Final Fantasy XII
Eruyt Path
Description: What happened on that day, 50 years ago, when Fran left Eruyt Village?
Author's note: I claim no ownership of Final Fantasy XII, any of the characters, locations, or items in this story. Squaresoft, Square EA, Square Enix, or whatever their current name is holds all Final Fantasy trademarks and copyrights, as well as any related trademarks and copyrights.
"Fran," a gentle voice called through the closed door, "You know you can't just leave the wood. It is against the way of our people."
"I know that, mother," came Fran's somewhat flat reply. "But I feel there is more for us beyond the borders of the wood than what we know."
"Sister, please, open the door," came another voice – one which Fran immediately recognized as belonging to her younger sister Mjrn. Sighing softly as she looked over her small pack of supplies, Fran walked over to the door and unlocked it, letting Mjrn in while trying to avoid meeting the eyes of her older sister, Jote, and their mother. "Sister, why are you leaving the forest? Did we do something wrong?" Mjrn asked, looking up at Fran, the confusion evident in the young Viera's eyes.
"No, Mjrn. The Viera have done no wrong. It is something that I cannot explain right now. Perhaps in time you will understand," Fran said, patting Mjrn gently on the top of the head, trying to comfort her. "Come. It is almost time for the evening meal," Fran says, trying to distract Mjrn enough for her to forget – for now at least – the fact that she would soon be leaving the wood and her people. The evening meal that night was eaten in almost total silence, something that is rare even for the Viera, before the family retired for the night.
That night, Fran was haunted again by the same dream that she'd been having for the past few weeks: The wood that she had called home for so long was no more. Her friends and family lay injured, dying around her. In her hands were a bow and arrow. All she could feel within her was raw hatred for whatever had caused this – not even the voice of the wood could be heard anymore. But the hatred she felt was not towards the Viera. No. This hatred was directed at something from outside the wood – something that she must destroy. Feeling the presence behind her she turns to face the nameless horror that caused this destruction, ready to fire the fatal shot into its black heart. Waking up with a start before she could see its face, Fran cradles her face in her hands, gasping for breath with cold sweat running down her forehead. Fran looked around her room for any sign of an intruder, her long rabbit-like ears twitching nervously in the pale light of the early morning. "That settles it," the Viera said to herself. "I must find that horror and destroy it before it destroys the wood." Climbing out of her bed, Fran gathered up a few more of her belongings, knowing that she will not be welcome back to the village once she has stepped outside the boundaries of the wood.
Stealthily making her way to the entrance of Eruyt Village, her high-heels making only a soft tapping on the wooden walkways encircling the trees and connecting across the nothingness between them, Fran held her small pack close to her, praying to the wood that she had brought enough to at least reach the nearest Hume city, where she would resupply and begin her search.
"Fran, where are you going?" called a soft but commanding voice behind her.
Wincing as she heard the voice of her older sister, Jote, Fran replied, "I am leaving."
"You know that it is against our ways," Jote replied. "Once you leave, you will not be welcome here again. The entire village… perhaps even the wood itself may see you as being dead once you step beyond her living arms."
"I know that, sister. But you know of the dreams that I have been having – the black horror from beyond the wood…" Fran began to say.
"Yes, sister, I know of the dreams. You have told me of them many times. But, as you yourself said, it is a threat from outside the wood – outside our world," Jote interrupted. "If it comes into the wood, the wood will protect us."
"If it reaches the wood, sister, it will already be too late for us," Fran replied, her agitation with her sister's stubbornness coming through coolly in her voice.
Letting out a soft sigh at the stubbornness that Fran is showing, Jote finally gives in. "And what would you have me tell our mother? And what of Mjrn, our young sister?"
Pausing to think of how to word her reply, Fran finally responds, "Tell them… that I am sorry. The Viera may begin as part of the wood, but it is not the only end that we may choose."
The two Viera stand at the entrance of Eruyt Village, looking at each other in silence before Jote finally speaks up. "Very well, Fran. Just realize that you will not be welcomed warmly should you return."
"I understand," Fran says, picking up her pack once again and slinging her bow over her shoulder. "I would expect nothing else from the Viera, should I return alive."
Turning and heading down the path out of the village and to the border of the wood, Fran stops and looks back down the path and utters a soft "Goodbye" under her breath, a single tear rolling down her cheeks as she steps out of the world she has known for her entire life and enters the world of the Humes.