The Black Mage whispered angrily in the doorway of her chambers; "Jenova is moving again, and we have few defenses against her virus. We need to take action."

"We are taking action," the White Mage countered. "We have defensive perimeters just outside of the region she currently inhabits."

"And what of the virus? Are we certain that your magicks can guard against another vector we have not yet seen?" He gazed at her sceptically.

She spoke, choosing her words with care. "The wards are in-tact. Unless she can infect another species with the ease she has consumed our relatives, and unless that species is capable of penetrating the wards confining her to that mountain region, there is no risk of infection."

"At present." The other mage growled. "You know as well as I that her skills have increased dramatically each time we have held her back. How many of your kin were required for the wards?"

"We numbered one hundred of the first line of wards, and two hundred on the second. She has yet to breach the weaker inner ward. We have time."

"For now. But what when she does break free? You know what she is seeking..."

"An artifact of your tribe that should never have been contemplated. The art to call Meteor should have been allowed to pass back to the Planet along with it's author, instead of encapsulated. Now anyone with the wit can threaten the Planet's life." She looked at him coldly.

"You cannot be seriously suggesting that it would have been better to let the knowledge loose like that? Then anyone with a connection could have drawn the knowledge up. As it stands we control it, and no one can access it. Need we remind you that it is ingeniously protected."

"For now. The current research on the manipulate magicks feel like they could exploit a loop-hole in your thinking."

"And that is why the guardians were selectedc. And even then, I have heard whispers that one of your rank crafted the counter-spell and encapsulated that too."

The White Mage kept her face impassive, though could not prevent the shock from coursing through her body. The materia they had crafted would counter an attempt to call Meteor down upon them, would not let slip the true nature of the spell and the capability it gave to the Planet. "This is distracting from the point. Currently Jenova is confined. You worry about her escape. Do you then have a more permanent solution?"

"Yes," the Black Mage said bluntly. "We have theorised a course of action to severely weaken Jenova. My scribes cannot calculate a sufficiently powerful burst to eradicate every trace of her, but we know we can damage her to the extent that she would have to devote all her energies to healing and reconstruction."

The White Mage frowned. "You are sure of this?"

"Yes. There is a problem however. The necessary magical power required is beyond that of all Cetra who still walk the Planet."

"Then this is a pointless conversation! If Lord Ramuh or Lady Shiva are not capable of this, then your solution is unworkable!"

"Not quite. We have conducted other knowledge encapsulation processes, and successfully isolated magicks. They are initially weak but can be improved with training. At certain power levels the crystals will split forming a new crystal. Here." He held up three faintly glowing green spheres. She dubiously took one, gazing into it's depths, surprised to find a new knowledge welling up within her mind. She knew how to create fire... The knowledge faded away as she replaced the orb in the other's hand.

"You are suggesting the use of these encapsulated spells to shortcut the teaching and training regimes?"

"Put simply, yes. We can assemble a vast army of Black Magic users in an extremely short time. Far quicker then the typical schools. This is, however, still not sufficient power-wise. Therefore a new plan has been brought to me by an offshoot of my tribe."

"I wasn't aware your tribe begat others; you were always more fixated on destruction rather then creation," she responded in a condescending tone.

"A split has occurred," he shot back coolly. "The concepts were ethically questionable and are not dwelled on if possible. It seems however, that they were successful."

"What is the new tribe known as?"

"Summoners."

"Summoners?"

"Yes, they have taken the concept of encapsulation a stage further and coined a new terminology. They refer to the resultant crystals as 'materia'."

"Materia..." The White Mage rolled the term around. "It is acceptable as a short-hand. But I do not understand. What are they doing that is so ethically questionable? Who is their teacher?"

"They have no teacher as the other tribes. Our previous attempts at encapsulation and materia formation have been from the removal of knowledge from a trained mage. Never someone as skilled as Lady Shiva, but someone sufficiently skilled nonetheless. We noted that while the source mage loses the knowledge, the materia usage balances precisely with their former power level."

"This is fascinating, but what of your teacher-less summoners?"

"The summoners tried to craft a different spell. They wished to call forth servitor creatures, and with no such magical branch existing, decided to craft their own. They have been submerging creatures in the Lifestream and encapsulating the creature at the point of no return."

A cold, heavy feeling dropped into the White Mage's belly and she stared at her companion aghast. "How could you condone this? I beseech you, stop this. The Planet will not stand for it."

"There may be no avoiding it. The resulting materia can be used to create a temporary servitor who can be aimed as with our magics at a target. The power-level is a precise match to the sacrificed creature. Since more materia can be formed from the initial materia, the potential scope is astonishing."

"This is still ethically absurd. We cannot kill a creature only to drag it back as a servant!"

"And what if it is voluntary?"

"What...?" She paused, confused. "Who would volunteer for this?"

"Lady Shiva and Lord Ramuh to name two."

The White Mage blanched. "You can't mean..." Her voice shook.

The Black Mage stared back impassively. "I can. In a bid to destroy Jenova, both Lord and Lady have volunteered to undergo the process. Think of it; rather the simply an army wielding high level spells, we will instead have an army with the powers of Lord Ramuh and Lady Shiva! The number of capable students will exceed any produced from the teachings."

"But at the loss of the teachers!"

"They volunteered themselves. They would rather make the sacrifice then let Jenova take this world."

"But-" Her protests died on her lips. There was a quaver to her voice when she spoke again. "Who else has volunteered?"

The Black Mage had the decency to look grim. "In addition to Lady Shiva and Lord Ramuh, there is Lord Ifrit, Lord Odin and the combat clan known as the Knights of the Round. We may be able to persuade Lord Hades and Lord Typhoon as well. Negotiations have commenced to integrate at least one of Bahamut's lineage." He glanced up at her then. "In addition we have a curious construct in the making; similar in nature to the gestating Weapons. We have augmented it with a technique we believe is similar to your counter-spell; on a much lower scale naturally."

Her eyes narrowed. "Who is assisting? Which of my clan also agreed to this barbaric practice?"

"Alexander."

The name did not really surprise her. "I should have suspected as much." They fell silent for a moment. "You wish me to volunteer myself don't you? This is the purpose of your visit isn't it?"

"It is. I would like you to offer yourself Lady Minerva. Our fledgling tribe of summoners is well equipped with offensive spells, but yours is the sole tribe with the healing magicks. We need a representative from you."

"What of Alexander then?"

A wan smile appeared on his face. "It has become clear that Alexander was something of a renegade for your teachings long before this project. Had these circumstances not come to pass, he would have transferred to my own tribe before long. He has no skill in healing and no wish to learn either. He uses your talents for damage." He stared into her eyes then. "Will you join with the others? Offer us all your gift of healing?"

"An easy request to make when you are not contemplating dissolution in the Lifestream yourself. To be duplicated endlessly for future use."

The Black Mage smiled then. "Ah, but I am to be encapsulated. Not quite as I am now. I will be merged with one of the other race representatives. I am not as focused as my fellow Lords and Ladies, but I am gifted with several spell types."

She studied his face then and reflected inwards. Almost everyone she knew, all the leaders of the tribes would sacrifice themselves to halt Jenova, give up their lives so that their skills and talent could never be lost, that they could be called upon at full strength for as long as the materia existed. Could she do the same? Could she give up her life and join them, conjured up on a whim as needed?

"...No," she said at last. "No, I cannot allow us to lose our teachings this way. You plan removes our most talented teachers, the most skilled at passing their skills down to the younger generations. Should a problem occur we would lose whole branches of knowledge. Tell me, has there been a useful way to dredge the knowledge from the materia to allow new learning and new skills?"

He smiled sadly. "Alas no. We will lose the teachers, but any of us can become a perfect student."

"Then I cannot in good conscience submit. I will remain here. I shall remain in the living. I will continue to teach my tribe and I will continue to heal. I shall ensure that our teachings are never lost."

He bowed then. "I hope that you succeed. I admit my anxiety is too potent to allow myself a similar route. Your loss in a confrontation with Jenova would be devastating."

"The loss of my encapsulated form would be equally as devastating. Have faith in me, have faith in the Planet. We will endure. I would wish at least one Cetra be awake to safe-guard the Planet's future. We will endure and watch should another like Jenova raise it's head again."

They fell silent, and the Black Mage eventually moved to leave. "Then, my Lady, I am afraid this is goodbye."

"You are to be encapsulated already?"

"I am. Within the week we hope to have sufficient materia to begin the assault on Jenova. The sooner I am encapsulated the sooner the Summoners can begin the growth of new materia."

She shook her head again. "This will change too much of our teachings. Will I be the only one who teaches as before?"

"It appears so. And would that there be any other way, I would gladly take it. While we will lose direct teaching from the Lords and Ladies, the higher ranked members of the tribe are approaching their level. Draw the new teachers from those."

"And should they fall?"

"Then you shall have the usable skills if not the knowledge to teach anew. It is a gamble. A gamble we decided to take."

"I shall look for your new form on the battle-field."

He smiled slightly. "I hope that you will survive this Minerva. You will be the Cetra leader in our stead. Lead us well."

"I will, Kujata."

That was the last she saw of the Black Mage as a Cetra. The next time she saw him was amongst the other summoned forms upon the battle-field as Jenova fell back under barrage after barrage of spells. It's body was scarred and blackened, falling back into a mountain crevice. The surviving Cetra encircled that place, pouring their energies into the mountain-side to heal the wound and trap the enemy.

Minerva surveyed the Cetra that remained. They were tired, their kind horribly depleted. Now began her era; an era of healing and peace for the Cetra, for the Planet. She clutched the tiny white materia in her hand. Their most precious artifact must survive.