Note: I do not own the name Final Fantasy or the word Squaresoft. I just thought they sounded so cool I'd use them. Nor do I own any companies with the name of Square or Squaresoft.
Final Fantasy
DARK LEGACY
It was a dark night in the kingdom of Candor. The streets, normally neat and polished, were now broken and in such disrepair that travel by anything other than foot was firmly advised against. Buildings that once sparkled white now were all a uniform dull gray, with some in a worse state than the streets. It rained constantly during the nights, making the still mornings humid and nearly unbearable. The last change in the seasons was nearly a year ago, when a beautiful spring fell into a hellish, endless, summer. All crops died within a month, and the livestock all had to be put down to cut down on the consumption of the precious few resources left. Children, too weak to last on the meager rations of food, had slowly died over the night. The town graveyard had gotten so full of the bodies of the dead recently that graves were popping up on every street corner. Burials were becoming so common that they were now seen as an everyday occurrence in the kingdom of Candor.
And yet, through all this, through all the suffering of her people, Candor's king celebrated. Eating food imported from neighboring kingdoms, and drinking wine from far off lands, King Candor was a very happy soul. Happy indeed. Just two hours ago he had three prisoners drawn and quartered in the town square because their complaints while languishing in their comfortable jail cells had gotten too annoying for the royal ears. King Candor was so pleased; his majesty had commanded that all citizens in his kingdom were now required to pay homage to his royalty in any way possible every day. Be it an offering of their daily rations, offering their homes so that his soldiers could have a warm bed to sleep in at night, or even their own lives if need be. That made King Candor happiest. Knowing that his own subjects would take their own lives and give it to him as a gift to his Majesty made him so happy. And when the king is happy, the kingdom is happy.
One day, in King Candor's happiest times, he delighted to know that a woman had offered her own body for the pleasure of his majesty. The king wasted no time in taking advantage of this offering. He immediately ordered her to be swept from the streets and sent to the royal palace to be washed and fed in preparation of this wonderful gift. While the woman fed, King Candor watched from across the room intently. Maybe if she pleased him enough he would give this woman the honor of mothering the royal prince. Ahh! That would be a marvelous gift indeed! A son of his own. One person he could teach all of his morals and ethics to. Someone who would Bring his kingdom to a higher level than he could ever take it. Yes! King Candor would have a son. And his son would save his kingdom.
In a ruined home near the outskirts of the decaying kingdom of Candor, three figures stood. Their faces red with not yet dried blood, their swords decorated wit the same scarlet hue. Different parts of the figure's armor suits were either dented or missing altogether. One of the figures helmets was sitting useless beside him; a dent the size of a mace impact decorated the left side. Fortunately, he wasn't wearing the helmet at the time; the dropped mace of a killed palace guard had hit it, the helm had been removed a short time previously. And yet, no matter how bruised and bloodied the tree looked, they had the air of triumph about them. These three had infiltrated the most fortified of palaces to rescue a single person. A person that, if left where he was, would certainly have spelled the death of not only these three, but the lives of possibly everyone in all the seven kingdoms. This wasn't a prison break, or liberation from slavery. No, it was both and neither. The one they had rescued was held in a luxury room with every imaginable amenity, and guarded by more men than the largest bank vault. The one they had rescued was none other than King Candor's infant son. Rescued from the madness and evil that was his father. Rescued from the dark fate that would almost certainly had befallen him.
But even as victorious as these three felt, they knew that their trial was not done.
"The child must be taken to the seventh kingdom!" Pronounced the tallest of the three, "My cousin can properly see to it that he be brought to a proper place to be judged."
"Judge an infant?!" Exclaimed the figure with the helm beside him, "Did you lose all sense in the battle? This infant has committed no crimes. This child has done nothing that deserves judgment!"
"But he is the spawn of the scourge of Candor!" the tallest nearly spat.
"No, Halek is right, Galen." Said the last figure. This one was most the largest and strongest of the three. Not only physically, but mentally as well. This one was holding the precious child in his arms, rocking it slightly so as not to awaken it and alert the already wary soldiers now patrolling the town in full force. "This child has committed no crimes, and as such is not fit to be judged. This child will be dealt with, yes, but not in any punishing way."
"What?" Galen asked, his face a mask of confusion.
"Galen, have you heard of the legend of the phoenix?"
"Yes, yes I have. Any child knows that tale!"
"Yes, the tale of the phoenix is very well known. The story of a bird, born of fire, lives and dies in fire, only to be reborn again."
"Yes, yes. But what does this have to do with this child?"
"As it is well known" the leader said, finding a nearby fallen timber to rest his weary legs, "All legends have a base in fact. The phoenix legend has been traced by the historians of the third kingdom to either be an explanation of the sun, or a prophecy for the future."
"Prophecy?"
"In the original text of the legend, the phoenix speaks a name before dying once more: "Haleem". Translated, haleem means simply "light", or "rebirth". Over time, it has been interpreted that haleem means nothing more than a rebirth flame, or, the sunrise. But what if haleem is no the sunrise, but a man? A man who will bring the world out of death and bring with him new life."
Galen was awed at this. "You-you mean to say that THIS child is this 'Haleem' character?"
"Yes."
"Impossible" Halek snorted. "How can people from thousands of years ago know about someone from the present?"
"Indeed, that fact is odd, but it is still a fact. The ancients knew of the death of our world and the one who would restore it."
"But this "Haleem" is still a child!" Galen said, removing his helmet.
"Yes, and that is why he must be protected until he is ready to fulfill the prophecy."
"I'll take the responsibility!" Galen shouted. "I was the one who personally liberated the child from his crib, he is mine to look after."
"No, Galen," the seated knight said, "You are not ready to care for another. Besides, the fourth kingdom needs you. You are their only knight. Just as I cannot care for this young one." With that, the knight gently set the child on the plank and removed his helmet. Immediately long, gray hair spilled out alongside his head, wet and messy with sweat. Along his forehead as a strip of cloth bandaging a cut inflicted only recently.
"I am no longer capable of caring for a child. Besides, I already have two of my own." The little bit of humor seemed to calm the already tense mood of the three. "That means only you, Halek, are capable of caring for this child."
"No." Halek said, turning toward the decaying town of Candor. "I do not wish to do this"
"But Halek," Galen interrupted, "You are the only one capable of seeing that this child grows to maturity."
"No. I don't like children. And besides, he'd…cramp my style."
"And what style is that?" Galen implored.
"If you haven't already guessed, I'm a loner. I don't need or want to be with anyone. I'm only a traveling knight for hire. A child would only slow me down."
"Then why did you decide to fight with us?" the older one asked, picking the child up once more.
"…Because it was the right thing to do."
"And it is the right thing to take care of this child."
"Fine. But how would I feed him?"
"You would be surprised at how many people there are out there who would be willing to help you on this grandest of quests, Halek."
Before Halek could respond, Galen shouted as loud as possible, "The soldiers have found us! We must defend ourselves!"
"Quickly, Halek, the older one said, donning his hem once more, take the child and go. We will handle them."
"But you're injured and Galen's armor is nearly gone!"
"GO!" Galen yelled, running into the approaching column of Candor's soldiers.
"You have had your share of kills in the palace today. Let us improve our scores, huh?" the older asked, picking up his sword and throwing Halek's to him. "Go, before they catch you."
Halek sheathed his sword and gave the older one a deep bow before taking the child in his arms. "It has been an honor fighting with you, sir Cid."
"And you, traveling knight Halek." Cid replied before giving the military salute of the fifth kingdom, and then joining Galen in the fray.
Halek watched for a few seconds more before running toward the boundaries of the kingdom of Candor. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Unfortunately, the constand shuddering awakened the child, prompting a shrill, loud cry.
"There he is!" shouted a soldier from the fight.
Halek had no other choice. Stripping off his armor and discarding his sword, Halek again bounded away, this time much faster. The soldiers, donned in full armor, could not hope to catch up with him. Halek ran until morning, bearing the constant cries of the child. Eventually, Halek told himself that he had done enough running, and willed himself to find a spot to rest. For the first time in hours, Halek took a long look at his surroundings. He was in the heart of a deep forest, the forest that marks the boundary between Candor and the other six kingdoms. Here was neutral territory, here was a place where he was safe.
After finding a nearby spring, and enjoying a nice dip in the water, which was surprisingly warm, Halek walked over to the child.
"One day I'll tell you what this was all about," he said, lifting the child, "One day I'll tell you everything. One day you will fulfill your destiny."
With that, Halek walked deeper into the forest, looking for a place to settle down in a nice, safe place.
King Candor was not happy anymore. That bitch had betrayed him! She gave him a son, and then stole him! She would pay. But no regular torture or pain would EVER pay for the debt she was in now. For her sentence, he would need to consult with something greater. The crystal. Each of the seven kingdoms had one, and it provided the bounty and personality of each kingdom. King Candor's was the most beautiful. So large and smooth, with just a hint of color, and a playful crack that spread along and entire side. Some would call this crystal flawed and broken. But they are all wrong. This crystal was the most beautiful of them all. It was beautiful because every time King candor looked into it, he got to talk with someone very special.
Peering into the crystal, which was resting on a velvet pillow in the center of his chambers, King Candor began to speak, "Oh mighty lord! Oh power of powers! Grace me with your presence!"
This was where the true beauty of the crystal showed. As those words were uttered, the crystal glowed a brilliant black. After a few moments, a red eye appeared, squinting, looking, peering into the room. And then, perhaps most spectacular of all, a voice spoke:
"You have summoned me?"
NOTE 2: This is the first chapter of a grand story. I have the next few parts ready, but I'll wait to see if you nice people will review for me, you will, right?
Please? Anyhoo, this is my first story to be loaded, so don't be too hard, ok? I'll give a cookie to whoever finds out what "Candor" means and why I chose that name for this obviously bad place.