Gyrel's Story

I Was A Guardian

Luca-Luca News Network interview studio

Shelinda sits with a man under the studio lights while a young woman holding a camera stands away from the two. The man sitting has a muscular build, looks to be in his early to mid thirties, has a few noticeable wrinkles under his purple eyes, and neck length black hair. He wears brown, steel plated, calf high boots, green pants, an unbuttoned green vest and polished steel bracers engraved with a blue vine pattern. Shelinda faces the camera.

"Good evening Luca. Shelinda here with another Luca News Network special interview. Tonight our guest is Sir Gyrel."

"For those of you not from Luca, Sir Gyrel is the Sergeant Major in command of the Luca chapter of the Crimson Corps, the reformed version of the Youth League. Sir Gyrel, thank you for your time."

"Of course, Shelinda," Gyrel replies.

"Now, Sir Gyrel, you've done much for Luca and the surrounding territory. You've personally led fiend hunts on the Mi'ihen and Mushroom Rock roads, and you and your troops defeated the large water fiend that attacked Luca four months ago. I can assume that you're proud to have not had Lady Yuna's help?"

Gyrel laughs, "Yes, very proud. But should Lady Yuna and her friends ever wish too lend me a hand, I wouldn't refuse. In fact, if you are watching this Lady Yuna, I would be very honored if you would come along with me and my men on a fiend hunt. We would love to see a professional in action."

"Indeed," Shelinda adds. "Now, as I was saying, you've done much for Luca Sir Gyrel, but despite that, the people of Luca know little about you. We invited you on our show hoping that you would tell us you story."

Gyrel thinks for a moment, "I don't think I've ever told anyone my story. Very well, let's start at the beginning…When I was a Guardian."

"I was born an raised in Luca with my sister Ginnem. Like many people we lost our parents to Sin when we were fairly young. I trained myself in basic swordplay and martial arts so I would be able to protect Ginnem."

"We were friends with a girl named Lulu, who we met at a Blitz season opening tournament. She was from Besaid, and would visit us once or twice a month on top of being in Luca for the Blitz season opening. She went to the Blitz games just to cheer on her man, Chappu."

Gyrel pauses for a moment. "Then Ginnem told me she wanted to become a summoner. At first, I refused. 'No sister of mine is going of to become a summoner!' I told her. 'Fine, then I won't be your sister, but I'm still going to become a summoner!' She had made up her mind. So, I became her Guardian, hoping mostly that I could talk her out of it all along the way to Zanarkand."

"Ginnem trained and studied at Djose Temple, and I tagged along with a few Crusaders on a few patrols of the Mi'ihen Highroad. The Crusaders taught me the fiend basics and helped me sharpen my skills a bit. The group I was with was led by a Sergeant named Luzzu and…I don't think I ever thanked him properly for what he taught me. His training is what kept Ginnem and me alive. Ginnem finished her training and received the Aeon from Djose Temple."

"Where did you two go from Djose?" Shelinda asks.

"Well, we walked the Highroad back to Luca and took a boat to Kilika. In Kilika we met another summoner, a woman named Belgemine. Belgemine challenged Ginnem to an Aeon duel, and taught her a few things about Aeons during the fight. Ginnem lost the duel, but Belgemine told her, 'Don't worry, you've still got time to learn. High Summoner Braska didn't win his first challenge either.'"

"You mean this Belgemine held Aeon duals with Lord Braska?"

Gyrel nods, "Apparently so."

:"Ginnem prayed to Kilika's Fayth and got the Aeon, then we got on another boat and headed for Besaid."

"When we got there, we were greeted by Luzzu and Wakka, captain of the Besaid Aurochs. Ginnem and I had never been to Besaid, and its beauty instantly captivated us. Let me tell you, if you've never been to Besaid, you've got to visit it. The beach alone will make you want to live there, with it's sugar white sand and emerald green water. Then, there's the road to Besaid Village, decorated with palm trees and waterfalls…Oh my, would I love to visit Besaid Island again."

"Anyway, Ginnem and I were also excited to visit Chappu and Lulu, we hadn't seen them since Ginnem decided to become a Summoner, so Ginnem wanted to see them one more time before we arrived at Zanarkand. Oh, did I mention that I had tried twice up to then to talk Ginnem out of the pilgrimage? It wasn't working."

"Lulu didn't take it very well. Ginnem and Lulu were close friends, so you can understand. So Lulu asked to be Ginnem's Guardian, and Ginnem accepted. Lulu was becoming proficient with black magic, you see, so she did have something to offer."

"It wasn't all drama though. While in Besaid I had the honor of meeting Lord Braska's daughter, a somewhat younger Lady Yuna, and an unusual Ronso who watched over her."

"Unusual how?" Shelinda queried.

"For one, he was smaller than most Ronso, maybe about six-foot-six? His horn was broken, too, and he was really quiet."

"Ginnem received the Besaid Aeon and the three of us left the next morning. We passed through Kilika and back to Luca."

"While we were walking the Highroad, we witnessed Luzzu and his men finishing a battle with a large fiend they said was hunting Chocobos in the area. Luzzu hurried away before I could thank him for my training. As we reached the end of the Highroad, we again met Belgemine. She and Ginnem had another Aeon dual, and this time Ginnem won. Belgemine said she could see significant improvement in Ginnem's control of her Aeons. I saw it, as well, which was only making it harder for me to continue the pilgrimage…I could tell that if Ginnem continued to strengthen and improve, then she would surely become stronger enough to challenge Sin. Ginnem still wouldn't give up the pilgrimage."

"As we traveled the Djose Highroad, we found Luzzu and some more Crusaders patrolling and surveying the area. I overheard one of them say something about 'Yeah, this'll probably be the best spot.'"

"Oh!" Shelinda interrupts. "They were talking about…!"

Gyrel nods, "Yes. Four years later the Crusaders and the Al Bhed would conduct Operation Mi'ihen there."

"I was there," Shelinda adds. "It was a terrible battle."

"I was there, too." Gyrel replies. "But I'll get to that later."

"We continued down the Djose Highroad until we reached the Moonflow. You've seen the Moonflow, correct?"

"Oh, yes I have," Shelinda answers. "It's a lovely sight."

"Have you seen it at night?" Gyrel asks. "The rumor about the Moonflow is true, you know. At night, pyreflies swarm over the Moonflow. It is more beautiful than Macalania Forest, and a bit frightening too, because because no one knows why it happens. The next morning, as we were waiting for a shoopuf, we met an odd old man named Maechen."

"I've met Maechen as well," Shelinda interjects. "It was in Macalania Forest, and he explained to me how the fayth of Macalania Temple kept Macalania Forest frozen."

"Yes, " Gyrel continues. "And he told us of the theory that shoopufs eat very, very small creatures in the water. It was strange, what he said, but it gave us three something to talk about other than Sin and the pilgrimage."

"We crossed the Moonflow, and walked the road the Guadosalam. While there, we paid our respects to Lord Jyscal, and we then went to the Farplane to visit our families."

"After that, we walked the Thunder Planes. It's funny, at the time, the Thunder Plane was one of the most dangerous places in Spira, and yet I found the never ending storm to be rather beautiful. The journey through the Thunder Planes was slow. It was the first time any of us had traveled them, you see, so we were a bit afraid to stray away from the lightning towers. We were more than glad to reach Macalania Forest."

"While we were hiking the path, Lulu pulled me aside and said, 'Ginnem's really going through with this, isn't she?' You see, I had finally come to accept Ginnem's decision to be a summoner, and I had told her she had my support. Lulu, though, hadn't. Lulu had already lost her parents when she was younger, and she didn't want to loose Ginnem as well. 'This was Ginnem's decision from the start,' I told Lulu. 'She's made her decision, so all we can do now is to guard her along the way to make sure that she doesn't die for nothing.'"

Gyrel stops for a moment, then his eyes fill with sadness, "I said that, back then, and I believed it…I wish I knew then what we all know now." The sadness disappears from his eyes.

"But hey, let me tell you, it was hiking through Macalania Forest that made me realize just how amazing and beautiful Spira truly is. The blue, crystalline flora and the frozen yet flowing water were sight to behold, and it wasn't very cold, considering. Too bad the forest has thawed since."

"We used the Calm Lands as a training ground to prepare us for the climb of Mt. Gagazet, as fiends were plentiful and strong enough to pose somewhat of a challenge. I honed my sword and martial skills, Lulu sharpened her magic and Ginnem used to the open area to call her Aeons and train with them. We stopped at small shop and campground there that was built by a younger Lord Rin. We three were distrustful of him at first, since he's Al Bhed, but his kind demeanor and fair pricing convinced us to stop to rest and stock up on supplies."

"We were close to Gagazet, which meant that our journey was coming to and end. Lulu was starting to get edgy. We made our way to the base of Gagazet, where Ginnem remembered tale of a small cave nearby that had been made into makeshift Chamber of the Fayth when someone had stolen a Fayth from an old temple and placed it in the cave. Ginnem wanted to go and pray to the Fayth, but we decided that, since it was getting dark and the cave was home to fiends, we would camp and make out way through the cave the next day."

"That night didn't go well. Lulu just couldn't accept Ginnem's decision to become a summoner. The two had an argument, during which Lulu told Ginnem, 'You know you're not strong enough to fight Sin! If it wasn't for me and Gyrel watching your back all the time, you'd be dead in five minutes, and that dual you won with Belgemine on the Djose Highroad was just a fluke! Why don't you just turn back and save us all the grief of you dying for nothing?'"

"I know Lulu didn't mean it, we both new how strong Ginnem had become, Lulu had told me herself. But she couldn't help it, her grief at the upcoming loss of her friend was overwhelming her, and she snapped. We all went to bed pretty upset."

"I woke sometime during the night and found a note in Ginnem's stead. It read, 'Maybe you're right Lulu, maybe I'm not strong enough, we'll know soon enough. If I can make it through the Cave of the Stolen Fayth and get the Aeon within on my own, then I'll have proven my strength.' I was terrified, Ginnem had never tried facing fiends alone before. I woke Lulu and showed her the note, then we ran."

"We ran down the small slope that led to the cave, then into the cave where we hacked and cast our way through a few fiends…" Gyrel stops speaking as his eyes again fill with sadness. "Then we found her, and she…was dead. There were no marks on her body, but she was cold and still. It's an ability that the Ghost type fiends have, a spell that instantly kills you after a short period.."

"Lulu and I cried over her body. We had failed. There were no summoners nearby to perform the sending, so we knew that it wouldn't be long before she became a fiend, which hurt even more. We were going to wait in the cave until Ginnem became a fiend, so we could at least dispatch her ourselves, but a group of warrior monks from Bevelle led by the late Sir Kinoc came by to clear out the fiends currently nesting in the cave, and had us leave. I always wanted to go back to dispatch Ginnem, but I could never find Lulu again. It never seemed right for me to do it on my own."

"Lulu and I made our way to Bevelle, mostly in silence. After that we went our separate ways."

"Are you alright?" Shelinda asks a noticeably upset Gyrel.

"Yeah, it's just…Talking about Ginnem's death still gets to me sometimes. Can we continue this in a little while?"

Shelinda nods, turns to the woman holding the camera and makes a gesture to stop rolling.