Chapter Three: And the rain came down.

The entourage that followed Pietro, Pretz, and Shelinda grew as the trio marched up the sloped pathway to the main tower. The group of men and women continued to pass guard stations as they went and at each of these posts Pietro noticed that the weapons the sentries carried became more and more exotic looking. Some of the monks held short tubes with a canister attached that sounded as if a liquid were sloshing around inside. Others were shouldering longer version of the weapons at the first station, yet these had blades attached at the end in case of melee fighting. The further up the crowd of people traveled, the more disturbed Pietro got.

As the people were closing in on the central pillar, the clouds that surrounded the glorious tower broke and a long worm-like creature flew up into the atmosphere. The pink and purple beast soared through the peaceful sky on gossamer wings as quickly as it appeared. Pietro was nudged forward by the man behind him and he continued to walk with his mouth agape.

"That is Bevelle's guardian dragon, Evrae. She senses danger coming and is eager to thwart it at whatever cost," Pretz informed his companion. "Nothing can go wrong with her watching over us. Let's us hasten this march, so we do not miss any of the ceremony."

Pietro nodded his head in reply and quickened his step, thinking about the great wyrm with its three horns on its head and rending claws. He had no idea that such a grand creature protected the capital of Spira. Bevelle was full of surprises, what else was in store for him.

*

The entourage had arrived at the ceremony ten minutes later and Pietro had noticed that there were machina guards encircling the entire plaza. In the center of the tower, there stood a wide set of stairs with monks standing on each side. At the apex of the stairs, Maester Mika watched over the lower levels with the keen eyes buried beneath his bushy eyebrows. Anything that happened below, he could see from his lofty perch. Halfway down the grand staircase stood Maester Kinoc, the leader of the warrior monks. He had placed both of his hands behind his back in a solemn gesture as he waited for the procession to begin.

Pietro, Pretz, and Shelinda chose to take their place near the back of the gathered throng of priests and acolytes, so they could witness the two guest of honor approach for their joining in marriage. Soft music began to play as followers of Yevon marched from the towers to the right and left, leading the way for Maester Seymour and Summoner Yuna.

Seymour was dressed in blue and white regalia suitable for a prince. He had his blues locks of hair pulled through the top of his miter and swept back in a half moon shape, draping against his back. As Pietro gazed at the man, he had that feeling that his appearance only made him look even more sinister than normal. The man walked across the right bridge in an eager step, not wanting to stall the proceedings anymore than needed.

Yuna wore a white dress cut at mid calf in the front and flowing in a graceful train that covered the ten feet of space directly behind her. Along the edge of fabric, feathers were meticulously attached making the gown appeared to have the tail of a great bird. Two wings adorned the gown at the small of her back and floated around her waist. She had white satin gloves covering her hands, which carried her lovely bouquet of red flowers. Her hair was fashioned in a bun with the ends wisping in the air like the feathers of a peacock. A shear silk veil draped her entire body from head to toe. Pietro looked upon the beauty as she marched across the bridge from the left tower and believed her to be the pinnacle of loveliness a person could attain.

The two followed their escorts to the main plaza and marched to the high stairway silently as the music continued to play. As if on some inexplicable cue, the sky let forth a shower of pink, red, and purple sparks that gently fell as if they were feathers. Seymour and Yuna climbed the steps towards Maester Mika as the sparks showered down upon the gathered members of the religion.

Everyone look up to the heavens to see where these fluttering embers were coming from when the clouds broke once more. A giant airship tore through the fluffy barricade to speed toward the capital. Pietro stood in shock at the sight along with his two companions. The ship accelerated past the tower on it right side and began to circle it when a shout was heard above the roar of the engines.

"Open fire!"

Pietro knew that the worst was happening when the first shots were fired at the metallic underbelly of the ship and ricocheted off.

To be continued.

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A/N: I humbly apologize for the delay in the posting of this story, I certainly hope that it has not slipped from the memory of the readers. This is in actuality the second draft of this chapter. I rewrote the descriptions of Yuna and Seymour, the placement of Mika and Kinoc, along with the information about Evrae. After watching the wedding scene four times, I noticed that my descriptions were completely off and in need of revisions. Until the next time, farewell. ^_^ (June 22, 2002)