The Curse"

It was snowing... but the grounds of Uleguerand Range had signs of scorched earth.

A lone figure walked past the bodies lying on the ground, now partially covered with the falling snow. He surveyed his handiwork, troubled and confused he was. He walked towards Xacabard. Two of the remaining members of the Bastokan expedition were waiting for him at the tunnel leading towards Xacabard. They asked why he had turned against Bastok. He didn't reply and simply kept walking towards them. Both had no choice but to attack him but he was too powerful a mage. In seconds both lay wounded, unable to fight. He wanted to say sorry but words just would not come out.

As he walked down the ledge, he saw that someone was waiting for him.

"That's far enough my friend."

"Hi there, I was hoping you weren't around."

"I heard the screams of my companion and ran back here. Stop this madness. Let us help you. You can't let a vision ruin your life. You can fight fate. Whatever we do in this lifetime is not destined. We make our own lives the way we choose it."

"You won't understand, maybe one day when this will all be over we can talk about it over a few rounds of ale but for now kindly get out of my way."

-O-

It all started a few months ago during a farming run in Boyahda Tree. It was the first time he saw her, Karla a Hume Black Mage, he sensed something he had never felt before. It was as if there was a bond between both of them, like kindred souls, like he knew her from somewhere. At first he thought he was just hallucinating but then came the visions. In his visions he kept seeing her. He didn't understand what it meant. He confided to me, Tiny Heart, about the visions he was having. I made fun by saying she had cast a love spell on him but he wasn't his usual jolly and funny self I noticed. His mind seemed so far away.

One day while searching for a coffer treasure chest in Eldieme Necropolis, he saw something out of the ordinary. He stopped running and no mistake it was a Yagudo sitting downon one of the tombs. A Yagudo inside Eldieme Necropolis? Curious he approachedht tomband saw the Yagudo looking at him.

"You… me wait." the Yagudo spoke.

"You waited for me? Ummmm do I know you?"

"No… you vision I know."

Icon was shocked when he heard this. How could this Yagudo know about his visions?

"Me… tell you… vision… come here."

Curious Icon approached the Yagudo. The Yagudo placed both ofit's hands on Icon's head. Suddenly visions flooded his mind, he could not believe what he saw but he now understood why he was having these visions.

-O-

Icon and Karla had been lovers in their past life. Everywhere they went they were feared and respected. No human or monster could stand withstand their power. They were like gods walking on Vanadiel. Every quest or trial found in Vanadiel they had done until one day Karla wanted to do the impossible. She wanted to challenge the Gods. No matter what Icon said she would not change her mind so he had no choice to go with her.They challenged the Gods but with all their knowledge in magic the Gods were too powerful for them to defeat. They barely escaped with their lives.

Karla was now obsessed with defeating the Gods. She wanted to be known as the most powerful mage in all of Vanadiel. She had heard legends of a powerful and ancient amulet possessed by Yagudos that could protect the wearer from magic. She searched for the Yagudo tribe that possessed it for weeks and finally found them. The Yagudo Chief would not give the amulet to her but she would not take no for an answer and tried to take it by force. A great battle ensued and in the end the Yagudo Mages of the tribe fought to a standstill with Karla so she was forced to retreat. But the damage had been done. The Yagudo's Chief's child had died from a wayward bolt of magic. A Yagudo Mage cast a curse on Karla that she would never find love and those who loved her would suffer the same fate for eternity. Thus the curse of Icon and Karla's unending love affair began.

-O-

"How many lifetimes have the curse between me and Karla been going on." Icon asked the Yagudo.

"Too many… lost count… me here help you."

"I've been meaning to ask you, how come you knew about me and my dreams?"

"Me know... me ancestor… curse you… me help… curse go away."

"How do I break it?"

"Me here… tell you about curse… how to break curse….. you heart know when time comes." said the Yagudo as he disappeared from Icon's sight.

-O-

"One last time Tiny Heart, please get out of my way."

"No Icon, I can't let you keep doing the same mistakes over and over again. I know what you are thinking. You want to hand Karla the key to the amulet we found as an expression of your love for her. Why Icon? Why can't you fight her wishes? You've been like this ever since you told me about the vision. You've been with her all this time terrorizing Vanadiel. Jeuno has issued a bounty out for both of your heads."

"I don't know why I am doing all this. My mind says no but my heart says otherwise. Maybe it's just the curse, for me to be her slave to for another lifetime."

Icon took a step towards me. I charged him with my scythe ready to strike him with all my might. He took out his wand and shot a bolt of magic towards me. To Icon's amazement I resisted his spell and my scythe slashed him across the chest. Blood was flowing from his chest wound. Icon cured the wound effortlessly using his healing magic.

"Tiny Heart, I underestimated you. You have improved much since we last saw each other. Before you couldn't even resist my magic, I am really impressed with your progress but it ends now."

Now Icon was showing me how a powerful mage he had become. He kept changing the spells he threw at me to keep me off balance. In the end I succumbed to his attack. I saw Icon's expression while I laywounded on the ground. He was in pain, he didn't want to fight me but something inside him was urging him to do so. He started to leave when he heard...

"Give me the key Icon and maybe I will let you live."It was Zeid. He had gone ahead and came back when the Bastokan expedition didn't arrive at the campsite.

"Hi there long time no see. Sorry got no time to chat with you. I have an appointment with someone." said Icon as he teleported away.

Zeid took the chance Icon was going to Crag of Holla. It was the place where Karla had been staging ambushes lately. Icon was there when Zeid teleported in. Lucky guess he said to himself but he had not noticed someone else was there. It was Karla.

"Ah look who's here, Zeid, once the most feared Dark Knight in all of Vanadiel. Now just a lapdog of the Bastokan Government. I thought you were more than that. I'm disappointed." Karla always had a flair for insults. It was her way to psych out her opponents.

"I won't even think of replying to that statement. Let's get on with it. I haven't had a nice fight in months. Let's see how good you really are Karla. You've been boasting you are the most powerful person in all of Vanadiel. Let's see what you got. And Icon if you want to join in be my guest. I'll take you both anytime of the day."

Karla opened the first salvo of the battle. To her amazement allZeid did was to run and dodge her spells. He was taunting her.

"Damn you Zeid, fight me like a man!"

'If you wish." Zeid suddenly turned and ran towards Karla. Karla fired her magic spells at him but Zeid resisted it all. Zeid responded with a spell of stone which slammed into Karla's chest, knocking her back. "And I thought you said you were all powerful. You can't even take an attack from a lowly Dark Knight like me."

"What are you doing just standing there Icon! Help me with this braggart!" shouted Karla.

Icon didn't reply or make a move. He was just standing there as if he was in a trance. Karla had yelled at him several times but to no avail. Zeid was winning the battle when Karla's followers suddenly appeared. It turned the tide of the battle. As powerful as Zeid was, he could not possibly hope to defeat a dozen mages. He staggered backwards on the onslaught of magic spells thrown at him.

"Stop!"

Everyone stopped in their tracks as when Icon yelled. He walked slowly towards Karla, in his hand holding the key he forcibly took from the Bastokan expedition.

"For how many lifetimes do we keep repeating the same mistake. I now understand it all. In order to break the curse I must forsake what we have." Icon said to Karla.

"Ha ha ha Icon Icon Icon, you're really crazy to believe in the Yagudo's words? Think of the past months we have been together. Isn't it what you always dreamed about? Someone to love? Come on wake up. And even if the Yagudo's words were true, by us meeting every lifetime since the curse was placed is indication that our love is forever. Nothing can keep us apart."

"Yes our love may be forever but in the end we will always fail and will never be together. I hope by breaking the curse now that in our next lifetime we can really seek the true love we both desire."

It was Icon's friendship with me, Tiny Heart that shook him to his senses. When he attacked his cherish friend, a part of him knew it had to stop. He would be doing the same thing all over again in the next lifetime. He realized only way he could stop the curse was to stop following Karla's wishes even if I meant their love would fall apart.

Icon then took out a lightning crystal. He desynth the key in front of Karla's own eyes.

"Icon! What have you done!" wailed Karla over and over. In her fit of rage she ordered her followers to attack him.

Icon just stood there as the bolts of magic charged towards him. He had found his peace at last. The only thing he wished was that he had finally broken the curse that has haunted them for several lifetime. And then darkness engulfed him as the waves of magical energy smashed into him.

Bastok Cannon Tower. The Aftermath.

I stood and watched at the stars in the evening sky. Someone had placedhis hand on my shoulder. It was Zeid.

"Cheer up Tiny Heart, as much as I wanted to saveIcon, hehad to face his destiny. He understood by forsaking his love for Karla, he hoped to break the curse in this lifetime. But it was a terrible prize pay though. Hopefully in time everyone will have forgiven him for what he had done. Love moves in mysterious ways."

I could not say anything. I lost a dear friend today. I hope he finally found his peace. He left a note saying ….

"Till we meet again, may Altana always hold you in the palm of her Hands to keep you safe always."

-End-