Yes, it is I, Teresa. This will be my first fic, and if you have some particular grudge against OCs of any kind, please refrain from reading the following story, because the main pairing is a BalthierxOC. I of course, will try my best to make sure all OCs don't go Mary-Sue, but if you notice that, please duly inform me. Reviews are appreciated, flames are not. Enjoy!
The Phoenix's Crown
Chapter I: Eyes of the Sun
Three years before the fall of Nalbina Fortress
The sword was pulled out, its blade sheathed with blood. The Fire-Emperor of Sundraei was dead. There was a round of drunken laughter, and the cloaked figures in the room shared the crimson wine in goblets of rubies and gold.
"All hail the new Fire-Emperor Miphiras!"
The traitors shouted. They gathered thus round the young woman that lay sobbing over the lifeless body of her equally young husband, the fatal stab wound dealt to his chest. The traitors grabbed at her, and dragged her away from her husband's still form. Her fingers clamped like iron over his cold, dead wrist, and animal-like shrieks escaped her parched lips as they pulled her to the cruel man that stood, looming over the blood-stained scene like a hungry vulture. The man was Miphiras. The man he had just murdered was his own nephew. The woman was the Fire-Empress, but it seemed now that all had been lost. The throne had been subjucated.
"She has lost her mind!"
The court physicians whispered fearfully as they gathered over the figure of the Fire-Empress. She pulled at the chains with inhuman force, hurling brutal insults at Miphiras, who stood there, a malevolent smirk upon his features. She clawed at anyone who would attempt to near her with her nails, leaving scratches and even deep wounds on even innocent ones who had her well-being as their prime concern. But her well-being was of no concern to Miphiras, who only cared about the beauty she still posessed. She had not become haggard yet like his previous wives.
"Leave her to me."
A voice loomed in the corridor. The physicians bowed respectfully and watched the woman enter the candlelit room. She was tall and lithe, with a frame not unlike that of a gentle willow. Her hair was of the darkest ebony, and her sun-kissed skin seemed to glow in the darkness of the chamber. Her eyes were bright amber, and they surveyed the Fire-Empress with the deepest concern. She bent over the bed and took the young woman's hand in her own. Immediately she stopped her violent attacks and began murmuring fervent words that no one could understand. The trauma of her husband's murder was too great. "Jahedra..." She whispered. "Why did he..."
The Fire-Empress' cousin bowed her head with generous sympathy.
"Be strong, my cousin."
Present day, after the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Ashelia B'Nargin Dalmasca
"Sundraei? Never heard of it."
Vaan commented as he sipped some wine from a bronze cup. Balthier and Fran watched him, and the sky pirate gave a sigh before opening the parchment map and placing it on the ornate table. Queen Ashe was still entertaining her more important guests, and would not be out of the royal chambers until much later. Picking up a nearby quill, Balthier jabbed it at a large red mass on the map.
"This is Sundraei. Northwest of Archades. This big red mass. Hear me now?"
Balthier said, rather annoyed.
Vaan stared closely at the parchment, before realizing that there was indeed a large red country on the map. He had never really noticed it before, but now Balthier was telling him that the treasures there were great. Vaan was tempted, so very tempted. However, before he embarked on a crazed journey through heated deserts and frozen mountains. he had to ask.
"What kind of treasures are there? I mean, I don't want to go there and find out that there's nothing much."
Fran fixed Vaan with a steely gaze, as if to tell him to stop asking questions, but the sky pirate was quick to reply. He needed as much help as he could manage if he wanted to pull off this heist. Most treasure hunters knew that the Kingdom of Sundraei was not an easy place to arrive at. In fact, you couldn't fly there by airship because the desert windstorms were too great. The nearest they could go was a tiny camp near the edge of the desert. But of course, the treasure was worth it.
"What we are looking for are the Eyes of the Sun."
"The eyes of what?"
Balthier rolled his eyes at Vaan's obvious immaturity. If the boy wanted to be a sky pirate, he was failing miserably. In fact, Balthier believed that even Penelo could pull off a better heist without Vaan. Balthier motioned for Vaan to lean closer, before he said in a harsh whisper,
"Three years before Nalbina Fortress fell to the Empire, there was a rumour that the Fire-Emperor of Sundraei had been assassinated, and his wife succumbed to madness and died soon after. The symbol of the Fire-Emperor's power, the Phoenix's Crown, was taken from him. From that crown fell two ruby jewels, which were never found. Local lore has it that the new Fire-Emperor ordered the gems to be destroyed. However, no fire could even damage them, let alone destroy them. Thus he had them hidden away in the palace treasury. These two jewels are the Eyes of the Sun. They are worth great amounts of gil. We'll be rich! So rich that you and I would probably not have to burgle again. Of course, there are other precious items in the palace treasury, if you're interested."
Vaan's eyes lit up.
"Count me in."
Somewhere in the Giza Plains
The rain was overpowering. It fell in drivels onto the soggy grass, and Surianders hopped about, looking for an unlucky soul to attack. Woolly gators basked on the riverbanks, their jaws open, catching the rain as drinking water. Thunder crackled in the sky, and a storm elemental drifted aimlessly about. Hyenas snapped their jaws at each other when there were no travellers to attack. The ground was muddy and soft.
She was unused to this cold, wet, weather.
The woman wrapped the tattered maroon cloak tighter around herself and forced herself to continue walking. A Hyena growled at her and pounced, but she sent a bolt of flame at its direction and it shrunk back, whimpering. She was ill, and feverish. But she had to reach the capital soon, if not all her efforts would have gone to waste. She had to find someone to help her. No one knew anything in Archades.
Rabanastre was her last chance.
The skies above the Giza Plains
"All settled in? I will not tolerate any unnecessary talk during our leisurely little flight to the Yhreni Camp, so if you can manage, please don't speak at all. Especially you, Vaan."
Balthier said snidely. He had been making these little remarks here and there on the journey, as Vaan had found it entertaining to play around with the voice changer. It was an annoying habit, and the sky pirate had already had quite enough of it. Penelo had come along with Vaan of course. She was technically Vaan's 'partner', even though Balthier himself would not have considered Vaan a sky pirate under any means whatsoever.
"Who's that?"
Penelo asked, looking out from the window of the Strahl. Vaan immediately unbuckled his belt and ran to the window, looking down. They both could see a figure stumbling wearily across the muddy plains, being attacked by Hyenas, Surianders and the like. Vaan realized that that person must have been having a hard time, as evident from the streaks of flame that kept flying towards the creatures, but doing very little to fend them off. Weak magick like that was a result of low energy, something Vaan had experienced a little too often. He had to do something.
"Balthier, there's--"
"I told you not to speak Vaan. Oh, good gods."
Obviously the sky pirate had also noticed the figure, for it was quite obvious really. The flames against the watery backdrop of the plains. In fact, Vaan was surprised that the water from the rain had not quenched the magick out by now. Threatening grey clouds rolled underneath the Strahl, and they could all hear the rumbling thunder and see the bright flashes of lightning as it webbed across the sky. "It's too dangerous." Fran said, observing the storm that was going on beneath the airship.
"Nothing's too dangerous for us."
Balthier said, before directing the airship down. Penelo gave a small scream, but eventually the airship settled. The sky pirate dodged each offending bolt of lightning with expert skill, and finally they piloted the craft down, right next to the figure. The woman jumped back from where she was being attacked by eight Hyenas, who all ran away at the looming sight of the magnificent airship. The rainwater pattered against the windows. "Come in!" Vaan called as the ramp went down. "The rain's getting in. What're you waiting for?"
The woman looked at Vaan confusedly. But the creatures were beginning to close in. She went up the ramp and once more the Strahl lifted into the sky and vanished through the storm clouds.
"Why were you walking through the plains alone?" Vaan asked.
The woman shook her head, refusing to answer.
"Could you tell us your name then?"
"My name is Ifari."
Vaan always knew that there were many different Kingdoms in Ivalice, but this woman looked as though she didn't belong to any of them. She had dark, rich chocolate curls, tied with gold bands at the back. Gold earrings hung from her ears, and she looked extremely pale. Her face was flushed, though. Penelo helped her with the drenched cloak. Underneath it she wore a simple grey dress. She did not look Archadian, nor Dalmascan, nor Rozzarian. They had no idea where she came from. "Ifari, where do you come from?" Vaan asked.
"I come from Sundraei."
"That's where we're headed."
Ifari's eyes instantly lit up, although she still was extremely ill. "She's having a fever." Penelo said. "Get her some of the potions we store at the back." Balthier commanded, and Penelo instantly bounded off. Vaan got a blanket for her and she smiled gratefully. "You seek the Eyes of the Sun?" She asked. Her accent was strange. It was like that of Fran's sister Jote, but there was an Archadian accent as well. But that was only minimal. The rest nodded eagerly. "You know about that?" Balthier asked from the pilot's seat.
"I am the guardian of it."
Ifari replied. Vaan was shocked. He couldn't believe their incredible luck. Just a few hours ago they had been discussing how to get the key to the chamber, and here the woman was, with the key! This meant that they practically had the Eyes of the Sun in their grasp. All they had to do now was talk the woman into accepting their plan and helping them. Although that would too make her a thief, and probably a betrayer to her own Kingdom, but then he could give her some of the proceeds, and she could run away to some other country to make her life. "Why did you come to Rabanastre? How long have you been travelling?"
"I have been travelling for five years." Ifari said. "I was sixteen when the Fire-Empress Taejana passed by the madness, and then I knew that the evil one Miphiras wanted the jewels that I guarded. He got his greedy hands on them and ordered them to be destroyed. But they could not destroy it. So I stole them and hid them, and I took the key. And then I ran. I travelled as a nomad for four years, knowing that I am a betrayer to my country. Then I decided that the secret must live if I am to die of my illness. First I went to Archades, where I begged of the Emperor Larsa to guard my secret. For I am weak, the illness I have within me will claim me anytime. Not now, however, not now. But the Emperor Larsa said he did not know anything about the Eyes of the Sun, and told me to seek out the Lady Ashe in Rabanastre."
"Is the fever your illness? We can cure that with potions."
"No. You do not know anything of my illness. It is beyond you. But it will not take me yet. The mission must be completed if I am to restore my country to its former glory. The potions will only cure my physical illness. This fever from the rain. But the other secrets you do not know."
"So the Eyes of the Sun are not hidden in the palace treasury?"
Balthier asked again with a disappointed sigh. Vaan, too, looked distraught. He was looking forward to the other treasures.
"No, they are not in the treasury. But I have hidden them in the Shrine of Fyrennis, a short walk from the Yhreni Camp."
"Will you show it to us?"
"If you plan to use it for good. I will tell you my purpose once we arrive at the Shrine. Please, be quick."
"We will," Balthier promised. "We definitely will."
Night, the Shrine of Fyrennis
"It is here."
The voices whispered. They took the silver key out of the chest. "His Majesty will be very pleased with us." The leader of the bandits laughed and took the key from their hands. Whispering a spell, the symbols engraved on the key started to glow faintly, before the bandit inserted it into the ornate lock on the bronze door. With a loud, tremendous creak, the door opened and revealed the passage of darkness within. The other bandits took up their flaming torches and proceeded into the passage.
"It will all soon be ours."
To Be Continued