from the tips of his fingers to halfway up his fore arms while white hot splashes of the stuff decorated his arms, shoulders, and chest. It felt like he was being flayed alive as his back ripped open, a pair of twin... things pushing through the wounds.
The torment seemed to go on for an eternity; just when he thought it would never end, it stopped. In place of the raging agony, a pleasant, almost cool energy washed over him like a wave. He felt his veins pump blood again instead of fire; his arms and chest stopped burning under the liquid metal. The socket that once held his eye began to heal over until it was just a slight throb in the back of his mind. Strangest of all, the four growths that erupted from his back grew muscle, skin, and something else. His hair began to grow across his body again. When he could finally open his remaining eye, he saw a void.
The healed and rebuilt human started when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, four leathery wings mimicking the gesture. He could feel a strange body pressing against him from behind, cool and scaled… reptilian. The oddest sensation was when the snout pressed close next to his ear, a sibilant hiss gently caressing his mind.
"I greet you, little brother," it said, the voice sounding male to his ears. "I am called Benediction, but you can call me Ben. The others seem to be in disagreement as to whether or not you deserve to be given a second chance at life…However, I see something special in you; it still hasn't been realized, but perhaps you could awaken it with a little time."
The being turned him around then, letting him go as it did. What he saw was shocking, to say the least; black and blue scales, a body that would make any male supermodel green with envy, thin spines on his reptilian head falling gracefully around the face to give him a kind of bed-head look. His eyes were the most shocking part of him, though: Twin silver orbs shone under the brow.
The four wings shared the coloration of the reptile, the webbing between the 'fingers' a gem-like sapphire. A tail hung behind him, the length wrapping around his left leg. The creature was dressed in a strange outfit, an offshoot of chain mail and cloth that was easily a tunic and pants done in blue and silver. All in all, 'Ben', as he introduced himself, was a strange and exotic beauty.
"Little brother, if you keep gazing at me like that, I just might blush enough to glow under these scales," he laughed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
The human blushed lightly, a faint pink staining his cheeks. When he opened his mouth to speak, however, he couldn't. He blinked and tried again, getting the same effect and quickly becoming distressed. Suddenly, though, a pair of scaled hands clasped onto his shoulders. Startled for the second time in only a few minute, he lifted his eyes, gazing into the agates gleaming in front of him.
"You screamed yourself hoarse, young one. Besides, English won't do you much good where you're going. You'll learn in time, I promise," he said, placing a gentle kiss on the boys' brow, earning him another blush. Ben chuckled lightly, ruffling the hair on his head. "I'm afraid the time for you to meet your new world is close at hand. I can assure you that upon your awakening, you will be able to understand their language. Remember, an important task awaits you at the beginning of your tale. Complete it to the best of your abilities. Now, go to sleep, little brother; I won't let anything harm you as you slip into your new home." As the words left what he was beginning to see as his guardian angel, his eyelids drooped, slowly taking him into a deep sleep. However, he was still conscious enough to hear the final words before darkness took him again.
"I will always look out for you, my dear little archangel… My dear little Gabriel…"
IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX
The boy drifted in and out of consciousness, voices and brief flashes of color appearing before fading out just as quickly. As he finally started to reenter the world of the living, the voices grew from distant, garbled sounds into half-sentences, and from those fragmented phrases, into full thoughts. He slowly opened his eye, hissing silently at the light stabbing into his brain. It didn't take long for him to adjust, the blurred shapes coming into focus as a ceiling, curtains, windows and two people standing over him. One, a woman with blonde hair, noticed his change in breathing, though it had been more of an absence of sound. Her fears were relieved, however, when she noticed the almost glowing green eye darting around.
"So, you're awake," she said gently, trying not to startle to boy. It almost worked; instead of jumping, his bandaged hands clenched into fists while his eye focused a chilling gaze on her. She prided herself on not flinching or turning away from that eye. When her companion turned, however, she winced. 'Three… Two… One… Fire in the hole,' she thought, already moving to clap a hand over his mouth.
"Well, it's good to see you awake, boy! We almost thought you weren't going to make it; that wouldn't have been good, not at all," he said, though the youth would have described it as more of a dull roar. Honestly, the man could easily put a fog horn out of a job! Before he could go on, though, the woman had clamped her hand over his lips, effectively shutting him up.
She gave the loud one a scalding glare before she turned back to the patient, her lips twitching when she noticed a glimmer of amusement flashing in the emerald eye. Before either of them could move, however, the eye had widened and focused, seconds before their patient leapt out of the bed and a sick tearing sound echoed through the medical ward. Both turned slowly, their eyes widening and jaws dropping at the sight.
There was the Regent of Lindblum himself, half turned in shock to stare behind him. A few feet away, a man dressed in an ill-fitting uniform stood frozen, a dagger falling out of his hand while he was looking down at his chest with a morbid fascination. Jutting from it were five semi-sharp metal talons and a mess of red stained bandages, glistening in the sunlight. With a sickening 'slurp', followed by a 'pop' and a 'thump', the body came free of the claws, revealing to the Regent what his wife and the royal physician had already seen: The strange, four winged boy who had, moments ago, been in a bed asleep.
The three watched as the boy slowly unwound the bloody bandages from his arm and clean the dull metal on the assassin's tunic. The bandages on his left arm soon followed those from his right, a crooked 'X' showing up in red and white on the dead man's back. He looked straight at the ruler of Lindblum standing before him, the man still shocked at the display of brutality while his other guards started to slowly close in on the boy. Remaining silent, he carefully fell to one knee before the Regent, bowing his head.
The Regent motioned his guards back, drawing the ornamental sword at his waist as he stepped over the corpse. He gazed down upon the kneeling boy, raising the blade and tapping it twice on his shoulders and once on his head. With that done, he sheathed the blade and took the newly ordained knight by the clawed hand and helped him stand, staring into the questioning emerald eye gazing back at him. The Regent smiled softly leading him back to the bed.
"Rest, young Sir Knight. I will want to know your name later."
IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX
It had been six months since the young mute had entered the court of Regent Cidoulfus Lindblum IX and Lady Hilda Garde. Six months since he had written, 'My name is Nicoli Gabriel Bloodwing' on a scrap of parchment and given it to his lord. When asked why he couldn't speak, he wrote that his voice had been destroyed in an accident, and that it would take months to come back, if it ever did.
The teenager had jumped from the rank of knight to duke in one fell swoop when he helped catch the pompous lordling that had hired the assassin to kill the Regent. When that happened, Cid had chosen to give the boy a small duchy for his services. Nothing too big, just a small manor he could call his own.
However, the older man had overlooked something, a small fact he should have noticed: Despite being mute and very mature for a teenager, the Duke of the Theatre District was still sixteen. In those five and a half months prior, Nicoli had proven beyond a doubt that he was a master when it came to pulling harmless pranks on the castle staff. He had done everything he could think of in that calculating mind of his, from dying a high ranking noblewoman's hair vibrant blue, to convincing the newest trumpeters that the Regent preferred them to play horrendously off key whenever he finished a sentence.
Cid drummed his fingers on his desk in his study, trying hard to figure out what to do with the devious young man. He couldn't really punish the boy; all he had been doing was trying to get used to his new life and bring some hilarity to the cruel world. Even as he found himself growing more and more irritated at the young duke's antics, those same things caused more and more laughs when thought of. His intelligence was obvious, despite his silence; how else could he have figured out a way to put honey in a nobleman's powdered wig, style it, and create a new fashion in the city, all without getting caught? The only reason the Regent knew it was the teenager was because Nicoli had winked at him. Winked!
However, other gags were just flat out irritation, the incident with the trumpeters being one of them. Those pranks were beyond annoying, and if anyone else had done them, it would be the dungeons before the end of the day. The only time the duke had been sent there, he'd enjoyed it! That reason alone was why he was never sent there again. Those dungeons were one of the three places Nicoli went when he was 'hiding', as Hilda called it; the other two were the hospital wing he woke up in, and the highest tower in the castle.
The man sighed again as he looked at the latest complaints from the gentry about the Duke of the Theatre District. Nicoli had finally pushed it too far; if he wasn't sent from the city to get rid of some of that energy, the boy would likely be stripped of rank, lands, and knighthood. Cid stared at the growing file, thinking of how he could keep the young man safe and traveling at the same time. Those thoughts brought him to the three other folders on his desk; three of the finest warriors in the kingdom were to be sent as Nicoli's trainers, companions and chaperones.
Noah 'Gabranth' Ronsenburg, a Captain and Bladesmaster of the Black Paladins, was one of the few that voluntarily chose to walk the darker path of knighthood. While his older twin, Basch, had chosen to be a regular Paladin and lead charges from the front line, Noah had chosen to be a Black Paladin, specializing in poisons, stealth, and wholesale slaughter. When he graduated from the academy, he chose the name 'Gabranth' after their mother, instead of using an already over used one, 'Death Stalker' being one of them. One of the things that made him so dangerous was his ability to use almost any weapon that carried an edge, earning him the position of Bladesmaster; everything from a simple hand axe, to his unique thief's swords, Dark Messenger. He'd been on leave until very recently, making him ready to go on assignment again.
Zellicorius 'Zell' Dincht, a Sergeant and martial arts master of the Royal Guard, had been the second choice as a companion. True, he wasn't that much older then Nicoli himself, and often got in almost as much trouble, but his training, loyalty, and ferocity in battle made him a lethal enemy and a firm friend. Often seen as hot tempered and idiotic because of his mouth and choice of weapons, Zell actually had a quick mind that caught things others usually missed. Having grown up in an orphanage, the teenager had been weaker than most people. That changed when he was adopted by his parents and met his Master. After the first meeting, Zell quickly earned himself a reputation by taking on the Black Hand Gang, and winning himself the notice of a sponsor. After joining the Royal Guard, he slowly began climbing the ranks. The teenager had been trying to beg leave from his superiors for several days now, even though he didn't have any saved up; what better way to keep him happy then putting him on assignment that got him out of everyone's hair for a while?
Lulu Besaid, a Black Mage and the Court Magician, gave the motley crew a woman's touch as the finishing piece of the team. While rather ungifted when it came to physical combat, she more than made up for it with the almost surgical precision she cast her destructive spells. She was well known for proving that she earned her title of 'Mistress of Black Magic' by striking a series of targets with multiple different spells in under a minute. The only thing that matched her skill with magic was her razor's tongue she used to cut over inflated egos down to size. She grew up as the little sister to a pack of boys that often tried to protect her 'because she was a girl.' Her first use of magic had been to zap her youngest brother when he'd cut the head off her doll and put it on a stick. After that, she was offered an apprenticeship to the Lindblum Academy of Magick. Cid could remember her hinting at a desire to visit her family, so this seemed to him to be a perfect opportunity.
A knock on the door broke him out of his thoughts. Cid gave a sigh before he sat up; it wouldn't do to let three of his subjects see the Regent slouching, no matter how comfortable the chair.
"Enter," he called, pulling a fourth file from his desk. This one was marked only with a pair of wings, and it was thicker then the other three. Into his office came the black mage, the knight, and the soldier; Lulu was expressionless, as usual, but her eyes held a glimmer of curiosity. Zell was openly confused, with a bit of apprehension thrown in at being called before his lord. The only expression he couldn't read was Gabranth's, because of his helmet. However, that didn't stop him from reading the body language; that almost screamed a deep loyalty to Lindblum, but also whispered that he would kill anyone who threatened the country. Cid figured it would be Lulu who spoke first, but was surprised when it was Gabranth who broke his silence.
"My lord, with all do respect, I find myself wondering why the three of us were called together before you," the masked man stated, his voice echoing slightly within the steel. Cid grinned inwardly; trust a Black Paladin to go straight for the meat of a situation, instead of dancing around the edges.
"I find it strange as well, Lord Cid," Lulu commented, her voice chilly to one who didn't know her. The regent knew for a fact that she was using a 'mask' to hide her curiosity. She loved a good puzzle, no matter how she acted.
Zell was still mute, still standing at a rigid attention that would be the end of him if he kept it up. The older man chuckled slightly, motioning to the three chairs in front of his desk. "Please, have a seat. All of you," he added, staring pointedly at the youngest of the trio.
Once all three had taken their chairs, Cid pushed the wing-marked folder towards them. "I would like to introduce to you your new assignment. I want him out of the city for a while, no less then a year. He is to be trained in your respective arts, if he has the aptitude for them. And, please, remember that he is still adjusting. Something happened to him that robbed him of his speech; I want one of you to make sure he keeps drinking his potions. According to the latest information from Dr. Icebane, they will eventually restore his vocal cords. Are there any questions?"
"Only one from me," Lulu replied, studying the file. "According to this, he has several unique features, but they don't go into detail on what they are. Are we to find out for ourselves?" she asked, passing the documents to Zell.
"Wait, we're looking after Nico? What'd that bird-brained friend of mine do now?" the teenager said, closing the file after seeing the name and passing it to Gabranth. The two adults on either side of him gave Zell an inquisitive look, while the graying regent shook his head. 'Of course they would be friends. This explains how some of those damned stunts were pulled off.' He thought, a tiny smirk forming at the memories.
"Nicoli Gabriel Bloodwing, the Duke of the Theatre District? I'd heard some rumors, but I never met someone who knows him," Gabranth stated, putting the file back on the Regent's desk when he finished. He turned to face the older man, knowing full well that his iron gaze would have no effect on Cidoulfus Lindblum IX.
Cid grinned fully, nodding to the questions. "Pertaining to the noticeable features, you'll have to see for yourself or ask young Zell. What he did this time, as you put it, is his business. Knowing what you do from whatever rumors are floating around the castle, however, need I explain why he needs to be taken out of the city? I want him to use up some of that energy." A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts once again, this time announcing the young duke himself. "Enter."
Most people, when the first heard of the duke, would usually expect a man in his mid-twenties to walk in, dressed in the finest silks and latest fashions with his nose in the air. The reality was a near polar opposite of that image; instead of elaborate fashions, he wore plain clothes in varying shades of grey and black. In place of fine silks, he wore cotton. The two deviations from this pattern were the black eye patch over his gaping right socket and the scarred leather gloves covering his forearms. Nicoli's eyebrows came together in a curious frown as his eye darted from the three seated individuals and his lord. When that slightly disconcerting gaze landed on Cid, the question was obvious: What's going on?
Cid motioned to a chair on the left of Gabranth. "Please, have a seat, Nicoli. There is much to discuss," he said. When the boy closed the door and walked over to stand next to the chair, the Regent gave an inward sigh; it was asking a lot of the tormented child to even stand that close to a stranger, let alone sit next to him. "As for what's going on, I have decided to send you on a… Vacation, if you will. It isn't fair of me to keep you locked away here in the city; you need to see the world, not just what's inside the gates. These three will accompany you as your companions, and it is doubtless that you have at least heard of them; Gabranth Ronsenburg, Zellicorius Dincht, and Lulu Besaid." Each one nodded as they were introduced, with the exception of Zell; he stood up and wrapped Nicoli in a brotherly hug. The younger male stiffened for a brief second before hugging his friend back, bowing to the other two when Zell let go.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, my lord," Gabranth said as he offered his hand to the boy. Instead of taking it, Nicoli pulled a small slate from his belt pouch with a piece of chalk. Quickly, he scrawled, 'The pleasure is mine, Captain Gabranth, Lady Lulu,' before passing it to the armored man. The black haired woman read the message quickly when the slate was passed to her, and she nodded.
"I might be able to find a way to heal your throat enough for you to talk, if you'll take the risk. The potion is still experimental," Lulu said, understanding a bit of what the boy went through; when she had first started messing around with magic, she had injured three of her siblings. Two of them died, while the other was left mute and blind.
The duke shook his head, taking the slate back and scrubbing it with his leather covered hand. After a few moments, he passed the stone back, this time reading, 'According to the physicians, my body is healed. However, they also say that my silence is something mental that I haven't worked through.'
"He's right; physically, he's in perfect health," the Regent said, knowing well what was written on that slate. He had been there when Nicoli had attempted to speak after being told he would be able to. The distressed look the boy had was heartbreaking. As far as Cid knew, the duke hadn't made an attempt since. "But for some reason, his mind isn't ready."
Gabranth, Zell, and Lulu nodded, the elder two giving life to a fatal mistake: They each shot a look of pity at the youngest in the room. Within seconds, the tension skyrocketed, just as Nicoli caught the gazes. His eye and expression turned from warm and friendly, to pure ice and rage, a ripping of fabric the only warning as the four dark wings tore out of his tunic. Both pairs extended to their full span, the grey pair angled towards the ceiling while the crimson set angled at the floor. All the while, his hands flexed into claws, the metallic tips hidden inside straining against the leather enough to show. Even though he was only about as tall as Zell, the wings, gaze, and stance all made it seem like he towered over them.
The reaction from the martial artist was instantaneous: He pulled back his fist and slugged his friend in the gut, just hard enough to knock the wind out of him and break the spell. It worked. As soon as Zell's fist connected, Nicoli doubled over and gasped, his wings folding around him while he fell to his knees, clutching his stomach. When he looked back up, he met the understanding eyes of the other blonde.
Zell just shrugged, holding out a hand. "You were starting to loose control again. Hope I didn't hit you too hard this time."
When Nicoli reached up and took the hand, a small, grateful smile crossing his visage, the older blonde gave an inward sigh of relief. The last time something like this had happened, the winged boy refused to come anywhere near Zell for weeks. Than again, punching with enough force to put cracks in a stone wall was probably not the best thing to do; he was just lucky that he hit one of the metal plates that decorated the teen's body. If he hadn't, Nicoli would have been dead; as it was, the boy had a large bruise surrounding the metal that grew like his skin.
Cid released a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding in. When he saw the boy he almost considered a nephew act like that, it reminded him of that day in the infirmary. A few days later, they learned that the teen was nearly an insomniac; the most any of them had seen him sleep was a few hours. "In case you haven't guessed, Nicoli doesn't do well with pity," he said to the other two adults. Both of them just nodded, not daring to take their eyes from the suddenly calm teenager.
"My lord," Gabranth said, turning his helm towards the ruler of Lindblum. "I accept this mission." Without another word, he stepped forward to tower over the younger man. There was a tense silence for a few moments before the darker one nodded, clasping his hands beneath his cloak. "That temper of yours could cause serious damage. I will do all in my power to teach you to control it." Without another word, he bowed to Cid, turned on his heel, and walked out of the room, his boots not even making a sound on the marble floors.
Lulu stared at the boy for a moment before sighing. "Unfortunately, I find myself agreeing with the tin man; if you are to learn the art of Black Magic, you'll need your temper under control. After all, all power is connected to our emotions. If a black mage can't control his anger, he can burn a city like Treno to the ground in an hour." Having said her piece, she nodded to the Regent and left, closing the door behind her.
Zell stared at the heavy oak door for a moment before leaning a little closer to Nicoli. "How long do think it will take us to get those to start dating?" he asked the younger boy, earning a wide, mischievous grin from him. A cough from behind them made them both jump. Slowly, the two boys turned around to look at their smirking lord.
"As entertaining as I find the prospect of the Court Magician and the Blademaster becoming a couple, I would like to remind the you that this vacation is for all four of your benefits, not just Nicoli's," Cid's smirk became a full blown grin, even as he revealed their primary direction. "After all, Zelliconius, haven't you been begging for some time off? In fact, isn't your family's home in Balamb the halfway stop between Timber, Deling City and Besaid? I think it's about time for you to pay them a visit."
The blonde fighter winced; it'd been two years since his last visit to his mother's house. His master turned stepfather was bound to work him hard for how long he'd gone without writing. Nicoli, on the other hand, was doubled over again, this time using the desk to hold himself up under the force of his silent laughter. Zell just glared at him, though it was obviously halfhearted.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up, birdie; Ma heard all about you in my last letter. The moment she sees you, expect to get swept into the kitchen for feeding," he said with a grin before racing out of the room. A minute later, Nicoli was chasing after him, murder in his eyes.
Cid calmly walked to the door, closed it, walked back to his chair, sat down, and burst out laughing. 'By God, it's good to see him finally start to loosen up! For a second there, I was worried he never would….'
IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX
"… and my brother has made the ebony mines in Midgar flourish, raising the output from 1500 tons a month to 1550 tons. It is obvious from any but a commoner's viewpoint that my family has been on the rise, and just as obvious that we are more than prepared to take our place at your side, Your Majesty," Lord Calser of House Pertenos exhaled, sounding more and more like a mosquito to the regent. Cid withheld a groan, instead choosing to blink his eyes. It was the Feast of the Equinox, and just like so many times before, the inventor was forced to put up with the pompous ass of the equally irritating Pertenos family. Not for the first time, Cid thought that if he strapped the fool to one of his airships, the thing would never run out of power.
'How bloody long can he go on?' he thought, masking a chance to send a pleading look at his wife with a drink of his wine. Hilda sent an equally masked look of apology to her husband before turning her half her attention to the women around her.
This time, the regent almost forgot himself and sighed, wishing again that he hadn't sent the Duke of the Theatre District away on that 'vacation'. 'Hell, I'd pay to be there with him!' Cid thought, remembering all the interesting times that had happened fourteen months ago. He was just about to beg some excuse for leaving when the doors to the Grand Hall opened wide to admit four people he didn't expect to see for some time yet.
The first was Lulu Besaid, her usual distinctive gown exchanged for one made of shimmering black silk that seemed to flow around her. To accent her graceful neck, arms and figure, a series of ebony and silver chains hung from her throat, waist and wrists. A pair of ebony drops dangled from her ears, completing the image of exotic beauty.
Next to her was Gabranth Ronsenburg, garbed in a suit of well polished ebony armor, the black and gold giving off a glow under the light of the chandeliers. The usual closed helm was missing, showing the guests the man that looked almost identical to Captain Basch Ronsenburg of the Paladins, the only difference being the missing scar across the eyebrow. A black silk cloak covered his left arm, while his right was held to show he was the escort of Lady Lulu.
Zelicorius Dincht was the third in the group, dressed in the ceremonial uniform of the Royal Guards. The dark blue silk was adorned by gold chains and a golden plate on the right shoulder, while a similar plate covered the left. His medals proclaiming his rank and achievements glittered, while the twenty-year-old stood tall and proud, his stance reminiscent of a soldier at ease.
The last one was the most distinct, however. Instead of flashy silks or stunning armor, he was dressed in a tunic made of what looked like pieces of fabric in varying shades of grey stitched together. His left arm was covered by an almost tribal looking red design stretching from the wrist to the shoulder. A sleeveless coat made of black chain-mesh with black metal plates extending from the shoulders and a collar made of grey fur reached to his calves, while a pair of gauntlets done in some kind of silvery metal covered his hands. His pants were solid black while a similar design to his sleeve traveled up the right leg, this time done in a silvery grey. His boots were a plain grey metal with black 'thorns' covering the toes and sides. A silver and ruby pendant glittered at his throat, three feathers around a triangle stone.
However, it was his face that was most distinctive. Two silver earrings hung from his left ear while a black and grey band covered his right eye. A faint blue mist escaped from under that patch, while his other eye was a piercing shade of green. Black and gold hair was pulled back in a single braid at the base of his neck.
Everyone gathered in the hall stared at these four new visitors, silence reigning while they waited for the Steward to announce the name of the stranger who seemed so familiar.
"Presenting Sir Gabranth Ronsenburg, Captain of the Black Paladins; Lady Lulu Besaid, Court Magician and Black Mage; Sir Zelconius Dintch, of the Royal Guards; and his Grace, Duke Nicoli Bloodwing of the Theatre District."
The crowd turned to the youngest man, watching as a grin spread across his visage and four wings, one pair a dark grey and the other a deep crimson, spread from his back.
"Hail, and well met, lords and ladies of the Court. Was I missed?" Nicoli asked, his voice raspy as if from lack of use.
IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX IX
Well, that's our prologue. Hope it turned out ok, since I'm semi-new to this. You know the rules: Read and Review, tell me how I did, and flames will be used to laugh at the individual in the author's notes of the next chapter. You have been warned in that regard.
-GC
