Quick Note This story is based off of the Cetra people in the game FF7. Therefore, it is considered fanfiction, and the
copyrights to the ideas and characters thereof (with the exception of my original characters) is the property of Squaresoft.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Princess."

The woman bowed, low to one knee in respect for the Councilman that stood before her. He gestured her upward.

"Come, my child. The Council awaits."

The young woman stood abruptly and followed the man down the lavish hallways leading to the Council floor. Silk curtains and elegant portraits draped every inch of the walls, and a very expensive chandelier hung above about every twenty steps. She walked near Councilman Zierca, but carefully kept her paces behind his own so as not to disrespect his position. She herself was honored and respected by many people. Her father, the elected council Pratore, was also the ruler of the kingdom of Balderia . Being the daughter of such a prestigious man, she had a higher obligation to comply with the etiquette of their politics. This she did not fancy, but it was unavoidable if she wished to uphold the family honor. Without honor, she was nothing, and with nothing, she could not accomplish what she wanted most.

As they passed the guards standing watch, each bowed low in recognition of the two. Zierca walked on, ignoring the praise, but Princess Melora took great care in nodding at each and every one of them, acknowledging their presence. She could tell this frustrated the man; each time an irritated look crossed his face, she smirked inwardly. He probably would not be too keen on the idea that I know each and every one of their names...Though she had never received proper military training, she was deeply involved with its agendas. Her two best friends were important figureheads for the military; though she was a woman, she was stubborn and took it upon herself to train with the best of them. Apart from being integrated with its workings, she had also been trained as a Gushido, a very selective and honorable group who studied ancient arts of defensive power. They were also widely known as the Destroyers, for being so effective against the offenses of the Jenova. Many people for these things had respect her, and it threatened most male representatives in the Alliance to know that this one woman possessed so much influence over so many people. They would have to listen to what she had to say...

They reached the entrance to the Council room, and Princess Melora paused briefly before adjusting her cape. Here goes everything...The doors swung open and she caught her third glimpse of the inside of the Council room. She had been here twice before, once as a baby in her mother's arms and another as a small child when she had sneaked in and hidden herself just to hear. She hadn't been caught. Now as she strode into the full spotlight of over three hundred fully adorned leather chairs all holding an Alliance representative. Most had come from the far reaches of their own planets to attend this important occasion. The seats were positioned in three layers encircling the enormous room; the noise from the chatter was so loud she hardly had the energy to concentrate on her bent nerves. Instead she took to looking around at the odd faces in the room, trying to distinguish those she knew from those she didn't know. She spotted her father talking to Councilman Gelane, who was also the ruler of Balderia, a moon of their own planet Cailiris. Aside from being a councilman and king, he was also the father of one of her best friends, and for a moment she was reminded of the reason she was here. Moments later Pratore Cadence motioned everyone to their seats and called out, "Let this debate begin." Zierca stood.

"In the year of Cetra 2052, under authority of Pratore Cadence and advisement of the Council Alliance, we have convened to discuss and amend the laws and treaties that bind us as one, for one, against the evils that threaten our races."

"Thank you Councilman Zierca." Her father nodded to him, and he sat.

"Please read from the text Zerell." He furthered. He cleared his throat pompously and read.

"All planets not under the influence of the Cetra races or its subsidiaries, or none tainted by the evil of Jenova shall remain untainted, untouched, and unconquered with the exception of adding a new planet state to the Alliance with government that is loyal to our cause." He sat and the man sitting next to him stood up and looked at her.

"Melora Ifalna Cadence, Princess of Cailiris, daughter of Zeus Cadence I, hereby asserts to revoke the instate of a new planet under the Alliance and its regulations." At this most heads turned to her, and she got peculiar looks from most. Normally she was not so adamant about revoking new planets, she was mostly in favor of it actually, but this particular one...Forward.

Princess Melora stepped forward and raised her hand to the sudden murmurs that had started. She dropped her hands as the room fell quiet and she knew it was her turn to have the floor.

"Honored Councilman, Your Highness Pratore, I have come here to speak simply about matters which affect our lives." She took a deep breath. She could feel their eyes on her, watching, waiting for her every move. But she did not let it concern her. She had more important things to accomplish now that she was here. She would not let her master down. "I have come forth from the battlefronts of Balderia, where the armies of our peoples are being slaughtered." At this, she looked around the other side of the room, careful to avoid her fathers gaze; painstakingly remembering that he had forbidden her to go weeks before. "The war we wage there is costly and our natural resources are depleting even as we sit here comfortably in this room. There has been much loss; many fathers, many brothers, and many sons of our great cause have lost their lives fighting a war that cannot be won." She clasped her hands and rested them behind her back, drawing herself up to her full height and pacing confidently around as she spoke. She may not like politics, but she was an excellent orator and was told most often by many people that she was very persuasive in speech. "The Allied planets and supporting tribes don't have the finances or the manpower for such a costly war, and are withdrawing their forces quickly." There were a few startled and guilty expressions from some of the members. This of course was not what she really wanted to say, for the real reason they were withdrawing was not because of finances, it was because they were being silenced into secrecy. There was only one way that could possibly happen, and the mere thought or implement of such an act would be considered treason. She wasn't about to go there...yet. She still had her trump card.

"Speak concisely, Princess." Urged Councilman Zerell. She growled inwardly at his apparent ease. Guilty bastard...

"There is one way I seek an end to this growing problem. Every day we are losing more people, more land, and more power to the Jenova. The answer is not to add more force. It is to eliminate the opposition." She grew bolder as to step around and gesture towards them.

"Each of you knows the truth of what I speak. And there is proof for those who wish to deny...but there is a solution."

"What exactly do you propose as a solution Highness?" Asked Councilman Zierca. They were all seemingly interested; some wore contempt or disbelieving looks on their faces. But the general consensus was positive, and they were all listening which was more than she had hoped.

"We stop battling Jenova with guns and force. It is futile. Their race thrives off of that which is in the mind. No, I propose we take a far more direct but effective way of dealing with them. Direct like our ancestors were, and their ancestors before them. We need a greater power than the abilities that normal Cetra possess. Raw, untamed power that when acquired only a select few can control." The reaction was astounding. The room burst forth with sound and her father had to pound on his desk for long minutes before it would die off.

"And by that select few," cut in Zerell, "do we mean YOU? You and the, the Gushido?" He said incredulously. He stared at her intensely and she rejected the reflex to jump at him and start pummeling. Her instincts as a Gushido made her a very good judge of character; normally she was able to tell friend or foe by a single glance. And it was obvious to her what he was.

"I'm sure you have all heard of the Gushido," she began dryly feeling as if she were now climbing a hill, "but most have not witnessed firsthand the powers and abilities we possess against these terrors. I urge you not to forget how and why it is that we are here; how much our ancestors sacrificed to keep the old ways alive. It would not do for us to forget them so easily." She earned a nasty look from Zerell.

"Raw, un-harnessed power?" Council Gelane asked rhetorically. "You imply..."

"Yes. I ask for permission to resume the mission of my once great ancestor Tahl. Jewels are the key to the destruction of the Jenova race. Every one of you knows that." She caught her breath in her throat. Her speech was nearly finished and she felt exactly as if she had just walked into the room all over again. Their blank faces told her all she needed to know. They were not ready to accept such precious knowledge, had been blinded by many things. Most Cetra had, it was only that select few that were still here, clinging to the old ways trying to find a way to preserve their ways of life. All in vain...

"Childhood legends!" Screamed Zerell in anger. "There is no proof for what you speak of."

Pratore Cadence began quietly. She bristled. He was still angry about my visit to Balderia. She knew he would be fair nonetheless, a rather noble quality she admired in him. She sighed.

"The Gushido are proof enough."

"So are we to trust the word, your word, against the evil of Jenova? For something that may or may not work right now? If you haven't already noticed, Princess, with your distinction among our armies, they are destroying us now. We need results." Zerell interjected.

Pratore Cadence looked thoughtful for a moment, and then spoke. "Why should we honor such a request?"

The princess sighed again. "Because our world is in danger. Much more so every day. We must take action against it."

"We have taken action," Zerell replied. "We have started a war."

"A futile war. Our actions are not working; we should try a change of course. Don't you see? We must do something drastic before it is too late."

There were murmurs from the group. After a few moments of silence, her father announced,

"I think we have heard enough. Let it be put on record. We will now privately convene on this matter and others. Thank you Highness Melora for your valued opinion. You are dismissed at will." She bowed low in turn to the room. She turned and strode from the room without bothering to look back for fear that her face would portray her jumbled emotions.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few hours later when dusk was beginning to settle, and she had taken her fill of the afternoon by lingering about the castle aimlessly (something she had not done since she was a small child), she made her way out the front gates on her horse Firewind. She found that on quiet, cool days such as these, it was relaxing to take a ride; spending many hours pondering her lessons and the workings of her personal life. Though it was comforting to be so familiar with her surroundings, she often found herself remembering the days of her lonely childhood when the only friends she had were the horses in the stables. Then, when she was a young girl of about six, she had met Dario and Garai. Dario was the son of the general of Balderia's army, and Garai the son of its king. The new province had been added to the Alliance at that time, and it was then that their paths had crossed. Dario, Garai, and Princess Melora were seen always together after that, and if none of them were seen, then it was assumed that they were up to some mischief. Though Dario and Garai were from the planet Breal and Melora from the planet Cailiris, they spent most of their early lives wandering Cailiris, its great castles, and the surrounding areas. Now that they were all grown and parted ways, they still managed to be as much a part of each other's lives as before. Dario had entered the army training to take his fathers place, and Garai had followed him. She herself had been much too young to enter when they had, and was also immediately forbidden to do so owing to the fact that she was daughter to the council Pratore; she was needed 'more urgently in the ways that a woman of her power and prestige could grant.' At first, their nonsensical rhetoric made her angry, but later on she came to suspect that the decision to keep her close to Cailiris' throne had to do with her gender. She was persistent though and had ignored their politics; spending so much time with the lot anyway that she could be considered one of them. Apart from the army, they had all trained under High Master Benshe as Gushido-an elite line of Cetra warriors trained to uphold the old ways of life by protecting the planet and its crystal-energy. Most of those ways were looked down upon now, as technology advanced and new powers became readily available, but fortunately the general population was slow enough behind the times to still respect their traditions and heritage. It wasn't the small people she was having a problem with. Though she knew walking into that council room had been a complete waste of time on the matter of her proposal, there was a different agenda she had addressed at the same time. She had revealed herself, hopefully to the right person who had sat in that room, giving her the upper hand. Now all she had left to do was return to her master and her friends…and wait for them to make their next move. And if she was right, and her gut instinct was almost always correct, she had bought her crews more time to complete their operations. There were traitors among them, she had known for quite some time and they had been watching…and waiting. Their workings on Balderia were too delicate to jeopardize security now. Despite the raging war on the small Cailiris moon, the hostilities on Balderia no longer provided the cover they needed. So drastic times call for drastic measures… She was gently pulled from her thoughts as Firewind began to slow his pace to a canter. She had been so lost in her thoughts she had let him ride freely, and he had led them to her favorite spot. Walking her horse gently up a short incline, she came over the crest of a small hill. To the left of her, there was a shallow crevice with a small pond surrounded by trees and brush. She led Firewind down the other side of the hill until they came to the pool and she allowed him to dip his head down for a drink. She slid off his back and tying the reins to the nearest tree, she continued into the thick underbrush around the water. Low branches and sharp protrudings grabbed at her face and arms, but she paid no attention. The earth was cool beneath her, and she laid her head upon it for a moment, and with a deep breath she tuned her ears inward, towards the sound of the Planet's song. She sighed. Beautiful… Moments later, she resumed her searching under the brush to find the mouth of a small hidden cave. Pressing her body to the ground, she wedged herself along between the damp, packed dirt and the cool, smooth rock. After a few minutes, the cave mouth opened and widened up into a larger hole. She crawled out from beneath the space and stood up on the other side.

The cave walls were smooth and finished in this room and the air had a thick, musty smell to it. There was furniture in a circular pattern around the room that centered on a covered fire. Several dozen bookshelves lined the walls in the spacious room, and what looked like old, handcrafted carpeting lined the floor.

This was not her destination however. She walked to the opposite wall and stood in front of two bookshelves that were only inches apart. She reached her hand between them, into a jagged hole about the size of her hand that looked as if it had been carved out of the solid rock confines. After pressing her hand inside, the wall groaned, and she urged it forward to find herself in a smaller, but much different looking room. The stone walls were not smooth, but stuck out in places that seemed impractical and there were paintings and writings in strange languages that spanned from the top to the floor on each section. There was no furniture of any kind in this room; nothing but a tall candle that stood in the middle of a ring of lengthy sticks. The floor here was dirt.

The hairs on the back of Melora's neck stood on end at the intensity of the air. It felt damp and concentrated; as if some unseen force was observing her every movement. She liked this room better; however, for it was more private and not many of her colleagues fancied spending much time there. "Help me find my place," she whispered as she knelt next to the candle in the center of the room.

Closing her eyes, she relaxed her mind, viewing all of the events of her day as if she were merely a bystander. After all of the thoughts had cleared her mind, she concentrating on what was slowly building inside of her. She felt a million miles away from herself as she let her consciousness slip away to be replaced by the growing sensation. She retreated to a place inside where it was safe for her to search without being manipulated by any unwanted force. Seconds and then minutes ticked by as her mind searched out the voice inside of her. Her body was sweating now, after what felt like hours of waiting, from the forced concentration of keeping her thoughts and emotions at bay.

Just a little longer… Urging her converging to a new level, she curled into a ball desperately searching the vastness of nothing for something. As her body began to shake and her breath began to slow, the connection was made. Her body relaxed, but it was too late; the strain of searching so far for his voice rendered her comatose. She slumped forward and sprawled out onto the dirt as her mind gave in to the dominance of the link it held with her friend.