Lady Artz: Hey everyone and welcome to my brand new Final Fantasy XII story called Dawn of Twilight! Don't let the title fool you. This has nothing to do with vampires and everything to do with the storm of insanity brewing within my mind. I apologize to those of you who are waiting for the next update for Star of Hope. I ran into a bit of an impasse on Chapter Fourteen: Meddling Friends, so I decided to start up a new story that has been slowly forming in my mind since I watched the FFXII movie on YouTube.
Right, onwards and upwards! Much love and over flowing gratitude to all those who have faved, followed and reviewed all of my stories and I hope that you will show that same loyalty and devotion to this story as well!
This chapter is actually a prologue, but will seem kind of like an actual chapter because of the way it flows. Also, you will not understand much of the dynamics taking place in this chapter because it is a brief look into my original character's past and that of a certain sky pirate. Everything will be explained in the main story line of the game, so think of it as a teaser or a trail of bread crumbs.
Now for the disclaimer. I do not own Final Fantasy XII or anything related to the Final Fantasy universe and franchise. I also do not own anything I make references to. I only own my original characters, Artimes Blaine also known as Artz, and Benedict Strathem commonly referred to as the Dark Warrior.
Alright, enough of my incessant chin wagging! On with the show!
Prologue: Blood Oath
Fires burning, swords clashing, explosions occurring…a fortress under siege by the invading army of a larger country known as the Archadian Empire. Men fought and fell, both sides fighting for their respective nations. Two figures darted from shadow to shadow, passing unseen by the many soldiers. Their goal…to reach the inner sanctum in hopes of protecting one who they deemed precious.
The woman leading the way had dark skin and eyes of deep red. She wore a revealing set of dark armor, her stomach exposed. She wore stilettos and her tall, rabbit like ears adorned the top of her blondish white haired head. She was not human. She hailed from the Eruyt Village, home of the Vieras. She was a master of weaponry and partner to a male human, a sky pirate no less.
Said sky pirate followed after his Viera partner. He was six feet tall with rather handsome features. He had short brown hair with blonde highlights and eyes of forest green. He wore and embroidered golden and olive vest over a high collared white shirt. He was wearing tight black leather trousers with leather shin pads and steel, open backed sandals. Around his waist was two crossed, gold buckled belts with two pouches attached to either side. His trademark was the gun and he was a damn good shot.
The two finally managed to sneak into the main fortress and cut down the many hallways to the inner sanctum. The sounds of a desperate battle floated through the partially open door. The pirate glanced inside and his eyes landed on the very person he was seeking, his elder brother.
His brother, a man at the height of six feet two inches tall, was battling against a group of soldiers on his own. He pivoted and slashed, slaying one of his opponents with his sword and used his magicks to take down two more. It was clear from his heavy breathing and somewhat sloppy swordplay that the dark haired man wasn't going to last much longer. Thankfully, he dispatched the last of his enemies fairly quickly.
The sky pirate and the viera walked into the room and over to the dark clad warrior.
"You certainly do like to cut things rather close, don't you Benedict?" The pirate said making the other male turn at his voice.
"Balthier and his lovely friend, Fran. What a pleasant surprise? I wasn't expecting company today." The warrior now identified as Benedict replied a small smile on his face.
The sky pirate known as Balthier gave his brother once over. His brother's dark brown, almost black hair was more unkempt than usual. His abnormally pale skin had a light sheen of sweat from the recent exertion, his steel blue eyes holding a barely concealed pain. His armor and clothing were torn and fractured, blood flowing from several cuts and stab wounds. Overall, he looked like hell and it was a miracle that he was still standing, albeit leaning heavily on his sword for support.
"You seem to have quite a few unexpected guests." Balthier commented silently cursing himself for not arriving sooner.
Damn this war and damn the Empire causing all this ruckus. Too much blood had spilled already and yet more was being spilled at that very moment. His brother had a sent him a urgent message, requesting his assistance and he had come without hesitation. His partner, Fran, took a step forward garnering the attention of both brothers.
"You are mortally wounded." She stated her voice revealing a small amount of sorrow.
The sky pirate looked to his elder brother in shock. The dark haired warrior smiled sadly at his younger sibling, a silent apology in his eyes. He released the sword, allowing it to clatter to the floor loudly.
"I know." He replied softly as he began to fall forward.
Balthier raced towards his brother, catching him and lowering him to the floor. Blood coated his hands as he tried to staunch the bleeding in a vain attempt to save his brother's life.
"Stop Ffamran, it is of no use. I am not long for this world." Benedict said quietly.
"No." The pirate replied shaking his head in disbelief, "You will not die here. You cannot die here. You have a wife to introduce me to, remember?"
The elder sibling let out a pained chuckle before pulling out a diamond shaped pendant. The metal diamond acted as a backdrop for the blue jewel shard in its center. He held it up to his brother.
"Find her." He ordered.
Balthier pushed the pendant down.
"No, it was just a legend, a story our mother told us. She's not real." He replied still trying to apply pressure to his brother's many wounds.
"She is not a story, brother. She is very much real and very much here in our world." Benedict revealed shocking his younger sibling, "I loved that legend so much, loved her so much…I ended up marrying her."
The sky pirate stared at him with wide eyes, completely astounded. The woman his brother had married was the same woman from the legend their mother had told them about when they were kids. The woman who would save their world from a terrible darkness, the lost daughter of the Dynast-King. Their mother was descended from a family of knights, loyal to the royal family of King Raithwall, and they were the sworn protectors of the lost princess.
Balthier had never truly believed the story, too much of a realist, but now to hear that the woman of legend was real and was his brother's newly made wife, he was completely floored. He was broken from his thoughts when his brother pushed the pendant into his hands.
"You must find her and protect her, whatever it takes. She must not be alone. We are all that she has. Please, brother…believe in the legend, believe in her. She needs you." His brother pleaded his blood soaked hand covering his brother's.
The sky pirate stared into his brother's eyes, trying to rationalize everything that was happening. His entire world was being turned upside down and inside out. He was confused, angry, shocked, and was feeling the beginnings of grief and loss. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Too much was happening at once and he couldn't process it at all.
"There is no greater treasure than she. You're a sky pirate…steal her away and protect that treasure." Benedict continued his eyes begging, "Promise me."
Tears began to form in Balthier's eyes as he nodded his head.
"I promise. I will find her and I will protect her." He conceded as a tear slipped down his cheek.
The elder sibling smiled softly, his eyes full of gratitude. His body began to relax and the younger brother knew that the end was near.
"Don't be afraid to love her." The dark haired warrior whispered quietly as his eyes looked away as if seeing something or someone else, "…Mom."
The light in Benedict's eyes faded away, leaving behind nothing but emptiness. More tears fell as the sky pirate reached up and closed his brother's eyes, his grief and sorrow now fully manifesting. He sat there quietly, looking at the pendant in his blood stained hands. This necklace had meant so much to his brother and late mother. It was the cherished family heirloom of his mother's blood line, a constant reminder of the blood oath that her family had made to the Dynast-King to protect his first born daughter that had been stolen by the Mist.
His mother had always been so sad that he had never believed in the story and now he was the only one left to fulfill that ancient vow. It was truly ironic that the greatest disbeliever would become the one meant to protect the lost princess. The gods must truly have hated him. He had lost everything; his mother to illness, his brother to battle, and his father to insanity.
He balled his hand into a fist around the pendant, his green eyes burning with determination. Legend or not, his brother had a wife and that wife needed protecting. He would be damned if he lost anyone else, but especially not the woman his brother had loved with his entire being. He may not know what she looked like or even know where to start looking for her, but he did know her name. His brother had told him that much, so he would search for her, find her, and protect her. He would sort out this legend nonsense later.
He rose to his feet as he pocketed the pendant. He signaled for his viera companion to follow him. They could not risk staying here any longer…to do so, would be more trouble than what it was worth. Thankfully, he had had the foresight to memorize layout of this fortress in case he ever needed to aid his brother and they quickly found the fastest and most safe route out of the fortress.
If he had waited in the inner sanctum a few minutes longer, he would have encountered the very woman he had sworn himself to protect. She had found her way to the inner sanctum and collapsed into tears at the sight of her dead husband. She knelt by his side, stroking his cold face and brushing through his hair while she cried.
Her head snapped up when she heard the soldiers approaching. She glanced between her dead husband and the set of double doors. She then removed the dark warrior's wedding band, placing it in the pouch at her side. She heard the soldiers again, closer than before. She leaned down and kissed her husband's lips in a final farewell before rising to her feet. She headed back the way she came, glancing back at the man who had taught her how to love.
With that one final look, engraving him forever in her memory, she fled the room. She knew every room, every corridor, and even a few secret passageways that the imperials didn't know about. It wasn't long before she had made it to the forested hills to the East. She looked back at the burning fortress, watching the black smoke rise into the night sky. She then turned away and disappeared into the shadows of the night, never to be seen in that place again.
It would be two years before the sky pirate known as Balthier would have the opportunity to fulfill his promise to his brother, but alas, that was when everything was going to change and he was going to have one hell of fight on his hands in the form of the feisty, fiery, and highly independent woman from another dimension. Yes, the gods did indeed hate him and he was in for the adventure of a lifetime.
Lady Artz: That's it for the prologue called Blood Oath. Bit dramatic I know and probably not my best work, but it does get better because we will be meeting Vaan in the next chapter along with my original character, Artz. Things are going to get very exciting.
Leave tons and tons of reviews and be on the lookout for Chapter One: Desert Lily! Stay Tuned!