Second 'Arc' in the Transcendance Arc, continuing from the Sorcerer Arc (Endgame) [WIP - ongoing series
Overall Summary: When you are dead time passes impossibly fast, and everything you knew can change, seemingly in a heartbeat. When the World has been created anew, and is struggling to balance itself in the face of the changes wrought, it can change even faster. How did we get from there to here? Well, even when nothing stays the same, nothing changes...
Disclaimer: Most of this is mine, since it has very little basis in canon aside from some of the characters and events referenced. So, we'll go with the standard disclaimer; recognise it – probably not mine, don't recognise it – probably mine (or just very obscure). If in doubt, ask, and I'll set you straight…or try to.
Warnings: May bend your brain in painful directions…but hey, that's time compression for ya. Also spoilers for FFX and FFX-2.
Chapter Summary: First the loop must close, then Squall's true legacy to the world will change its face forever. It will be up to the scattered survivors of humanity, and the new races birthed in chaos, to determine where the world's fate lies after that, for their 'God' is just a figurehead, and their true creator wants only to forget.
AN: This is the second 'arc' of the Transcendence Arc (it's really on the short side for an arc in its own right, but as it's a filler, it doesn't really fit elsewhere), bridging the gap between the end of Endgame and the start of the Ghost Arc. I'll put the images (yes, I did a set of maps for this, hence some of the delay in getting it actually written lol) on my photobucket account and stick the links in the bottom AN for anyone who wants to see what in hell I'm waffling about regarding landscape changes…assuming doesn't hijack the urls as it tends to .
Chaos Rising - Chapter One - The Changing ContinentsNearly a Century after the second Sorceress War against Ultemecia, and the beginning of that war, fought through and over time itself, came to pass. The child who would take the name Ultemecia - for it was not her birth name, cursed as it was by the history it bore and the future it promised - was born and set upon the road that would lead to her demise at the hands of legendary SeeDs, by then long dead.
War, never far from the hearts and minds of insecure people with power, ebbed and flowed across the land, armies moving like tides of death, leaving hundreds without families, and more without homes. The Gardens, majestic mercenary institutes that they had once been, served, as ever, as safe refuge to those who would train and join their ranks, and were quickly filled to overflowing with orphans and desperate refugees. But space was no issue, for all sides sought the additional power of the specially trained SeeDs, those who were able to take on entire armies with the aid of their Guardian Force companions.
Spiralling out of control, the Gardens devolved into nothing more than military machines, grinding ever younger children into barely-ready canon-fodder. Some SeeDs, sensing the end drawing ever closer, took it upon themselves to safely hide the knowledge and secrets held within the Gardens, before scattering to the four corners of the world, taking with them the accumulated Guardian Forces of their fallen comrades.
Aruna grew in the conflict, watched her parents die at the hands of fleeing soldiers, and then entered the military machine that Garden had become. But unlike many she drank in the training as though it were water, and thirsted for more. She longed for power, for the ability to get revenge on those she felt had wronged her, on those she blamed for losing her previously happy existence. Her desire to become stronger, stronger, ever stronger, led her from Garden when it became clear that they were slowly falling into the grave they had dug for themselves, slowly dying, losing the GFs and the knowledge and power they had once flaunted with such pride. It led her to a dying sorceress, and a rumour that the hidden continent's illusions had been shattered, its people fed to the wolves prowling that continent's hostile lands.
Esthar, Aruna reasoned, had technologies and magics that were bound to be almost forgotten by the rest of the world, that were bound to be more powerful than anything the warring countries still remembered. With the power of a sorceress filling her with confidence, she set out. But she was soon disillusioned of any idea she held that she was now 'powerful'. Surprised by a band of soldiers, she was bound and powerless before she could do or say anything, and helpless as they took their pleasure with her. After beating her insensate, they left her to die or be killed by monsters, never realising she was a sorceress, and thus would heal in safety. Aruna knew then that she needed more power, much more, for she had been overcome so easily. Yet she also knew that she would need a partner, a knight, for no matter how powerful she became, she would always be human in her need for slumber.
Aruna changed her plans then, and in the chaos of the war torn world, she hunted others of her kind, other sorceresses, stealing their powers until she felt sure that she was the most powerful sorceress ever. Only then did she return to her original plan, to strip Esthar of its knowledge and power, and use them to visit her revenge upon those who had wronged her.
And she did. The fires of her wrath burned fierce across Galbadia and Dollet, scorching the skies until the clouds turned to char and the rain to ashes. But she found her thirst for vengeance was still not sated, no matter how much land she set aflame, or how many soldiers she ripped asunder. So she returned once more to Esthar - the only land she had left untouched - to the deserted laboratory deep in the desert that spoke of such marvels as travelling through time, and magic so forbidden that the only reference she could find was a mention of 'time compression'.
But as she stumbled across the activation of the 'Ellone' device, she was not so far lost to her power-madness, her bloodlust, as to fail to realise the circle that she was completing, and thus she cast away the name 'Aruna', the name of her birth, and took upon herself the name 'Ultemecia'. She knew that her quest would, ultimately, fail, and yet she also knew that she would fight to the bitter end to try and change history, to try and succeed.
Thus began, and soon after ended, the second Sorceress War against Ultemecia, fought through and over time itself, won, inevitably, by the echoes of legendary SeeDs long dead, and never to know the ruinous end that their proud legacy had come to.
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With the world's land scorched and battered, and time itself twisted and bruised, it seemed only fitting that the Gods and the Land make clear their protest of all that man's foolishness had wrought. Survivors of the chaotic aftermath of Ultemecia's fury found themselves scrambling to survive once more as the earth tossed and heaved, its landscapes seeming to change virtually overnight. It was not literally overnight, of course, except in geological terms, with changes that should naturally have occurred over the span of millennia taking place in mere centuries or even decades.
Five centuries past the year of Ultemecia's demise - had anyone been keeping track of time's passage - and Esthar's great plains were gone, sunk beneath the waves, just as much of Galbadia and Balamb had. A mere three centuries later, and much of Centra was also lost, with small islands appearing around the eastern side of the Galbadian continent, and three larger islands appearing to the south and west of Esthar.
A millennia past the year of Ultemecia's demise and the Time of Upheaval seemed to be drawing to a close. The smaller islands forming first land bridges, and then merging with one another to form larger continents. But those who relaxed were caught by surprise when the world spasmed, once, twice more over the next five centuries. All four continents were hard hit the first time, land dropping away beneath the feet of anyone unlucky enough to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Galbadia, which had clung to its shape for so long, was split asunder, broken into mountains in the west, and lowland in the east. Centra sank still further, only the tops of its tallest ridges forming small islands over which storms washed the seas, although some lands to the south east remained stubbornly above sea level, and some to the east merged with the land running south from Trabia and over Balamb. Esthar lost yet more land to the sea's greedy pull, the lands to its north falling as though the entire continent was on the verge of giving up and sinking beneath the waves.
The second spasm was more of a lurch, a final shudder as the land, perhaps satisfied that it had cowed the mortals upon its surface, settled into its final formation. The eastern Galbadian lowlands dipped below the sea, leaving only a small island as a token to its former existence. Western Galbadia merged with the new Trabian continent, a land-bridge springing up between them. A reef, some parts once rocky Centran islands, curved around the west side of the world, from eastern Galbadia's remnants towards the few islands that remained of Centra. Centra itself was mostly gone, or subsumed into the Estharian half of the Trabian continent by yet more land-bridges. The northern part of Esthar was lost to the sea, along with the lands around the northernmost of Trabia's two ancient volcanoes.
Much was lost during the Time of Upheaval, including the information and knowledge hidden by the SeeDs during Ultemecia's ascendance, as well as much of the history and lore of the world before that time. Scraps survived, as myth and legend, as story and fable, as much believed as scoffed at. Monsters were a universal truth, but magic was an elusive and arcane art that few could master intuitively, therefore magical beasts of incredible power and strength that answered to human masters... A pipedream, most said, fanciful wishes of those who wanted someone else to save them or were not strong enough to save themselves.
--
Very few places made it through the Time of Upheaval intact, but there were a few places that seemed blessed by the Gods and acted as safe havens. Curiously this included three 'Chocobo' forests, and the sites of two Gardens, though the structures that had once stood there had been lost even before the upheaval began. To find that not all of the once-familiar had been lost completely, that there was evidence to support the tales of the generations before and during the Time of Upheaval, gave hope to the generation upon whose shoulders the rebuilding of the race fell.
The human race, ever resilient, began the process of reclaiming its former glory. Ruins were discovered, on land and at sea, that sometimes resulted in 'relics' of the past, or more usefully, yielded up precious knowledge, allowing inventions and innovations to be brought to life once more.
As groups of survivors began to meet up on their explorations, the process of re-learning the skills and knowledge that had been lost sped up, until it seemed almost as if the Time of Upheaval had never happened, and the lands had never changed. But although it appeared so on the surface, it was clear to the scholars and those willing to read through the accounts of the past, that the Time of Upheaval had merely been a symptom of far greater changes. Changes that had seemingly stripped the world of much of the magic it had once been rich in.
Through a process of trial and error, it became clear that with training anyone could still access and use magic, but that certain individuals found the process easier or more intuitive, and those same individuals tended to produce more powerful spells. Of the 'Guardian Forces', however, they could find no trace, not even within the caves once known as the 'Fire Caverns' - the only known location of a GF to have survived relatively intact.
It was theorised that these powerful beings, surely demigods who had deigned to aid humans they considered worthy, had also taken offence at mankind's actions before the Time of Upheaval, and had turned their backs upon the world. Whether they were gone forever, or merely until humanity proved itself worthy of their attention again, it was impossible to say. Yet the theories seemed to hold a grain of truth, for many of the most powerful magic users - those who began to approach the abilities of the fabled 'sorceresses', though they were both male and female, where the legends only ever spoke of females - spoke of sensing 'powerful beings', yet feeling as if there were an impenetrable veil drawn between them.
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Mankind, as it is wont to do, grew up into its new environment, and grew apart in its cultures. Small differences at first, based upon legends and partially recalled myths of times past. As communities grew and structured themselves, these differences became more telling, more...volatile. Opposing points of view, beginning with the scholarly disagreements of the causes of the Time of Upheaval, warped and twisted, spread and took root where fragments of old tales provided fertile grounds. But one thing all sides - for now - agreed upon, and that was that war, such as had gripped the world before the Gods made their displeasure known, could not be allowed to occur again. Thus the cultures agreed to disagree, going their separate ways that they might practise their own beliefs with others of kindred spirit, and allowing the Gods to judge whose blasphemy and foul repetition of past misdeeds warranted smiting.
The Al Bhed, who believed that only the arrogance of humans had led to their downfall, not their technology, settled themselves to the West, their recovered technology allowing them to safely colonise the rocky islands and reefs of that part of the world. They became sailors and divers, seeking the remnants of times past from where they had sunken beneath the angry waves. Over time, and through a lack of contact with the other branches of humanity, they developed their own language, and distinctive features such as the spiralled pupils in their eyes.
The 'moderates' of the humans, who remained most like to their original stock, displayed that selfsame arrogance of their forebears, laying claim to the majority of the North and South by virtue of attitude. Their willingness to accept whatever technology made their lives easier or safer, regardless of the consequences, gave the general populace an attitude of complacency that easily fooled the unwary. Whilst the 'people' might be tolerant - the embracing of new sentient species, very loosely related to humanity if related at all, a good demonstration of such open mindedness - the 'democratic' power structures leading them were soon as rotten as they had ever been in the past.
A splinter branch of the moderate humans, taking a harsher line in terms of using 'clean' technology that ran on magic, rather than belching pollutants into the world, settled the far North, where the magic lay strongest. They were also the first to discover the Ronso, a tribe of sentient cat-like creatures who, whilst warriors by nature, were fiercely dedicated to living in harmony with their environment and those around them.
The races evolved, quietly, each - for the most part - minding their own business. Trade consisted mainly of foodstuffs and medicines, although some technology also changed hands, and travellers were rare if not unusual. But still, the old habits, the old patterns of lies and deceit, the yearning for power and control gnawed at the leadership of the moderates and, to a lesser degree, but present still, within their splinter branch.
The Years of Resurgence had seen the world once more harnessed - not yet tamed - for the benefit of the races living upon it. Life was, if not idyllic, no longer the daily gauntlet that it had once been. Monsters were becoming weaker, less violent as the magic faded, and most did not rue the magic's passing, for they could no longer use it as their ancestors once had. But there were those who could sense the magic, who could and did use it almost as easily as breathing, and its slow disappearance from the world scared them beyond sense. They panicked, certain that the loss of magic was a punishment for some infraction that they had failed to prevent - but in their pride, their certainty that they could not be wrong, they sought and found a most suitable scapegoat; the polluting technology of their fellow humans.
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AN: Right, map links as promised (replace spaces with '.'s, and put an underscore between 'zephyr' and 'goldwing').
http://i165 photobucket com/albums/u53/zephyrgoldwing/3500FFVIII jpg - the original FF8 world map, nothing fantastically new there.
(change the jpg name at the end to:)
3000.jpg - 500 years into the Time of Upheaval, main change is the orientation of the world; it's twisted around somewhat.
2750.jpg - 750 years into the Time of Upheaval, between land rising and falling, the world is mainly islands at this point.
2500.jpg - one millennia into the Time of Upheaval, land mainly rising to form big, bulky continents; the FFX shape is starting to appear.
2250.jpg - 1250 years into the Time of Upheaval, land mainly falling beneath the sea again; volcanic activity in the far North is completely finished.
2000.jpg - the end of the Time of Upheaval (1500 years total), the FFX shape has formed itself; this version has the FF8 locations (the ones that survived) on it.
2000FFX.jpg - the original FFX world map with its locations.
And as a bonus; FallenAngelFF.jpg - fanart by me for Rinoa in Death's Angel.
I apologise to anyone I've replied to and then responded to again here…differently. I've had a few reviews sitting in my email inbox for a while and lost track of the ones I'd responded to – differences can be blamed on my complete lack of memory and my muses for being contrary and misleading .
Review Responses
Book One of the Sorcerer Arc: History Repeating: Chapter 13
raneynr : thanks for the kind words and the review, hope you liked the rest :D
Darkyu : really glad you liked it, I am continuing, as you can see – and don't worry about your English, it's pretty good :D Thanks for the review :)
raneynr : evil cackle hey, at least the next one is posted so you don' thave to wait :p Thanks for the review
Book Three of the Sorcerer Arc: Battle Lines: Chapter 13raneynr : blushes glad you continue to enjoy the series; sleep well and thanks for the review :D
Book Four of the Sorcerer Arc: Endgame: Chapter 13raneynr : wow, high praise indeed. I'm glad you, and so many others, have enjoyed the whole arc, and particularly the way it turned out – although I have to say that the number of people surprised by the ending has surprised me… Then again, as the author there tends to be slightly fewer surprises in regard to plot XD Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy the sequels as much :D
Shayne : and your review made my day – if not my week :D As you can see, the crime has not been committed – the story continues! Not quite a 'book' this part, but hey, I needed to get from A to B, and whilst the format is slightly different to my normal style, it 'feels' right to me, so meh Hope you enjoy this and future chapters as much :D