The culmination of the plan of two ancient beings of the Zilart race was ended by two mortals chosen by rival Gods. One was an Elvaan whose heart was tainted by darkness and whose faith was tested to the fullest. The other was a Hume freed from apathy and bathed in the four other taints, the strongest of which was rage. Their power joined together saved Vana'diel from imminent destruction.
Yet as the two, who might have been known as saviours had their deeds been observed, accepted that one battle was over, they were driven to begin another. Tu'Lia shook once more as they fought to kill one another. It was all for nothing as the Dawn Maiden intervened once more. All were banished from that floating land using the left over power collected in the nexus. Some might say they died, whereas those who knew better would say that they had begun their trip to the Mother Crystal.
Though the Zilart now no longer posed a threat, there was a greater evil ready to rear its head. A great evil was eating away at Vana'diel, infecting it piece by piece. The thing that the Zilart had been hoping to escape had been set in motion. The Emptiness began to spread further and faster than before.
A name would surface of an ancient God. This name would set a new set of events in motion and bring forth the dark destroyer. The emissaries will hear the calls of rival Gods and be called back from where they are held. They will enact the wishes of Altana and Promathia.
PROLOGUEExtracts from the diary of Catherine, one of the Six Champions…
6/21/1032 Firesday, Waning Gibbous,
It's been two weeks since we found ourselves at the Crag of Mea and that he was not there with us. I still don't understand why he stayed behind. Everyone thinks he and Lion are dead, but I'll still hold onto hope. Even now, even after so many days.
People in Bastok ask where he is every so often and I don't know what to say. Officially there was never any mission, there was never any trip to a palace in the sky and Vana'diel was never in peril. It makes me angry sometimes. I've practised smiling politely and saying he has gone back to adventuring. That excuse seems to work too well. Were we the only close friends he had?
Of course there are people who know it is something more than that. The Mythril Musketeers, Chief Engineer Cid, the President's daughter, they all know. It doesn't make it easier though, just harder. Cid tries to cheer us up and even passed on top secret details about the investigation into Tu'Lia now that its location is known. He promised that if they found even just bodies up there he would let us know.
Nokum-Akkum has never been the same since that day. He's lost all love for life, the zest I admired so much. He's lost his best friend, no, closer than that, they were like brothers. It pains me to see him so forlorn and that nothing I can say will do any good. I wouldn't believe anything I told him anyway, my heart is aching too.
Hanaa comes and goes, but surprisingly stays far more often. Her desire, or need, to constantly be on the move seems to have disappeared along with him. When she does go on travels she says it is just to see the world, but I think she is searching for him. She believes he has someone found his way back onto Vana'diel and is asking in every possible place if anyone has seen him. There are days she seems almost excited, but it soon passes as a possible sighting no doubt turns out to be wrong.
Gerdinus is gone. The call he felt inside became too strong. He wanted to stay and help us grieve, but late one night he just vanished. Whenever a young Galka returns to Bastok I try to find them, to see if the memories of our former leader passed onto his new life. Two reborn Galka have returned recently, neither of which seemed to know me. I will miss you, Gerdinus.
We lost more than him on Tu'Lia, though sometimes it feels like I am the only one who remembers that. Rost is gone as well. San d'Oria doesn't even know half of what happened to their trusted knight. They have covertly asked on three occasions for me to give them information. I chose not to. Something happened to Rost up there that scared me and I don't wish to dwell on it now.
-
Shadow, the hired Ninja, was taken from us. The picture of his face in my memory grows a bit darker every day. I pray to Altana that I can keep my promise to him. Even if I forget his face in the years to come, I will not forget the Hume.
Where there is but a small ray of light in so much darkness is with new found friends. Renene now stays with us in our home. She has retained her liveliness and quirks that all but Nokum-Akkum has warmed to. Her smile is a welcomed change to the gloom that the rest of us must cast over this place. She leaves occasionally, saying that she must check on the crystals of the avatars she can summon, but never mentions a home or family in Windurst. I wonder if she was a war orphan like so many were during the war.
-
I had hoped to write happier tidings in this diary of mine, but I can't just yet. But there is a feeling whenever I look at one of the Prayer Stones we still posses, I can't describe it. It's like you're watching me. Is it you, Alain? If it is, if you can somehow read this, please, please come home.
-
CHAPTER ONE: JEUNO'S REQUESTCatherine sighed and let her quill drop onto the half filled page of her diary. Writing such things was meant to be relaxing and relieve stress, but she found neither to be true. Constantly writing about what happened just kept it fresh in her mind. Yet she did not want to forget anyone who was lost on Tu'Lia. Friends, those who had seen her personality change, suggested other ways she could cope with the grief.
Returning to San d'Oria to take up her studies where they had left off some time ago on the matters of religion was a common suggestion, but doing such a thing would be a lie in itself. She had not prayed to the Dawn Goddess once since that day, even after seeing that the prospect of Paradise was real. She questioned her faith just as Rost had, and just as he had she found dismay in what appeared to be the answers her church sought for centuries. Any who travel through the gates to paradise would ascend into a God but at the price of every other person, dooming Vana'diel to some sort of plague. Thankfully, despite such events apparently being set in motion, no such plague had appeared.
Glancing out her bedroom window, Catherine tried to guess the time. She had awoken at dawn as usual, lying in for longer than that felt too much like missing the best part of the day. She had not been writing for that long so it could not have been later than seven. Nokum-Akkum would still be asleep; as would Hanaa assuming she had slept in the mansion last night (often she would come and go without announcing). The Moogles would be the only other ones up at this time.
I need to stretch my legs; they won't mind me wandering around, she thought.
She dressed in a simple blue and white fabric top with matching trousers. She had taken to dressing in civilian clothes after her White Mage robes had been too badly damaged and stained. Even if the blood marks had been able to be cleaned away fully she still would not have felt right wearing them.
Her bedroom was on the second floor of the mansion at the end of a long hall with rows of mahogany doors down each side. Most were just other bedrooms, far more than were needed. Catherine crept past Nokum-Akkum's room making sure not to wake him. Her dear Tarutaru friend enjoyed the mornings, but lately had not been getting nearly enough sleep. She took as much care past Hanaa's door and paused to try and listen for snoring, but heard nothing. Descending the stairs to the ground floor and into the front room she found a Moogle happily hovering around with its tiny purple wings fluttering as it swung a long brush from side to side sweeping the floor.
"Good morning," she said to Nokum-Akkum's Moogle.
"Dear oh dear, Kupo!" the Moogle exclaimed, taken quite by surprise. "I did not hear you appear!"
With a slight bow, she apologised and moved out the way as the Moogle past by to carry on sweeping while lightly whistling a merry tune. While forever grateful for the service every Moogle did for those they took on as masters, she could never understand how they could enjoy house work as much as they did. Not only that but the special events that they would hold during times of celebration throughout the year were rivalled by none. The Doll Festival had been the most recent and, despite some problems, ended in an amazing fireworks display that could be seen as far away as the Zulkheim region.
The Moogle's whistling turned into song, "Silly little Kupo, sleeping on the seat, see the Kupo sleeping, with uncomfortable feet"
Somewhat bemused by the strange lyrics, Catherine glanced over to the long couch sitting near the mansion's large unlit fireplace. As she had come down the stairs she had assumed no one else was there but now she was not so sure. Walking over to the couch she peered over it. Tucked into it was Nokum-Akkum stretched out and probably stuck in the groove between the back and base of the couch, wearing a Tarutaru sized tunic. One of his hands was pressed on his forehead and drool had slipped down his face onto the fabric. She sighed.
"Nokum-Akkum slept down here again…"
"Oh yes," the Moogle said from where it was sweeping. "Silly Kupo must have forgotten to go to bed. It can't be comfortable, Kupo."
Stroking his blond hair she sighed again. He would spend hours on end just sitting on that couch since they had gotten back to Bastok. It wasn't the first time she had found that he had spent the night there either. He began to stir from his slumber, mumbling something about his mother. Shortly after his eyes opened he seemed to remember where he was.
"Cathy…is itaru time for bed?" he asked as he wiped his mouth.
"It's very early in the morning," she replied. "You fell asleep down here again."
The Tarutaru Warrior tried to get up, found he had wedged himself too far into the couch, and raised his hands in a plea for assistance. Catherine tugged him up onto his feet and then sat down next to him. After a long stretch and accompanied yawn, Nokum-Akkum sat next to her.
"Why don't you sleep in your room at night?"
Nokum-Akkum shrugged and looked at the floor. Just as she was about to try for an answer again something was slotted in through the mail slot next to the front door. A small cage was built around it to catch any letters and packages without having to answer the door. It was early as usual, the M.M.M.S were very prompt. Her Moggle had appeared from another part of the mansion to retrieve the mail, almost instinctively knowing that it had been delivered, but she stood and said that she would collect it.
"…Any good mail?" Nokum-Akkum asked from the couch.
Sitting back down next to him, they went through the mail together. First there was the latest edition of the Vana'diel Tribune (they had subscribed to have it delivered). Its cover story was about the grand opening of the Chocobo Circuit in the three nations, with a sub story about a new ferry travelling to the Near East after a mutual agreement between Aht Urghan and Jeuno. Next there seemed to be a newsletter passed round by the high society types that they lived around, it appeared to be about some petition to have a Mithran family moved to Port Bastok due to having uncontrollable children. Last there was an official looking letter with a wax seal bearing the symbol of the Duchy of Jeuno, addressed to her.
"Do you know someone in Jeuno, Cathy?" her friend asked.
"No…this looks like something official…"
The political climate since the events of Tu'Lia had been become complex. The initial threat of a huge Kindred army subsided in time with the Zilart being stopped, which took away the risk for war, but left Jeuno without a leader. Talks between all three nations and the duchy had been kept top secret, she had only heard a few titbits of information from Cid regarding the talks. Officially everything was normal. In the days following their return a special edition of the tribune had been released stating that San d'Oria had single-handedly fought off a demonic army, once again making Xarcarbard safe for adventurers. In the same release it was reported that Archduke Kam'lanaut had fallen extremely ill and, while still remaining in control of Jeuno, would no longer be able to take public audiences.
All those involved with the events leading to and during what happened in Tu'Lia had been sworn to secrecy regarding the deaths of Kam'lanaut and his brother. It was thought that the general public would panic or even rebel if it were known they had been deceived and controlled by mad men for so long. While she could not be sure, Catherine had always assumed that in the absence of a real Archduke it would fall to the one in command of the duchy's army to rule. That would mean the leader of the Duchy Guard; Captain Wolfgang. She broke the seal on the letter and read the content aloud.
To Catherine of the Six Champions,
A matter of great importance has arisen of which cannot be discussed in this letter. All that can be said is that it is in regards to the events you and your companions lived through some weeks ago and the lasting effects this had on Delkfutt's Tower. I require your unique insight into this problem. Please travel to Jeuno at best speed right away, time is of the essence. Involvement of your home nation in this matter is not desired, though your companions may accompany you.
From the desk of Archduke Kam'lanaut.
"Getaru itaru away! A deady-weady person wrote a letter!!" Nokum-Akkum squealed.
"Calm down, we both know this can't have been written by Kam'lanaut. It was just signed in this way in case someone other than one of us read it. No, this was probably written by Wolfgang."
But why he or any other Jeuno official would write to her was a mystery. They had always been warned by President Karst that Jeuno was probably fully aware of the parts they played in the Zilart's defeat but that they should deny everything to protect them. At some point after the war their identities had been discovered by Jeuno so that part was not a surprise, especially considering Kam'lanaut had sent assassins after some of them.
What insight she could give them on any subject was also unknown to her. Her studies growing up had been on the teachings of White Magic and the church of San d'Oria, nothing more. While it was true in her leisure time she had studied various lore, none of it was to do with the dormant technology in Delkfutt's Tower.
Now knowing the part that snow covered tower played in opening the way to Tu'Lia, the technology was most definitely ancient Zilart in origin. She had observed such technology in motion on the flying island but that hardly made her an expert on the subject. Jeuno was either desperate (for whatever reason), or it was trying to lure her out of Bastok into some kind of trap. It was possible even after the Archduke's demise that loyal underlings would seek revenge, but to do so through official channels seemed far too brazen.
"Your forehead looks angry-wangry, whataru you thinking aboutaru, Cathy?"
"I'm trying to decide what I should do with this letter. Scrap it? Obey it? Turn it in to the President's office? Delkfutt's Tower transported all of us straight to Tu'Lia, after that I don't know what happened to it. It's possible after those events something has gone wrong there…with that technology brought back to life by the Zilart."
She needed time to think.
-
"How have you come to be here?" a voice echoed.
A dark beast descended with thick demonic wings.
"You who have at one time entered my Dynamis, how have you found this place?"
With teethed bared, the monstrous face of the speaking creature appeared from the darkness. Two thick horns spread from either side of its face and it had a bony chin. Its skin was a mixture of pure black and crimson red. Suddenly it shot forwards with a flap of its razor sharp wings and with a claw outstretched. Yet on contact nothing happened, it were as if he was a ghost and the claw past harmlessly through.
"No…you are not here," the monster growled. "Your body is elsewhere; your mind has wandered and discovered my dream, a place familiar at one time in life. Without your body you will not remain here, you will be consumed like all the rest when the Mother Crystal dies. Transient dreamer, repent if you should feel the need while within my dream, your stay will be fleeting. Those of the Mother Crystal cannot stay in such a state for long. Not when he is summoned."
The one to whom the beast spoke tried to answer back, but there was no voice, no ability to move. He was caught in static as if someplace else his body was held in place. The demon moved closer to his face and peered right into his eyes.
"There is something different about you, what is it? This presence, it is familiar to me now. Yes…Altana…this is your emissary. You allowed him to complete his trip to the Mother Crystal? Then all hope for the world is truly gone. After the Emptiness, all that will remain are dreams. Wait…who else enters my slumber?!"
Somehow he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was as if he was brought to life in that split second. He still could not move but knew the hand, knew the presence. He felt himself being pulled away from the demon as darkness swarmed him and his savoir. As it happened he heard the monster laugh to itself.
"Foolish beings, one who has completed their trip to the Mother Crystal cannot be brought back. Not…without…consequences…"
Where he had stood he saw the back of another figure; a small, young, boy.
-
Early morning turned to a rather cold early evening. Catherine had still not made up her mind about the letter she had received that morning, but had sought more advice. Using the pearl they had all carried she had called Hanaa (after discovering that she had disappeared again) as well as their new friend Renene the Summoner. Hanaa had been riding her Chocobo north but turned around and would be back soon. Renene had been studying goldsmithing at the guild in Bastok Markets and appeared at the mansion door within ten minutes of her plea to them both.
Without knocking, Hanaa Mocorho, the devilish Mithra Red Mage, barged in. Catherine had spoken to her on numerous occasions about her manners but her words of advice always fell on deaf ears. Renene (who had been bothering Nokum-Akkum on the couch endlessly) happily trotted over to her to greet her. With a tap of her beloved hat, Hanaa walked over and warmed her hands at the lit fireplace. Her tail stretched as she did, showing just how cold it must have been outside.
"Don't I get a cuddle frrrom my Nookie-Ookie?" the Red Mage purred.
Nokum-Akkum shook his head, much to her annoyance.
"Cheerrr up will you?! The mood in herrre is heavy enough to sink a ship."
Catherine spoke up swiftly to object, even though it did not look like the Tarutaru was going to do anything. Hanna had been as heart broken as them but got over it far quicker, or maybe just got better at hiding it. Negative emotional outbursts were not that common a thing to see from Hanaa Mocorho. Still, Catherine doubted that Nokum-Akkum would realize that this was simply Hanaa's way of coping and that it may cause problems in the future.
"Big Sis," Renene said, "the letter other Big Sis got is here. It came all the way from Jeuno!"
Almost snatching it away from the Summoner, Hanaa read the letter in just a few seconds. Speed reading was a fringe benefit from her training to evoke spells far faster than any other casters. She was a quick learner, which Catherine saw as an extra blessing considering how many memory cells the Mithra probably killed off with heavy drinking sessions at the Steaming Sheep.
Catherine spoke, "So, what do you think we should do?"
"To Hell with Jeuno, that's what I think! They can't be trrrusted, none of them. If they've managed to damage the tower somehow it's their problem, not ourrrs. It's because of them that…never mind."
"I agree that even if Jeuno has fallen under the control of Captain Wolfgang that we cannot rule out that surviving minions of the Archduke could try to get revenge…but the people living in Jeuno and probably most of its military don't even know what happened. They were fooled just as much as we were by the Zilart. What if Delkfutt were to explode or if they have accidentally reactivated it? Tu'Lia could fall on us, there's no telling where it would crash."
Hanaa reminded her of the warrants issued for their arrest on false accusations meant to set them up, but Catherine insisted that one of the first things to happen after the Archduke's demise was that they were revoked and quickly forgotten about. Next she recited a promise made to President Karst to remain completely separate from Jeuno and to never admit involvement in the Archduke's death. It was not normal for Hanaa to be the one taking the moral high ground and this second point took Catherine somewhat by surprise.
Yet in that moment she realized that really she had already made up her mind. By not considering how Bastok would react if she were to help Jeuno and through that help prove she was involved with Tu'Lia it meant that she was already willing to take that risk no matter what. The only thing that she had not decided on was how involved she would get and what she would do. She did not need to think long on whether Hanaa had deliberately made her walk into that realization as a sharp teethed grin appeared on the Mithra's face.
"So you don't carrre if you annoy a bunch of Bastok higherrr ups? Good. Got it. I understand. It's about time you started thinking about yourrrself and what you want rather than what Karrrst wants. But still, I don't trust Jeuno."
"What are you trying to suggest then?" she asked, somewhat bemused.
Another grin appeared, "We can still go make sure that old tower on Qufim Island is safe, we don't need Jeuno's perrrmission either. Sure it's probably closed off to adventurrrers but it shouldn't be too hard for us to sneak in with our magic."
It seemed like that had decided on a plan of action, albeit a less than law abiding one. It would not be as easy for them to sneak into Delkfutt's Tower as Hanaa would like to think. There was only one entrance and the Duchy would have it heavily guarded. In their favour, however, was that the grand entrance into the tower would never close. The ceiling surrounding the entrance had been heavily damaged and even if the machinery inside was still active it would make no difference.
At first, following the incident, the whole of the island was cordoned off by the Duchy Guard. The reason for this that was floating about (according to Cid) was some half hearted babble about a Behemoth running riot. Those restrictions had been lessened after just a week to only the tower itself being out of bounds to any travellers. Being so close to Jeuno and a prime training location for new recruits they would have had a revolt on their hands had they not taken that action. That, at least, meant that getting into Qufim would be easy enough.
"Let's take your airship to be extra quick!" Renene added, already heading for the door.
The Highwind was still docked in the hidden port beneath the Metalworks, but it was not as easy as heading down there and setting sail. The airship belonged to Bastok and was not freely available to them. The price the Republic would pay if it were discovered they had their own airship was too high. Even if it was feasible to take, they would need President Karst's permission, unless they wanted to add stealing to the list of laws they were apparently willing to break. Renene looked saddened as she explained all this.
"Well poo-woo," she huffed, "I wanted to see Samuel and Pops again!"
Since returning to Bastok with a slightly beaten up Highwind (it had battered into the rocks on Qufim Island in their absence) they had not had the chance to see either of the crew that had helped them so much. She had always just assumed they had gone back to working in whatever section of the Metalworks they had done before their original mission, but thinking back to any time she had visited Cid, she never saw them or even heard them mentioned.
"That old genius keeps secrrrets from you as well, sweetie," Hanaa mocked. "Those two are still with the Highwind I'll bet. Cid wouldn't let them destroy his pride and joy. I did some checking arrround last week, it's the only explanation."
"Wha…what? Well, why didn't you tell me about this?" Catherine exclaimed.
Hanaa shrugged, "Didn't think you carrred about those two, I guessed it was a different two you were far morrre interested in finding. Anyway, forget it, okay? Good. We'll take public transportation to Jeuno, walk confidently onto Qufim Island from there, then sneak into the tower to see what's going on in there. Agreed?"
Hanaa crouched down and out stretched her hand in front of the fireplace. Renene hopped over from the door and placed her hand on top. With a slight huff, Nokum-Akkum moved from the couch and added his hand to the bunch. They all looked expectantly at her with childlike eyes. It would not be as easy as Hanaa said yet she had inspired them all. The laziest Red Mage she had ever met managed to inspire them into action, they would never believe it if she told them.
If there's even the slightest hope that doing this will…
She added her hand to theirs.
For you, I'll risk it, Alain.