The Dashing Sky Pirate
Stand up eager one,
Stand tall and proud,
Revel in your precious pride,
Before the fateful stars begin to collide.
Look to the sky for the admiration,
Watch as the world bows at your feet,
How they simply look onward at your charming face,
It's amazing how easily one can fall from grace.
Balthier lazily made his way towards the cramped, stuffy room he had begun to call home that was tucked away in the back of his beloved airship. A tiny bed, a small walk in closet for clothing, and a small window used to observe the majestic night sky in all of its glory. The Strahl was a big part of his pride and joy--almost like a child that you've raised and don't want to see hurt. Men are funny for such sentimentality towards non living objects and he probably would have laughed at the notion of such a thing, but the feeling was there none the less.
He perched himself stiffly against the headboard of his small bed, and attempted to close his eyes for some much needed rest. It seems rest had became a rarity that he was rarely afforded anymore. Life had become nothing more than a series of common day chores and lounge time for him. Treasure pirating seemed to be a long lost memory, something that he hadn't partaken in for quite some time. One might begin to wonder if he really is the acclaimed sky pirate he so vivdly tried to portray back then. Sure, he had definately had his fair share of ransacks and pulled off marvelous works of thievery--but those days were gone. Now all that remained was a hollow man, not quite sure of his destination anymore, or what his purpose might be. Being a sky pirate had always been fun, but certainly a very repetitious lifestyle. There was no adventure--no thrill to it anymore.
It had been two years since he, along with 5 other courageous souls, brought down the Arcadian Empire, and more specifically, Vayne Solidor. Balthier was never too trustful of the Empire, even as a young boy. He had grown up accustomed to a better lifestyle than most, and yet he never seemed to consider himself fortunate. He remembered, somewhat nonstalgicly, the day his father offered him the position of a Judge. It was then that Balthier knew that type of life wasn't meant for him. He was destined for better things, and the sky could be his limit, and also salvation from such a life in the Empire. His father, Cid, would one day become the enemy, and Balthier knew that when he chose the life of a sky pirate.
He wouldn't have changed the path he began to walk on though. He had gotten to literally see all of Ivalice with his new found freedom, and met some interesting people along the way. He'd met a Viera woman, who would eventually play a very large role in his life as the "leading man". He had always pondered about his feelings for her. Yes, he could easily say that he loved her, and he truly did. But something was missing in their dynamic--something raw, something unknown. Balthier had always found himself attracted to things that seemed to offer him some type of forbidden fulfillment. Things that weren't supposed to be his, but knew he couldn't resist regardless of his wishes. Perhaps that's why he became a sky pirate--stealing things that didn't belong to you just because you could. It was satisfying, and it kept him alive on so many levels. We always want the things we cannot have, simply because our pride gets in the way, and we feel we deserve it--we can have anything we want.
But now, that life just didn't seem to agree with him anymore. He wanted something, anything, that could make him feel alive again. Fate has always had a funny way of inadvertantly showing us things that could very well change our lives, and others as well. I wonder what he would say if what he really needed had been right in front of him all this time...