"Hello, everybody! I'm the local spirit of the sword around here I don't own FF in general along with any other ideas that I may decide to temporarily borrow for the smooth awesomeness of the plotline in my way. So possible pairings are in the air the only concrete one is Balthier and Fran Everything else is up for grabs. Vaan here is pretty OOC from what you would expect so be prepared.

Speech key

"Mortal Speech"

'Thoughts' (Almost none but the Main Character)

"God, aoin, esper, etcetera Speech"

***Break*** =scene break (these are rare but I have it all down so if you think you missed something keep going and you'll probably find it.)

Anyhow… Without further ado, I present Crystals in the Hourglass

Prologue 1: Misty Eyes

"What if"… A phrase almost everybody repeats to themselves or to others every day. A mantra that drags our minds away from what is going on and towards what was, or what they think should have been what was. This train of thought had strung others up into their own doom before. "What if"… it was a thing that nobody had really been able to do. Until now.

I'm sorry if I start rambling and getting off track. I never have been very good at paying the piper when he catches up to me. But the Gods? The Gods always have a plan and a plan after that and another one after that. That's probably why I'm here now. They tricked me into doing this so later they could say that it was my own decision. I'll get a few stripes and then Ill return to what I had been doing after death… Yeah right. That's just the reason I made up for why I haven't been stuck down yet, or maybe I'm just beneath their notice. I kinda like that idea…

Let me start with when I Awoke …

When I Woke up, I didn't know where I was, who I was. People were standing there above me smiling at me of all things. I didn't know who they were… but I felt I should, and that made me sad. They apparently looked after me when I was Asleep and were excited to see I was awake. I-… I wanted to know these people. They smiled knowingly at my obvious confusion, a little sadly as well when I look back. They told me that I 'did a good job' and carried their 'hopes' and their 'dreams' well. I stared at them not understanding. Then in a rush it All came back to me, from the moment on when I came out of my Mother's womb. I remembered who I was, my name, who they were, their names, what I had done, and more importantly what I hadn't. Then, I looked around me into a Mist thicker and purer than any I had ever seen. Then I realized that they… we, were dead.

—Vaan Raithwall I

First prologue isn't that good, but bare with me here, it gets better and changes POV's in the next chapter. I need a beta so send them on a review if you want to volunteer but I f your one of those people who say "Okay , it's fine" I will terminate our contract and find someone else. There is always room for improvement. Flamers are welcome as long as they are relevant and will help make it better. Questions about the plot are welcome as I have changed it a little. How? Well why don't you keep reading and find out.