Disclaimer: I do not own the Final Fantasy franchise.

Author's Notes: This is a completely different story from the original Final Fantasy Tactics. It does not follow the same mythos nor history of that game.

A warrior takes sword in hand, clasping a gem to his heart...
Engraving vanishing memories into the sword,
He places finely honed skills into the stone.
Spoken from the sword, handed down from the stone,
Now the story can be told...

Final Fantasy Tactics: Another Tale.

Prologue

Clash of the Gods

Listen to the story that I am about to tell. A story passed down from ages past. A story woven by our ancestors, engraved in stone with vivid memories of Ivalice's tragic history. A tale of gods…war…deception…and betrayal.

Long ago, the world we have come to know as Ivalice was in the stages of its youth. During this age in time, our world was under the supreme command of ethereal beings that lived within the higher planes. These beings came to be known as the Gods.

Thirteen of these Gods watched over the world, each one harnessing an element of Mother Nature. It is with these powers that carved the very world we are standing in today. From the earthly bonds of the ground beneath us, to the glittering oceans that wash across the world, and to the sky that brings forth the everlasting wind.

These ethereal beings were the creations of another mighty being that ruled over all of the rest. Throughout history, he came to be known as the God of Light, Ajora and was perceived as the most powerful sentient being within the higher planes. The thirteen Gods were a representation of Ajora's persona, each one differing from the rest. However, as time continued on, one of these Gods began to develop a differing point of view than that of Ajora.

Her name was Ultima, the Virgo Goddess that represented all that is light and holy. Unlike the other Gods, she grew to become a sentient being just like Ajora and had an agenda set for Ivalice. To her dismay, Ajora declared her perception of what Ivalice should be like to be wrong and set her plans aside.

This angered the Virgo Goddess and demanded that her plans be set into motion. When Ajora decided to ignore her demands again, a tragedy began to unfold. Ultima gathered all of the Gods and in a unanimous decision, decided to take matters into their own hands and destroy Ajora's view of Ivalice, intending to remake the world as Ultima saw fit.

This betrayal angered Ajora greatly and removed all thirteen Gods from the higher planes, stripping them of their magnificent wings and cast them to the underworld. Ultima revolted and from within the depths of the underworld, created an army of dark hordes against the God of Light. Knowing that he would be greatly outnumbered in this declaration of war, Ajora spoke to the people of Ivalice and gathered thirteen brave souls to battle against the forces of Ultima.

These warriors came to be known as the Martyrs, thirteen people who decided to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Ivalice. Wielding the power that Ajora granted them, the Martyrs and the forces of Ultima clashed for what seemed to be an eternity, causing widespread chaos all over Ivalice. The holy war that took place at that time lasted for more than fifty years, ending with the victory of Ajora and the Martyrs.

Knowing that Ultima and the others Gods would someday revolt again, Ajora ripped the souls out of their physical forms and scattered them through-out the far reaches of Ivalice, destroying their physical manifestations in the process. From that day on, Ivalice began to thrive in population, as the Martyrs and Ajora watched over as the ethereal guardians of the world.

To be continued…

Author's Notes: So I decided to write up a prologue to the story. Basically a short summary of what happened in the past that will heavily tie in with the main plot of this story. Not very impressed with how it came out but I'm certain the following chapters will come out better. After all, it's just the prologue. Please R&R. I appreciate it.