~Disclaimer:~

Okay, I'll input this right here immediately. :3

Except for certain characters and terms in this fic, all characters, places and names belong to Squaresoft/Square Enix and its Final Fantasy VIII franchise. Anyway, since FFVIII fans are reading this, you can tell which characters and names don't belong to the FFVIII franchise. :3

Thank you FFVIII, for inspiring me.

~Author's Note:~

... ... Ever since I finished playing Final Fantasy VIII, I always pictured a sequel to the game. I never really thought the game was over. As you FFVIII gamers know, the end of the game does depict Ultimecia's death (with her body exploding in a huge-ass supernova kinda way), but as always, there is a strict possibility it actually isn't over yet.

Don't you think the possibility of time compression and the concept of sorceresses passing down their powers opens up other doors and windows? I don't know about you, but to me... it really does. :D

Okay, some history on my FFVIII gaming experience:

Started playing it as soon as it came out in 1998, and I'm still not bored with the story. I'm 20 years old now and I've been playing it since I was 8, and I'm still not bored. (And, some say the "Junction" concept for the game ruined a whole deal about FF, but I disagree - besides, isn't it Square's intention to make every Final Fantasy game different? :p) I'm at that FF8 fanatic point where I know how to get the damn PuPu card (keyword: stalk) and I know other stuff like the Monk's Code, the Rosetta Stone, what the Bahamut Triple Triad card is equivalent to if you have it refined, you've memorized how to beat Brothers no matter how confusing it can get sometimes and the pathway to complete that damn mission Caraway gives you at the Tomb of the Unknown King. And how Doomtrain is such a pain in the ass to get, but you know the items you'll need to get him. =|

XD It's an awesome love-hate relationship, really.

In any case~

Like I've said, I always pictured a Side B to the whole game, and I've worked on my imagination on that since I was little. I've read some sites on FFVIII ever since and considered the ideas of certain happenings in the game to be loopholes for possible occurrences.

I started to conjure up some ideas for a possible prequel to FFVIII, and started working on that since I was 10.

Then I heard the song "Eden" by Sarah Brightman (actually her cover of a Portishead song); the lyrics really didn't entirely relate to my ideas for the prequel although some lines seemed to coincidentally, I felt, jive with my concept for the story. But the song had an ethereal, royal yet synthesized-techno feel to it, and it related to how I imagined the places and the timeline to be. The title - I guess it's what drew me to title the prequel "Eden" as well, but the reason for me titling it that way was basically the occurrences and the mood of the story in my head. Because in the story, everything seemed to be Paradise then - and in the Garden of Eden, somehow, even with a peaceful environment, chaos is born.

Wrote the whole prequel idea down on several notebooks and when I was 12, I transferred all of that to my old PC. My gosh, I even saved them in 3 1/2" floppy disks. I reached around 400 pages on all of them (typed down the first 15 chapters of the whole thing) but THEN... boom. My PC crashed and my diskettes started failing and got screwed up. I swear, I lost all hope of making it a really awesome prequel - I was doing so well, really! Imagine all of your hard work just DISSIPATING like that.

Well in any case, I didn't give up on it. I tried again and again, but suddenly all my files just disappeared. I can't even find my notebooks anymore - but the fortunate thing is, I wrote them down again, did some revisions and enhancements, and the new ones are around now. I just have to find them. (In fact I stopped at chapter 2, it's pretty long now. 8D) The best part about all this, however, is that I have my story memorized in my head. Executing it and writing it down as intricately as possible as I want it to be is going to be a pain, though. So right now I'm just writing some oneshots and 3-5 chaptered fics, just to divert my mind from it for a little bit.

So. Take it from me: now that we're in the age of USB's and CD-RW's, take my advice: back up your muse! Now! xD

Well, anyway, here's a brief history on my FFVIII prequel:

It's basically in a timeline that happens way before the game starts. Let's say, a century or so before FFVIII's awesome technology. You see how each continent actually starts with a monarchial rule, and how the governments evolve - monarchial, specifically Esthar, Galbadia, and Trabia. (Dollet obviously has their dukedom, so that's a given. Dollet is the only one that retains their government.) Also, I gave some places certain ancient names before they're known to be familiar places on the FFVIII map, and how some towns there existed and you see how they disappeared. You'll also see how certain towns were created. :D

In my prequel, you also see how Esthar, in the early ages, is actually divided into two nations in one big continent, and that over the course of time the continent becomes the Esthar we know now. You'll see how the technology evolved, too. And since you guys are FF fans reading this, I'll get down to our level and explain it the best way I can: although this isn't really my basis for the whole thing, imagine the prequel as a sort of steampunk cross between FFVI and FFIX. Something along those lines. :D

The most enjoyable thing about it is, I have five protagonist (maybe ;D) characters in the prequel, and for each one they have a back story, stories I think a lot can relate to - stories that cover the essence of family, love, loneliness, strength, character, friendship, etc. For the whole prequel, actually, originally each character was going to have 3-5 chapters in telling their story. I guess that's what made my first execution a long-ass journey. 8D But I can say it's fun writing it. ^_^

SO. Onward we go to THIS story.

This isn't the prequel I'm telling you about, this is my FFVIII sequel. Aha~ yes. Something to steer my mind away from being driven mad with the prequel, this one's something I think you guys will find interesting. I started conjuring this up around early this year, around March or so actually, and I've been working on it ever since, when I have free time or when I could get on the net to get some extra research on FFVIII. I have some original characters here, one in particular that I'm proud of is Delta, who is a reflection of myself in terms of her passion with history and archaeology. She's not entirely me in terms of personality, but it's fun molding her personality after my snappy side. xD I guess making her is the closest I can get to actually being an archaeologist myself, as I've always wanted to be one since I was little! xD

If you're not an FFVIII fan but you've decided to start reading this fic, I suggest you keep an FFVIII Wikia page on the side and some other references so you can relate. :D You don't have to play the game completely, although it would be nice if you did.

And if you've decided to go on this journey with me, thank you VERY much. ^^

Happy reading! :D And hopefully I'll be able to write (AND FINISH, once and for all!) the damn prequel I've had in my heart for some 10 years now. xD

-Ciss 3