Author's Note: So about three years ago, I started writing a fic called The Adytum. I loved it, loved the concepts behind it…and then one day I started to hate some aspects of it. Basically, the AU felt too forced for me. I was creating too much of it from Celtic inspirations, when what I really wanted was for it to feel very natural. I wanted elements of it to be plucked right from the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games, but all I had done was pull the characters from these games and throw them into a totally incongruous universe. So I've reworked the mythology of this story, and here we have it – Lodestars. Though, a lot of the first two chapters will be very similar.

I'm pretty damn excited about this, and I hope this works out and that you enjoy it as much as I'm sure I'll enjoy writing it! Thank you!

Oh, one warning – in reworking this I took some liberties with slight aspects of characterization, setting, etc. For example, the Espers of FFXII feature prominently, but are portrayed as I believe them to have been before their corruption. Another example, in this fic, Radiant Garden and Hollow Bastion are two totally different locations. Please forgive such alterations. And again, hope you enjoy the ride!

Lodestars

Chapter One: "The Boy Who Will Be King"

The snow-covered countryside of Ivalice was quiet; bathed in twilight, dyed crimson and gold and trimmed with indigo shadows as Riku rose slowly from the light of his company's campfire. He clutched at his head and his first step faltered under the wave of weakness that had assaulted him. When he fell to the ground, no one moved to help him up. No one followed as he rose and labored towards the canvas tent pitched on the outskirts of their encampment. His lips were stained blue with cold, but he paid no mind to the hazardous state his body was in. He thought only of making his way to that tent.

His fellow travelers still remained seated by the fire, watching silently and waiting for Riku's shadow to slip into the tent. Once he was gone they would whisper, murmur guesses at what he would reveal to them upon his return.

A thin, tan hand curls around the curtains to a room Riku recognizes as his own. A boy enters, bright sapphire eyes hooded with lust.

The image fled as quickly as it had appeared, nothing more than a barely discernable flash across his conscious. Awareness cut through his trance in an equally swift attempt to warn him. The Sending had begun. If he did not reach the tent quickly, he would collapse here in the snow and freeze before he woke.

Those same eyes reappear, now set in a woman's face and framed by a mess of mahogany curls. Once more they are hazy with desire, alight with sin. Riku sees the boy again; he is younger and the air of his mother's sin hangs about him. Riku watches as he grows, forever punished for a crime he did not commit.

Finally reaching his tent, Riku collapsed onto the pile of furs and pillows there. The comfort and warmth offered by them did not register with him; he had already been taken by trance.

The boy stands in a splendid room, carved in marble, furnished in oak, and hung with silks. He turns towards Riku, laughs, mouths something Riku cannot make out, and then the boy turns back, steps into the sunlight, and Riku can see him clearly. Curled around his arms are black serpents, and on his head is an ebony crown.

Riku woke abruptly, groaning as sunlight poured into his tent. He squeezed his eyes shut against the headache and nausea plaguing him and winced as a soft voice called his name. After a moment spent gathering his strength, he uncurled and sat up in a more dignified position. He looked toward the entrance of his tent, where a young blonde woman had poked her head through the flap. She smiled upon seeing him.

"The council will be happy to hear you're awake," she chirped. Her voice cut straight through Riku's skull. "Are you feeling well enough to report to them?"

He wasn't, but Riku nodded. It would only take a quick, simple spell to dissolve his headache and nausea, and then he'd be able to report his vision to his council.

It dawned on him that the girl, whose name was Penelo, had said he was 'finally' awake and so he asked, "How long did the blackout last this time?" and braced himself for the answer. He was always shocked by the amount of time he spent unconscious after a vision.

Penelo grimaced. Her grey-blue eyes searched for an exit, but she knew she had to answer. "Just over a week."

Riku felt like he needed to lie back down. His mouth dried and the blood drained from his face. The longest a blackout had lasted previously had been about three days. That length of time was unsettling, but more than a week was terrifying.

"We've been worried," Penelo admitted softly. She stepped into the tent, and Riku nodded absently as he watched her. She stood just inside the entrance, her hands in fists at her side. Every once in a while they would flutter nervously to play with the feathers braided into her hair. Riku observed her for a few silent moments, bitterly noting her obvious desire to comfort him in some way. She couldn't quite figure out how to go about doing so. It was a riddle he had watched so many others puzzle through. No one had ever solved it.

Riku cleared his throat. "Has word been sent to Cloud and Leon in Traverse Town?" he asked wearily.

"Yes. Lulu left the third day of your blackout, to let them know you were delayed."

"And…the Remembrance?"

Smiling kindly, Penelo answered. "Still two days away. We have plenty of time."

Outside, someone called her name and she turned to watch a young man with the same blonde hair and pale blue eyes enter Riku's tent. The boy had not bothered with any sort of formalities before barging in.

"Good, you're awake," he said roughly as he surveyed the interior.

"Vaan!" Penelo snapped, turning to punch her friend lightly on his arm.

"Ashe sent me," Vaan offered as defense. "She's getting restless."

Riku groaned, then nodded and waved the pair away. He could hear them bickering under their breath as they returned to the center of the encampment. He slowed his pace, hoping Vaan and Penelo would get far enough ahead of them that he could take time, and have enough peace, to analyze the vision he'd had…well, a week ago, it would seem.

Without the aid of a recalling spell, Riku could remember only the boy, with his cinnamon locks and sapphire eyes, but the spell brought back the vision in vivid detail. A quick flash, the combined images of every scene, was all it took to burn the Sending into his mind for as long as he might need it.

The second part of the vision was simple enough to interpret – the boy's conception had clearly been the result of some sin, for which the boy was unjustly punished. Riku had always silently resented the unspoken rule that certain sins were so grievous they must be shared.

This vision on its own would have had little import. However, when coupled with that last image that had been revealed to him, it was monumental.

Riku had stood with the boy in a room he recognized as the Orator's Chamber in the temple of Ultima and Zodiark. Only a handful of people in all of Ivalice were permitted into the Chamber, and while Riku himself was one of them, this boy of his visions certainly was not. Yet, the boy had worn the serpents and crown of Zodiark. There was no mistaking what this meant: the boy would be king. He was to be High Summoner, spiritual leader of Ivalice. And it was this – that the appointing of someone stained by another's sin to the position of High Summoner –the people would rebel against.

As for the first part of his vision, the part which took place in his own chambers back in Radiant Garden…Riku preferred not to analyze that. Lust was a useless, not to mention dangerous, emotion when it was directed at him.

"What have the Espers to say now?" a woman of the council asked as Riku approached them. She stood to greet him, confident and determined. Stern grey eyes, burdened with past sorrows and half hidden by chin-length, flaxen hair, watched him step forward. "It must be of dire importance if it delayed us for this long."

A pair of girls, one blonde and fair and the other striking in porcelain skin and wine-red hair, glared at the first woman reprovingly. Their names were Naminé and Kairi, and while they were alike enough to often be confused for sisters, only one was bold enough to chide the other woman.

"Lady Ashe," Kairi said firmly, "Riku has only just woken up. And besides, I'm sure the Espers would not delay us from such an important event as Aerith's Remembrance without due cause."

Ashe nearly whirled on the younger woman, anger flashing in her steely eyes, but a final voice, thick with a strange, lisping accent, cut her off.

"It takes time to recover from a Sending, Ashelia, which you would know if you were as sensitive to the Mysteries as someone in your position should be." The voice's owner rose to her full height as she spoke and Riku was intimidated despite having known the woman for as long as he had.

It was always disarming to have Fran present. She was tall and graceful and possessed a look that was strangely alluring. Fran was a Viera, the daughter of an ancient race tucked deep in the forests of Ivalice and veiled by the mists of time. Her svelte body was covered in short, fine, mocha fur and clothed only by scraps of armor and light, sheer fabrics. The features of her face were sharp yet delicate, her scarlet eyes were full of wisdom, and through her snowy hair rose two long, lapine ears.

It was clear that Ashe had not appreciated the use of her full name, one of many things which always sent her into a short rage. However, everyone present knew that the Viera was the only one who would never be reprimanded for the act. The two women stared at each other, each chastising in her own way: Ashe with blazing eyes and barely restrained protests, Fran calmly and silently, yet all the more effective for that.

Riku spoke, hoping his words would break the tension. "The meaning of my vision was all too clear," he said softly, himself in awe of the news he was about to deliver. "I have seen the High Summoner."

As he trailed off, the Lady turned from her old friend to Riku, eyes narrowing as she picked up on his hesitation. "But?" she asked.

"I have also seen that he is stained with another's sin," he finished with a long sigh.

Kairi and Naminé remained silent, eyes wide and lips parted in shock. Fran did not seem to react to the news at all, and Ashe seethed silently before speaking in a clipped, pithy tone.

"Impossible. If he is impure, then why would the Espers choose him as High Summoner? Does he wear the serpents?"

"Of course he wears the serpents!" Kairi snapped, scandalized by Ashe's reluctance to accept Riku's word. It was acknowledged through all of Ivalice that Riku was the one man whose word was always truth. "How else would the people accept him?"

"They will not accept him! He is impure!"

"Surely, Lady," Fran's sunset eyes narrowed into raging slits, and her voice was frozen, sharp, and condescending as she reprimanded her companion, "you do not hold the commoner's belief in shared sin. We who are educated in the Secrets of the Mist know this is merely a fairy tale to comfort the suffering. In truth, your sin is yours alone to bear."

Again, Ashe succumbed to Fran's words, trusting the knowledge the strange woman held. Even the least educated of the Viera knew more of the Secrets than any man would ever learn.

"Perhaps his being marked with sin is his mother's punishment, and not his own?" Naminé said, finally voicing her opinion on the matter. "Nothing is more unendurable to a mother than the suffering of her child."

"Does it matter?" the Viera sighed, exasperated. "Were it his own sin, it would not matter. The Espers chose him for a reason. Even as we speak the Mist swells with anticipation."

Fran's statement seemed to silence even the wind and the birds in the trees. So this vision of Riku's had held much more importance than he had guessed. This then, was surely why the Sending had assaulted him so quickly, why magicks and tricks had not been able to rid him of his headache. He knew suddenly that the pain would not leave him until he found this boy.

With a deep breath, eyes closed and mind cleared, Riku could sense what Fran had spoken of. The very air seemed to thrum and swirl around him, though he knew this was something only he experienced. Part of him guessed that the boy in question might feel it, too, perhaps had felt it all his life. The Mist was waiting for him; had been since the beginning of time. And now, the hour was upon them, and the Mist hummed with excitement, audible to those who knew what to listen for. Fran's sharp ears must have heard it, probably as discernable whispers. She'd trained Riku to hear the Voices long ago, but as the innocence of his childhood was lost, so were the many words of the Mist. He would have given anything to hear them speak again.

The Viera turned to him, closed her eyes and held a hand sideways in front of her face. Riku recognized it as the gesture she used to gather the Mist and form spells, but he knew better than to ask questions. She whispered a word he did not understand and then waved in his direction. Instantly, his mind was filled with the chatter of the Mist.

He is coming, it is time!

It has begun.

They will be kings once more.

The others regarded Riku with wonder as he slowly opened his eyes. Only he and Fran had heard the Voices; to the other three, the Mist was forever silent. Fran's strange gesture and, now, Riku's delighted expression had no meaning for them. And so they watched, awed as he thanked her.

She nodded. "The Voices will guide you through this, Riku. Remember to listen to them."

Riku shivered at the tone of her voice. He knew the secret meaning of her words. There were some Whispers that human ears could not hear. The Viera, however, most likely already knew much of what was to come.

"Leon and Cloud have been waiting for us; Lulu too," Kairi whispered, clearly afraid of breaking the ominous silence, though not as scared by the notion as the silence itself. "We should start traveling again as soon as possible."

Nodding, Riku turned to walk away, heading back towards his tent. "Start breaking down camp. We'll leave as soon as everything's packed up," he called over his shoulder, not bothering to check the council's reaction to the impolite nature of his command. He knew that Fran remained as she was, Ashe was fuming silently, and Kairi and Naminé were both wondering what they had done or said that had caused him to order them around as if they were pages. In truth there was no reason for his harsh, authoritative words, other than the pounding of his head.

His tent would not be taken down until everything else had been packed into the large traveling cart, and his horse had been fed and groomed. Ashe often insisted that he act in the tradition of his title and travel only in a litter, but he refused to force a handful of young priests to carry him across the country.

With the time he had until their journey would be resumed, Riku attempted to force himself into a trance-like state; an effort to fight the sudden turn of stomach that now accompanied his headache and left him feeling weak and nauseous. He'd been able to ward off the nausea in the presence of his council, and his reactions to the headache drew no suspicions from them; it was not uncommon for him to appear weakened and even a little sick after a Sending. Now that he was alone, however, the effort to conceal his other, more persistent symptoms was not worth it.

As he drifted into unconsciousness, a silent murmur floated across his mind. He lost the meaning in sleep, but managed to retain the sound of his name and the hazy, hooded eyes of the boy chosen to be king.

On the anniversary of Aerith's death, Traverse Town held a day of Remembrance. The city and all its inhabitants were draped in black, and the streets fell completely silent. It was a mourning worthy of a queen, or goddess. Aerith was neither, though as a Summoner, she had at times acted as both, and as Ultima's Summoner – second in command, so to speak, only to Riku himself – she had earned the love and devotion of Ivalice as no other had or, Riku believed, could. True, the people now respected and admired Leon greatly, but there was no love for him. He was a grave man, probably better suited for the role than Aerith had been, but this elicited none of the adoration Ivalice had showered on the late Summoner.

Nine years had passed since her death. Riku remembered the woman only very vaguely. As expected, the country had moved on. Days other than this one, appointed as her Remembrance, were now without thought of her sweet smile and soft yet commanding voice.

Cloud had moved on as well. He still held on to her memory, still had that sad gleam in his eyes. Yet, as expected, he had found solace in Leon's arms, and so his life was no longer without happiness.

The case was rare in which Ultima and Zodiark's Summoners were not lovers; so rare that no one living could remember a time when it was not so. The Mysteries stated that in the beginning a great being that had been born of Mist alone had split in two and formed the Mother Esper, Ultima, and the Father, Zodiark, and from them the other ten Espers had been born in six sets of twins, and that. As representatives of the Espers, it was nearly impossible to avoid the powerful bond forged by a double-birth, and so the Summoners of each set of Twins seemed to always become lovers.

Riku himself would someday succumb to a role as Summoner, an avatar of the Espers. There were dozens of priests and priestesses trained for this duty, and one was always placed in the position of High Prophet. He waited only for the name of the Esper he would represent, and thus the death of an important ally. It was only by death that one Summoner could replace another, and Riku had worked closely with every Summoner throughout his life. Once he watched one of his companions fall, then he himself would rise, only to await an early grave. More often than not, the Summoners were set with dangerous tasks, from which survival was rare.

Riku felt nothing at the thought. He'd been raised knowing he would likely not live to be thirty. The idea was completely natural to him, but Aerith had been so young, barely eighteen. For several years after she'd passed, Riku had been terrified of a death that would come even more quickly than he'd been prepared for.

And now Cloud, one of the few people Riku had ever considered a true friend, was likely nearing the end of his term. Soon, he too would be assigned a Remembrance. Would Riku be the one to replace Cloud?

A deep, though clearly female voice cut through his thoughts as a tall, busty woman in a long, dark dress entered the room. "Cloud and Leon are waiting to hear about your vision," Lulu murmured in her husky voice, casting questioning eyes his way. "They figure that since it kept you so long, it must have been really important."

Riku groaned, weary from his headache and the stress of traveling, and rose to exit the room, dragging his feet and pouting.

With an almost fond half-smile, Lulu fell into place behind him. "You are still a child, Riku," she chuckled.

He smiled as well, memories of his training suddenly vivid again. Fran and Lulu had been appointed as his teachers, the comparatively ancient Viera's wisdom almost matched by that of the then young Lulu's. Riku harbored a fondness for the two women that he was required to hide at most times. The commoners believed him to be something far above earthly attachments, and their frail belief in his messages relied on this perception. He hated having to pretend he viewed Fran and Lulu only as members of his council, but he found comfort in the belief that they saw his appreciation anyway. Surely Lulu, with her sharp intuition, and Fran, with her ability to hear things unsaid, both knew what he could never let them see.

The room in which Riku met with Cloud and Leon was the simplest one in the temple. Leon was not at all fond of the lavish style Ivalice deemed necessary to honor the Espers. Even so the room was built, tiled, and decorated with what must have been the whitest marble in the country; the windows were paned with brightly colored glass set in intricate patterns; and it was furnished only with two marble thrones - both cushioned with dark velvet - and two statues.

The first stood behind the throne on which Cloud sat and was carved from jade, depicting a woman clothed in white and gold silk. She wore a tall, horned headdress and three pairs of glimmering golden wings sprouted from her back. The other stood behind Leon and was carved from ebony; a tall, muscular man with serpents twined around his wrists.

Fran had placed herself between the two Summoners, exactly level with them as she addressed them. She turned as Riku entered the room, pursed her lips, clearly frustrated. "They are…reluctant," she said, and Riku knew this was her delicate way of alerting him to their stubbornness.

"Fran assures us that your vision is of the utmost importance. Considering we expected you a week ago, and you've missed several commissions in the time since, it must be so," Leon muttered gruffly. Riku just barely understood him.

"Many are quick to distrust the Mist lately," the Viera turned to him as she spoke, and the intensity of her gaze did not come from her usual drive to see the will of the Espers fulfilled. There was, for the first time in Riku's memory, sadness in her voice and in the slow, apologetic dance of her eyes. He shivered.

She was warning him, but she was not at liberty to reveal specifics. The Mist had told her some dark secret. She could not repeat it.

"Maybe it would be best to hear about this vision before we judge it," Lulu suggested coldly, casting a harsh glance in the direction of the Summoners.

"As I said before, Riku has missed some important commissions because of this vision. The people are outraged. Perhaps if Fran had told us about it before, we would be more open to forgive his indiscretions," Leon stated simply, standing and advancing on the small crowd before him. He was, probably, not pleased by Fran's placement; he viewed it as an assumption that she carried as much import as he himself did.

"It is not my vision to speak of," the Viera snapped. Leon knew full well that only Riku could reveal the meaning of his Sendings, and Fran was more than exasperated by now.

In the silence that fell over the room, Riku studied Leon carefully. The brunette's hands were curled into tight fists, his jaw was clenched, and his gaze wandered to Cloud every few moments. Leon then rolled his eyes, and returned his attention to Riku. As for Cloud, the blonde was still sitting in his throne, his elbow on the armrest as he cupped his chin in his hand. He did not seem to be paying much attention to the argument.

Riku read them in an instant. Yes, Leon was usually a stern, sometimes gruff man, but today he was especially intense, because today Cloud's thoughts were only for his deceased lover. Leon would, of course, not be pleased to spend the day at the outskirts of his companion's mind while the blonde brooded his way through Aerith's Remembrance.

With a long sigh the prophet explained his vision, hoping to pull both men's thoughts away from the sweet, slim girl they had lost almost ten years ago and back to the real issue at hand. "The Espers have revealed our next High Summoner. The Sending was aggressive, and I was unconscious for more than a week after the vision."

Finally, Cloud woke from his reveries, furrowing his brows and speaking softly. "Who is it?" he asked, blinking curiously as he watched Riku.

Something about the blonde's sky blue gaze made Riku hesitate. "I…I don't know. I have never seen him before the vision, and I don't know his name."

Cloud laughed shortly, while Leon grumbled. Fran, not surprisingly, whirled on the two Summoners and carefully controlled her voice as she scolded them.

"It matters not," she sighed, absently flicking a strand of snowy hair from her face. "The Espers reveal only what they deem necessary. Riku has seen the boy, and that is all he needs to find him, and it is all the proof the two of you need to accept that this boy will be High Summoner."

Leon's eyes blazed and it was obvious that a quip tottered on the tip of his tongue, but he suppressed it, crossing his arms and scowling. He wanted to protest further, but everyone knew it would not matter; Riku's visions were never misleading, and Fran's advice was always sound.

Cloud, however, returned to his restless contemplation. The brunette eventually turned his attention back to his lover, watching Cloud carefully for some sign of the path he was following. Riku himself witnessed the blond's expression soften with sorrow and resignation as his bright blue eyes darted back and forth, cataloging and analyzing the thoughts visible only within his mind. The High Prophet turned to his two companions, Fran and Lulu, and fixed them with a questioning gaze. Neither noticed; they only waited for Cloud to come to the realization the two of them had already reached.

"If you do not know him, he is not a Summoner yet," the blonde stated softly, the lines of his face setting in a cold, unreadable expression.

Riku lowered his head and rolled his lower lip between his teeth. "Yes," he apologized.

Finally, Leon began to process this detail, and it did nothing to brighten his mood or soften him to the reality of Riku's vision.

"One of us will pass, then," Cloud continued. The effort to conceal his worry was in vain. "How soon?"

The prophet closed his eyes and took a moment to recall his vision. In it, he himself did not appear any older than he was now, and the only indication of the passing of time was the landscape seen behind the boy, beyond the balcony of the very room in which he now stood. The trees were nearly bare, and the leaves that managed to still cling to their branches were ablaze with warm color. Though Riku was still young enough that the span of some few years would not much affect his appearance, something within him – perhaps a swelling of the Mist at the thought – knew the events of his vision would come to pass within only one year.

"He will be High Summoner before next winter," he murmured, swallowing hard.

A profound silence settled over the room. Leon took a few steps closer to Cloud, who only retreated further within himself. Fran smiled softly, pleased by something no one else was aware of. Lulu, as always, was unreadable. Riku shifted his weight uncomfortably for a few moments before he stilled suddenly, and then all eyes were on him. He tilted his head to one side, as if attempting to make out a distant noise.

Stepping forward, he moved his head in small, slow increments. He had heard something soft and utterly indiscernible. It was only when he noticed the others were watching him and ceased his straining that it repeated itself and he realized it was not a sound, but a Voice.

Sora, it said. Riku repeated the word aloud.

"What?" Leon asked.

The Mist continued to speak, echoing the one word – Sora - several times, in various volumes, before falling quiet once more.

"Sora," Riku said again. Fran turned to him and nodded. When Cloud, Leon, and Lulu all silently questioned the pair, Riku responded with a grin and answered in unison with the Mist. "He's here."