Prologue
When you are a child, the world is full of wonder. Every day brings a new place to uncover, someone new to meet, a new type of bug to find, a new shiny object to play with. Yet there are some times when the world of an adult can be wonderful as well…
The little girl stirred in her bed restlessly, trying to find rest, after a long and exhausting day of playing with her friends. However, an incessant noise, a murmuring, chatter, from outside her open window refused to let her rest. After several minutes of battling with the mumbling from outside, the girl gave up and sat up in bed, peering out the window.
She blinked. It was night, and night meant it would be dark outside. Yet she was definitely aware of a light source, brighter than any lamp that she knew… however, try as she might, the little girl could not see where this light was coming from.
From below her window, the girl could hear snippets from a heated conversation. One of the voices she recognized as her father's. Even though she could hear their voices, they were talking in hushed whispers, and she was unable to make out what they were saying. Suddenly, she heard one of the other men talking with her father say "Sin."
Once more, the little girl blinked. Sin? She had heard of Sin… but what was it? Sin was only a story, wasn't it? A story about a great sea monster that attacked the helpless people of Spira… but Sin had never come to Luca. Sin had never attacked her hometown. The girl had always assumed that Sin, therefore, was not real. Yet these men with her father were obviously very excited about whatever had happen with this "Sin"… so that must mean it was real.
By now, more people had poured into the streets, and they were all looking towards the light, pointing at it… the younger ones were jumping up and down excitedly, the elder citizens were merely talking amongst themselves. However, the little girl could sense their excitement, contained though it was. One of the people the girl saw she recognized. Her best friend Kecci was sitting on his father's shoulders, entranced by the mysterious light in the sky.
Without warning, the light flared up, becoming a nova that illuminated the whole sky. As the nova expanded, the girl could see the faint traces of what looked like a gigantic fire from over the city's skyline. And the ever-growing crowd below her began to cheer, a roar that went up, spreading, growing louder, not slowing; such was the elation of these people. And the little girl caught more mentions of "Sin" and something called a "Calm", and once in a while she would hear the name "Summoner Taradine."
The men talking with her father had not joined in the cheer, however. As she watched from out the window, they said a curt goodbye and went their separate ways.
One of the men—one she had never seen before—edged through the crowd, deftly weaving around the jubilant people. He was dressed in an outfit remarkably similar in style to the uniforms the girl had seen on some of the people throughout the city of Luca… were they the Crusaders? However, while the style was similar, the standard blues and reds were blacks and whites on his outfit. His hair was jet-black, shoulder length, and slicked back in a tight tail. On his back was strapped a curved scabbard, and she could see the handle of a sword at the end. The girl was not the only one looking at him, she realized. Kecci had stopped staring at the light, and was looking intently at the stranger.
As if he could feel the stare of the two youths, the stranger paused, then turned and looked directly up at the window the little girl was at, fixing her with the most intense silver stare she had ever known.
Suddenly, she was stricken by an inexplicable urge to hide, and that was exactly what she did. The little girl dove down onto the bed and threw the covers over her head, and fell into a fitful sleep, through which the man in black chased her towards a growing light, yelling at her, "The Calm! Sin! The Calm! You must! Sin!" over and over again.
In the morning, all the events of the previous night seemed a dream. Yet the seed had been planted in young Neirana… she woke up, and looked over the city skyline to the north, where she had seen the light the night before. "Sin…" she whispered to herself.
The mind of a child is filled with wonder. And ever so often, that wonder takes hold and will never let go. And then, even an adult can experience it.
