Before Lulu knew it, she had arrived in Luca, where the Tournament was taking place. She departed from the boat, noticing that the docks were unusually crowded with people. Even blitzball hadn't drawn a crowd like this in a while. Lulu stood off to the side, never needing to be the center of attention. However, her presence was soon noticed and several people came over to speak with her.
Lulu was in no mood to discuss Yuna's pilgrimage yet again to a whole new set of strangers and instead made her way to the stadium. On her way, Lulu noticed that she was not the only one receiving attention. She passed by a group of women who were nearly throwing themselves on a young man with flaming red hair that was spiked up and seemed to move like a flickering candle. Lulu almost felt mesmerized by the fire that burned in his eyes, but she continued on.
"Yes, I specialize in fire magic – it's the most powerful magic there is." Lulu heard him say.
What arrogance! Lulu thought. Now everyone knows what type of spells he prefers. Only an amateur would take the competition here lightly.
Lulu's presence was still noticed and many people followed her into the stadium. A voice echoed over the crowds.
"Will all mages please report inside the stadium!"
The message was repeated three times and everyone piled into the stadium. Lulu felt very crowded being surrounded by people on all sides. It was at this point Lulu remembered why she didn't like going to blitzball games to watch Wakka play. People made her feel uncomfortable, and Lulu didn't like random people coming up to her to talk about Sin's final defeat. She wished she could just sail back into ambiguity and let everyone else take the credit.
A familiar person suddenly appeared above the crowd. Lulu recognized him as the summoner Isaaru, a man that she had met several times during Yuna's pilgrimage.
"Greetings mages!" Isaaru called out, "Welcome to The Dark Tournament, where the most powerful mage in all of Spira will be named!"
The crowd cheered all around Lulu. She wished Isaaru would hurry up and finish his speech.
"My name is Isaaru, and I am in charge of this tournament. But before the tournament can begin, we must first weed out the magicians from the mages. Each participant will face a monster. Based on their performance in battle, the top 64 mages will move on to round 2 with one-on-one battles." The crowd cheered again.
Only 64 mages? That's a very small percentage of the people present here. Lulu thought, doubt sinking in. What do I care? If I can't defeat a single monster, then I don't deserve to be here.
"All entries must now go register to receive their rooming assignments and their specific time and place to face their monster." Isarru said, "Good luck!"
Lulu remained stationary as the crowd passed by her. She was in no mood to remain with such a great amount of people. Finally the majority of the crowd was gone and Lulu felt like she could breathe again. She sat down in one of the seats and relaxed. She felt the withdrawal of her family already and the pressure of the tournament was already weighing down on her.
What kind of monster will I face? Will it be as easy as the Garudas? Lulu breathed heavily trying to shake the nerves out of her. It wasn't like her to lose her cool.
Lulu ignored the doubts in her mind and stood up. She walked outside and to the registering table. Most of the participants had entered already and there was almost no one there. She had just finished registering when a young girl walked up to her.
"You're Lulu aren't you?" she asked.
"No." Lulu lied and began to walk away.
"Yes, you are." The girl pressed, "You look just like my mother."
"Oh really?" Lulu said uninterested.
"You act like her too. She told me to ask you something if I found you here."
"And what's that?"
"Why didn't you ever go look for your little sister? Didn't you care about her?"
Lulu stopped dead. She looked down into the now angry face of the young girl. Lulu recognized the small moogle doll that she carried with her.
"My sister made her own decision. She decided to go off with that man, what business was it of mine?" Lulu responded, "And besides, with the exception of the pilgrimage, I have remained in the same place my entire life. If she wanted to see me, she'd have no problem finding me."
The girl was still very angry. She opened her mouth to say something and Lulu could feel her magic rising.
She's about to cast a spell! Lulu realized.
"Before you attack me," Lulu said, "You better understand the consequences of your actions."
The girl's magic attack power continued to rise, but she turned and walked away without casting any spells. Lulu watched her leave. The girl did indeed resemble her mother and she obviously inherited her temper also. Lulu's sister was the opposite extreme with regards to emotion than Lulu, however. Lulu was always under control, her exterior always the same, no matter the situation. Her sister was very emotional, and those emotions were always very apparent. But as Lulu watched her niece continue on, she remembered feeling the girl's power rise as her anger did, and for a second, she thought about how emotions could possibly play a bigger role in magic than she had suspected. But her thoughts were soon interrupted.
"Lulu!" the voice called. Lulu turned to see Isaaru approaching her, "Lulu, how are you? It's been a while."
"Hello Isaaru." Lulu stated, "I'm doing well. How are you?"
"I'm fine."
"So, you are the coordinator of this Tournament?" Lulu asked.
"Yes," he replied, "Once the Eternal Calm settled, there's not much for an old summoner to do. Luckily, this idea hit me and the Council supported it."
Lulu remembered back to the formation of the Council. A representative from each area came together to rule the planet where Yevon had left off. So far it had been successful in uniting the planet.
"Isaaru!" someone called.
"Looks like I'm needed." Isaaru said, "I'm looking forward to seeing you battle. Good bye."
Lulu watched him leave before making her way to her assigned room. It was lavishly decorated and spacious with only one bed, its own bathroom, and a sitting room overlooking the ocean. A note lay on her massive bed from Isaaru, saying that he had predicted her arrival and based on past actions (namely his attack on Yuna and her guardians), he felt that he owed her this room. Lulu smiled for the first time all day and lay down on the bed. She closed her eyes taking in the comfort of this bed in comparison to the one that she and Wakka shared. Not to mention Wakka's snoring and the sounds of her sons fighting in the other rooms.
Lulu had the feeling that she was going to enjoy this tournament.
Lulu was in no mood to discuss Yuna's pilgrimage yet again to a whole new set of strangers and instead made her way to the stadium. On her way, Lulu noticed that she was not the only one receiving attention. She passed by a group of women who were nearly throwing themselves on a young man with flaming red hair that was spiked up and seemed to move like a flickering candle. Lulu almost felt mesmerized by the fire that burned in his eyes, but she continued on.
"Yes, I specialize in fire magic – it's the most powerful magic there is." Lulu heard him say.
What arrogance! Lulu thought. Now everyone knows what type of spells he prefers. Only an amateur would take the competition here lightly.
Lulu's presence was still noticed and many people followed her into the stadium. A voice echoed over the crowds.
"Will all mages please report inside the stadium!"
The message was repeated three times and everyone piled into the stadium. Lulu felt very crowded being surrounded by people on all sides. It was at this point Lulu remembered why she didn't like going to blitzball games to watch Wakka play. People made her feel uncomfortable, and Lulu didn't like random people coming up to her to talk about Sin's final defeat. She wished she could just sail back into ambiguity and let everyone else take the credit.
A familiar person suddenly appeared above the crowd. Lulu recognized him as the summoner Isaaru, a man that she had met several times during Yuna's pilgrimage.
"Greetings mages!" Isaaru called out, "Welcome to The Dark Tournament, where the most powerful mage in all of Spira will be named!"
The crowd cheered all around Lulu. She wished Isaaru would hurry up and finish his speech.
"My name is Isaaru, and I am in charge of this tournament. But before the tournament can begin, we must first weed out the magicians from the mages. Each participant will face a monster. Based on their performance in battle, the top 64 mages will move on to round 2 with one-on-one battles." The crowd cheered again.
Only 64 mages? That's a very small percentage of the people present here. Lulu thought, doubt sinking in. What do I care? If I can't defeat a single monster, then I don't deserve to be here.
"All entries must now go register to receive their rooming assignments and their specific time and place to face their monster." Isarru said, "Good luck!"
Lulu remained stationary as the crowd passed by her. She was in no mood to remain with such a great amount of people. Finally the majority of the crowd was gone and Lulu felt like she could breathe again. She sat down in one of the seats and relaxed. She felt the withdrawal of her family already and the pressure of the tournament was already weighing down on her.
What kind of monster will I face? Will it be as easy as the Garudas? Lulu breathed heavily trying to shake the nerves out of her. It wasn't like her to lose her cool.
Lulu ignored the doubts in her mind and stood up. She walked outside and to the registering table. Most of the participants had entered already and there was almost no one there. She had just finished registering when a young girl walked up to her.
"You're Lulu aren't you?" she asked.
"No." Lulu lied and began to walk away.
"Yes, you are." The girl pressed, "You look just like my mother."
"Oh really?" Lulu said uninterested.
"You act like her too. She told me to ask you something if I found you here."
"And what's that?"
"Why didn't you ever go look for your little sister? Didn't you care about her?"
Lulu stopped dead. She looked down into the now angry face of the young girl. Lulu recognized the small moogle doll that she carried with her.
"My sister made her own decision. She decided to go off with that man, what business was it of mine?" Lulu responded, "And besides, with the exception of the pilgrimage, I have remained in the same place my entire life. If she wanted to see me, she'd have no problem finding me."
The girl was still very angry. She opened her mouth to say something and Lulu could feel her magic rising.
She's about to cast a spell! Lulu realized.
"Before you attack me," Lulu said, "You better understand the consequences of your actions."
The girl's magic attack power continued to rise, but she turned and walked away without casting any spells. Lulu watched her leave. The girl did indeed resemble her mother and she obviously inherited her temper also. Lulu's sister was the opposite extreme with regards to emotion than Lulu, however. Lulu was always under control, her exterior always the same, no matter the situation. Her sister was very emotional, and those emotions were always very apparent. But as Lulu watched her niece continue on, she remembered feeling the girl's power rise as her anger did, and for a second, she thought about how emotions could possibly play a bigger role in magic than she had suspected. But her thoughts were soon interrupted.
"Lulu!" the voice called. Lulu turned to see Isaaru approaching her, "Lulu, how are you? It's been a while."
"Hello Isaaru." Lulu stated, "I'm doing well. How are you?"
"I'm fine."
"So, you are the coordinator of this Tournament?" Lulu asked.
"Yes," he replied, "Once the Eternal Calm settled, there's not much for an old summoner to do. Luckily, this idea hit me and the Council supported it."
Lulu remembered back to the formation of the Council. A representative from each area came together to rule the planet where Yevon had left off. So far it had been successful in uniting the planet.
"Isaaru!" someone called.
"Looks like I'm needed." Isaaru said, "I'm looking forward to seeing you battle. Good bye."
Lulu watched him leave before making her way to her assigned room. It was lavishly decorated and spacious with only one bed, its own bathroom, and a sitting room overlooking the ocean. A note lay on her massive bed from Isaaru, saying that he had predicted her arrival and based on past actions (namely his attack on Yuna and her guardians), he felt that he owed her this room. Lulu smiled for the first time all day and lay down on the bed. She closed her eyes taking in the comfort of this bed in comparison to the one that she and Wakka shared. Not to mention Wakka's snoring and the sounds of her sons fighting in the other rooms.
Lulu had the feeling that she was going to enjoy this tournament.