Sins of the Past
Disclaimer: I don't own the world of Final Fantasy, but I wish it did.
Prologue
Dawn. A woman of eighteen years stood in the morning sun. Though she appeared innocent, she was actually a battle-hardened Knight, a soldier of the Empire. Was there anyone who was truly innocent, though? She was forced to remind herself of that question with every mission. With every expedition, lives were lost.
Genetically engineered with a technology known as Magitek Infusion, she was given the gift… and curse of magic. A soldier all her life, not by choice, but by the will of others. She was raised as a Magitek Knight, also bearing the mark of the Rune on her right palm and a curved blade at her side. An elegant silver band decorated her upper left arm and white leather gauntlets covered her hands. Around her neck, she wore a chain with the emblem of the mythological goddess, Shiva, engraved by mysterious symbols of a forgotten language. It read:
Dea Caelestis Glacies. "Celestial ice goddess."
A Celtic-like silver band was pierced into her upper right ear, an ornament typical of high ranking officers. She wore two small, dignified braids in her hair on the right side, also signifying her status.
General Celes Chere stood atop a hill overlooking the port town of South Figaro. Her icy blue eyes swept across the countryside, surveying the land she would soon ravage. Her keen eyesight not missing a single detail, she methodically calculated the strengths and weaknesses of the town's position. The sun glinted off her white armor, reflecting off the silver-etched designs and trim. The gold emblem of the Empire was engraved into her white breastplate. Her platinum blonde hair and snowy cape swayed gently in the wind as she meticulously planned their best course of action to avoid unnecessary casualties. Too many. Too many innocents had died on her orders. Too much blood had stained her hands.
Though Celes had lost her innocence years ago with her first kill, she still had a spirit as pure as snow…and an exterior as cold as ice. Because she was trained to distance herself from emotion, to bury all sentiments under a thick sheet of ice, she earned a reputation as the Ice Queen, the cold-hearted bitch of the Empire. Even the gloves she wore served to further distance herself from feeling. Some have believed that her infusion of ice froze her heart, leaving no emotion at all in her frostbitten soul. Even her skin was cold to the touch.
Celes had actually received her powers from the Esper, Shiva. Espers were magical creatures sought fanatically by the Empire. Their powers were drained, and used to fuel the Empire's Magitek army, an army which was commanded to destroy all opposition to the Empire. Emperor Gestahl claimed his only intentions were the neutralization of all threats and global accord. Celes, however, knew his true goal was world domination.
And now, yet another town would fall to its knees. More lives would be destroyed. And all Celes could think was, For the Empire. All of this was 'for the Empire.' It was her duty as an Imperial general. She had to either follow and give orders, or die by someone else's.
The very foundation of her torment started when she was just an infant. With the gift and the curse…