Prologue: Ipsens Demise
Disclaimer: I don't claim to own the Final Fantasy franchise or any of the characters from the video game. However the character of Ipsen Oeilvert and this story belongs to me. These events take place many years before the events of Final Fantasy IX…
The sun set past the solitary horizon of the Fortis Continent and everything lay still; the sea rippled gently in the warm spring breeze and the sky converted into an enchanting rusted-red. However, there was still one man treading the ancient plains of Asphodel- his energy collecting duties were almost complete. He was no ordinary adventurer though, his name was Ipsen Taharka Oeilvert and he was the Supreme Ruler of The Fortis Kingdom. He was clad in a long, dark cloak with the hood pulled down to cover his distinctive features; only his small mouth and rough stubble were visible. In his hand he gripped a spectacular golden blade measuring around two meters in length- making it virtually the length of its wielder. The hilt was forged of pure gold from deep within the Hestian Mines and was etched with three sparkling emeralds.
Fortis had once been a weak, spineless Kingdom which trembled beneath the shadow of its opposition. Then one summers evening, Ipsen and his League of Disciples had arrived upon the backs of Golden Chocobo, bringing hope for the future of Fortis. They established themselves within the capital city of Hestia, posing as an Elite Combat Force and were inevitably employed by the Royal Family itself. After a series of dark events, Redeal -Ipsen's mentor and loyal inquisitor- had murdered and deceived the young warrior onto the Royal Throne, thus initiating Ipsen's reign of abused power and cruelty.
The Supreme Ruler came to an abrupt halt upon detecting his foe; there was a brief pause whilst he listened followed by his typical smile.
"At last I've found you 'Your Majesty'" he whispered before turning to be faced by a dark and ominous looking forest.
Malicious giggles wept forth from deep within the obscurity of the thick trees- carried forward by a tall barrier of mist. Ipsen smirked, muttered furiously beneath his breath and strolled inside, flaunting no fear of what lurked beneath the darkness.
It was damp within and stunk strongly of rotten tree bark; hope and happiness ceased to exist there. Suddenly, Ipsen stopped dead in his tracks and glanced across to the foot of the trees which towered above and dwarfed him. Three goblins, as foul as was possible, emerged from the curtains of mist and brazenly stood before him, craving a battle.
For anyone who isn't knowledgeable of Gaian creatures, goblins are vile creatures, small humanoids that are known for their violent, destructive, behaviour, breeding like flies, killing each other off and then starting the whole cycle over again- they are guaranteed to be travelling in a pack. These particular goblins were of no exception: two wore similar garments, green bonnets complete with a blue stripe, woolly white shorts, dark-blue waist-coats and a pair of large heavy boots. The apparent 'Marshal' goblin was clothed differently though: a piece of studded-leather armour, a blood-stained helmet and a gold-laced belt with the name 'Rozero' etched upon it. It pulled a twenty-four inch dirk from the scabbard around its bony hip and pointed it threateningly toward Ipsen. It was by far the ugliest of the group, its canary-yellow hair was incredibly greasy and its clothes were dank and putrid.
Ipsen grew instantly weary of the attempted criticism and without delay he swung his blade in a circular motion toward the enemy. There was limited time for a reaction before the head was claimed cleanly from the Marshal's narrow shoulders. Ipsen reached into his cloak to retrieve a large crimson bottle with a bizarre nozzle- a pearly, transparent aura immediately hedged the goblins decapitated body and drifted across the cold night air- it was effortlessly sucked into the bottle. The small dial on the face lit up and a double digit appeared onscreen- Ipsen examined it curiously before looking up in anger and disgust.
"This is absolutely pathetic- eighty nine is all you had?" he growled to the blood-shod cadaver.
Finally realizing that Ipsen had slain their leader, both remaining goblins hastily drew their knives carved of flint- the dirtiest of the duo sprang straight for Ipsen, its knife ready to strike. But the Fortisian King dodged swiftly with ease and caught the disorientated goblin in mid-jump. He tossed it at an old oak which was steadily decomposing- it shook somewhat as they collided. The goblin fell into a crumpled heap at the roots, surrounded by a mound of broken bark. Ipsen repeated the energy-bottle process and studied the dial once again.
"That brings tonight's effort to a grand total of one-hundred and thirty- these weaklings do not deserve the title of monsters".
The remaining goblin stood frozen in fear-it quivered as Ipsen eyed it furiously. He tightened his grip on the hilt of his blade yet his observance had been drawn to the wild overgrowth in the background; a loud roar erupted from the exact spot on which Ipsen was focused. "Now that I've found you, there will be no more fools-play" he murmured through a sick, twisted smile. From the depths of the darkness lunged a massive purple beast which snapped the defenceless goblin in its powerful jaws and swallowed it whole.
This creature appeared to be precisely what Ipsen Taharka had been searching for. It measured around 3 meters in height and 5 meters in length. This titan was a Behemoth, yet it was abnormally bigger; it was in fact the infamous 'King Behemoth' of Gaian legend. It had two large, yellow horns portraying from its square skull- both measuring at least a meter. It had a bushy turf of golden fur upon its wide forehead and its paws were as wide as a knight's standard shield- its claws were razor sharp and looked incredibly lethal!
Yet Ipsen was calm and pretty relaxed, as though this beast was nothing but an ant on his path. The Behemoth growled at the tyrant, portraying fear in its beady eyes which even Ipsen himself didn't show. As it tried to daunt its opponent, the Behemoth angrily bared its huge, yellow teeth- embedded in which were the body parts of a dead Hedgehog Pie. It lowered its head and raised its posterior in preparation to vanquish its target, who didn't seem brace himself for the upcoming attack. It lunged at Ipsen who effortlessly flipped onto its muscular back and plunged his beautiful sword straight down into it; green, poisonous blood splurged out and streamed down its torso. The Behemoth pushed up onto its hind legs in an attempt to pitch an unprepared Ipsen off but he jumped down gracefully to land a few meters before the injured creature. It continued to moan in pain- Ipsen's sword was still embedded deep within its back. It was both shocked and confused, Ipsen was characterized by great celerity and that would prove to be a problem to a sluggish, two tonne creature such as it.
Ipsen was totally at ease with the battle and he readily dodged to the side as the Behemoth charged him once again. Then with all the strength he could muster, Ipsen punched it directly on its bulging throat. It repelled in affliction immediately and begun to choke up thicker clots of blood.
Ipsen sniggered as the Behemoth continued to suffer- he despised any creature which flaunted its power and bullied smaller beings. He had now officially grown weary of the battle and he had the sudden desire to slay the beast, freeing innocent creatures of their torment. Above all this beast wasn't nearly as challenging as he'd hoped and he sadly wondered if he'd ever find his equal.
Ipsen slowly raised his left arm to eye-level, spread out his fingers widely and whispered an ancient incantation to himself. A large violet light burst forth from his palm, balls of chalky energy circled the Behemoth and were sucked inwards hitting it with an earth-shattering impact; there was a blinding flash of light as the entire forest lit up. The King Behemoth had vanished; it'd been totally wiped out. All that remained of the short battle besides rubble and dust was Ipsen's famous weapon, The Templar. He guided his hand into the domain of the strange bottle and retrieved it once more- this time the energy materialised from the empty area in which the Behemoth had stood. It formed into a large orb and was forced into the bottle with great resistance- it became sealed inside and the bottle vibrated with sheer power.
"Mission successfully completed" Ipsen announced decisively as he beamed at the dial which displayed a very large figure.
That was it, three years of tedious work and effort had finally brought with them a result- Ipsen knew that Lord Garland would be pleased with his work. He retrieved The Templar Blade and began his tread back towards Fortis Castle which was barely visible as a speck in the distance. He found it difficult to believe how painstakingly close he now was to being reunited with Colin and his with his father-Zaci Oeilvert. Suddenly there was a loud rumble in the sky and warm rain began to gently drift down- Ipsen cursed his luck and sped up, thinking it best to transmit the energy to Terra as quickly as possible.
Suddenly, the wispy clouds that veiled the starry night sky were blown apart in a mighty flash revealing a large, eerie 'eye' which Ipsen recognised instantly, it belonged to the grand Terran warship, The Invincible. The Fortisian King halted in his steps and peered upwards in awe, wondering what had possessed Lord Garland to travel to Gaia at this hour. Perhaps he'd come to give Ipsen the prize he'd requested several years before?
Ipsen felt a strong pulse tendril through his chest as he realized the malevolent plot that was unfolding, Garland was creating a powerful freight of energy onboard in the bridge of The Invincible. He Struggled to understand why Garland wanted to destroy his beautiful Hestia and dishonour their agreement. He placed his left hand on his muscular chest and whispered a different incantation; an emerald aura illuminated him instantly as the Haste spell took effect. Ipsen felt almost weightless now and without a moments thought he dashed as rapidly as his limbs would allow in the direction of his enchanted castle. For if he reached Fortis Castle, he'd be shielded from the blast by the legendary Protection Aura- which Disciple three, Strago had cast-over it as a precaution.
Energy of a gargantuan scale burst forth from The Invincible and smashed directly into the heart of Hestia City. The explosion spread out upon impact, claiming Ipsen mercifully as he turned to escape in the opposite direction- he was dead within an instant.
A long, cruel laugh filled The Invincible, an aged man with short white hair and a silver beard was insanely pleased as he gazed down at where the grand city of Hestia had once stood proudly- Nothing could yet be seen through the thick clouds of dust. This particular old man was in actual fact, the powerful Terran warlock who went by the name of Garland. He was clothed in strange garb: a sleek, black armour from head to toe and a long black cape which draped from his shoulders. The most noticeable peculiarity sported by Garland was the small red orb installed in place of his stomach- it was a battle wound he'd received during his previous attempt at conquering Gaia, hundreds of years before.
The dust soon dispatched from the plain of Asphodel and Garland was granted his first look at the destruction he had caused. However, his laughter was severed short as he realised even with the city destroyed, leaving behind a deep canyon in its place, Ipsen's Castle appeared to be unscathed. He begun to panic as he realised his plan had failed- Ipsen was surely in his castle and had most likely survived.
If this was to be the case, Garland knew undoubtedly there was no way of conquering Gaia without confronting Ipsen. His infinite battle powers far surpassed Garland's and he doubted even his valued Genomes could fell him. He activated The Invincible's advanced devices and dispatched several probe pods to scan the surrounding area below; they detected billions of life energy, fresh from the former inhabitants of Hestia, but none that were remotely close to Ipsen's tuned ki.
Garland paced back and forth across the glossy bridge of his ship, thinking there may yet be a way he could weevil himself out of his predicament. Suddenly, the nearby devices begun wailing in alarm, Garland whisked around eagerly and examined the screen closely. An energy anomaly was detected towards the centre of the crater, rising up into the cold night air to fuse with Gaia once again. Garland's sunken eyes widened in glee upon realising the source of this mysterious energy, it did indeed belong to Ipsen Oeilvert.
He continued to cackle as he marched through the slim, futuristic corridors towards The Invincible's cockpit to set co-ordinates for Mother Terra. The past decade of prudent planning was set to award Lord Garland over the course of the upcoming century; The Invincible spun around whilst it hovered and shot back into the Universe at an increasing speed.
The entire population of Gaia was deeply saddened due to the loss of many innocent lives that night but could barely contain their happiness that King Ipsen's dictatorship was finally over. Memory of Ipsen and his League of Disciples was erased from the pages of Gaian history and tales of the Fortis Continent steadily deteriorated from legend into an ancient myth, passed on through the generations between weary travellers. It was thereafter renamed, The Forgotten Continent which, to this day, still bears the scars of Ipsen's existence...
Well that's the Prologue finished. What did you think?. What is your opinion of Ipsen Oeilvert? Please, when you review, do not hold back on the criticism because I love it, it helps to improve my work. Anyway please submit a review, thanks. Dazz Cambo.