Soul Contracted: Elena

Long ago there was a curse cast down upon the realm by twelve vengeful gods. This curse set unto the world a great sense of hopelessness born of famine, disease, poverty and war. It became a place that fed upon itself. Its people would multiply like a virus, infecting any and everything they touched, only to plummet the world further into the dark abyss. Under a corrupt ruling they lived out their lives which only seemed to delve deeper and deeper into selfishness and unforgiving sins. There was one continent in particular which had torn itself apart beyond repair. Here people shirked off their own kind and gave no second thought to those they left behind. Struggling to survive or left die. This land was called Eorzea and during this time no one cared for anyone or anything but themselves. Yes, self-preservation was held above all, even the young and innocent. It was around this time that the earth was left with scars that ran deeper than waters of the Ruby Sea. Even our early heroes sought out glory and gluttony over honor and goodness. Father Heaven wept tears of blood for his beloved Mother Earth as she witnessed her children kill each other without being able to do a single thing about it.

Scorched and burned, sliced to pieces… ripped up from the roots and abused to her core she watched on as the pillars of society crumbled, and the stench of death overtook the fields. Bodies of her offspring piled atop of one another. Humanity raped her for all that she had… the flora, fauna and beauty she had once gifted upon them. A motherly provision of livelihood. The only comfort she had was the rare touch of rain from her beloved from high above her.

If it had not been for the mages of old, the very last pulse of life would have been drained from her very being and everything that roamed above her corpse would have ceased to exist. In a last attempt to save humanity the mages would sacrifice the bearers of wisdom. Each and every Elder of this time drew in their last breath so that the skies which burned crimson could return a soft, forgiving blue; the mud beneath their feet once again became lush grass and gentle meadow. The water purified, fields and crops could once again grow and be harvested. On their bone and flesh all of Eorzea had been given a second chance. Of course that would not be enough. Mother Earth was no fool. She knew the Twelve would push back. Their hate was not broken nor was their curse. Corrupt humans sought out their power and so they sought out the destruction of humanity. In this she would be grateful for the life she had been returned but Mother would not let go of her own anger. She threatened to poison the crops she yielded. She vowed to siphon water through her soil and be as unforgiving to those she had given life to as they had been to her all for the sake of a ward waged against a power that had nearly killed her in the first place.

The only way she would let this go is if an agreement could be reached between her and the mages. They too would give their lives to her. She would take their magic to be a part of her so that all things born from her could fight back. She desired that life itself be something that could fend for its own.

Lost to history, this was in fact the very first Soul Contract that was created only to be buried within the scrolls of a bloodstained past and encrypted in a language lost to all but the descendants of the original Seventh Dawn. A defender of every kind was created. A massive beast in the forms of both monster and nature stood tall among their kind who each held a piece of Mother's anger. An overgrown Terant tree, a monstrous boar… every herd, every flock; they each had a protector. Every part of the land was also given something to look after it. A creature born of black tar that wielded a scythe, a beast clad in electricity, a god like man to be known as Odin… she was a woman scorn but still full of love. Not to be one who is unjust she birthed a defender of her two legged children as well, known as the first Warrior of Light.

This warrior traveled the land ridding it of some of the greatest evils. He traveled down into the depths of the darkest dungeons. He fought trial after trial sent to him by the gods old both old and the new which had been created for the sole sake of crushing this living embodiment of hope. The nameless hero was the first of many to come who only sought out the peace of the world without compensation of any kind. However as there is a balance to all, the more good he had done the more evil that rose up against him. These evils did not always come at him from the heavens nor hell but often from the same very people who would only moments ago would grovel at his feet once a task had been cleared or an enemy vanquished. After years and years of service and the birth of two new generations, Eorzeans all over still turned their back on one another. Even children were not they exception to this and in fact they had it worse of all. Some were unwanted from conception and cast off from birth. Others were born sick and found to be unworthy of keeping as they could not bring 'honor' to their families. The most common reason for children to be pushed aside is that they were simply found to be a burden: One may were unwilling to take on. They would procreate like rats but cast off their young and forget that they had a responsibility to up hold. While not everyone would do this, our historic warrior would more often than not find himself walking past ill children; children sleeping under bridges or eating from the trash. The sides of the roads were overrun by the bodies of the dead belonging to children of all ages. Savage animals would feed upon their rotting flesh. Flies and maggots would breed in the open gashes left behind by carnivorous teeth. There had even been times when one would see a child feasting on another out of fear of starvation.

It was from these desperate souls that unspoken cries seeped out from their hearts and into their dreams on the coldest nights. Sleeping under the stars brought no happiness or comfort to these younglings as when their eyes shut and they drifted off one could only wonder what the next day would bring and whether or not they could survive that one too. Taking a peek into their hearts Mother Earth listened to their fears and sought to find their deepest desires. With the strong belief they carried that one day they would no longer fear the unknown and with what little magic they had left, Mother created an entity known as Elena who was neither good nor evil. Elena's purpose was to create a safe haven for the spawn of yet another failed society and in exchange they would give her something precious. Their souls. The souls of children would be used to create an unmatched power that would birth more Warriors of Light in hopes of cleansing the lingering darkness and to make a peaceful era where all could live free without the fear of having to wake up to a new day of forced survival.

On an empty plot in the Shirogane district located in the town of Kugane a house appeared from nothing. Smaller than a mansion though bigger than a common single family home with the outward appearance of a castle, Elena took form. Out from the front sprung forth trees, shrubbery and a garden. Wild chocobo came forth to present themselves for service. A well for fresh water, a fountain to play. Behind her was a private beach and a hidden spring all under her claim and protection. Inside were three floors of space that filled with everything a child would need and everything they could want. She could make any room to match each personality with a simple wish.

Elena spoke to the winds of freedom; asking for aid to find the lost, forgotten and down hearted. As this request did not deter the wind from its carefree path it agreed to help. A warm and gentle breeze blew across the land, touching every cheek of sweet and innocent child in need of help and healing. In its caress help Elena's whisper.

"Come to me little ones. Seek me out. Find your peace and happiness with me. I can rid you of anything that ails or haunts you. I will provide and care for you however nothing comes for free. In turn your soul will belong to me once you turn thirteen. Find me in Kugane should you wish."

To many this was not even a question. To be free of pain and illness? To not have to wonder when their next meal will come from. Warmth and a roof over their heads… so many would, and did, agree to forsake an uncertain future of adulthood, if they could even live long enough to see it. So they made their way to Kegan. A long journey for many, a short distance for some. A few made it on foot, others hitched hiked and then there were those who didn't make it at all.

For many decades Elena preformed her duties well and upheld her contract with Mother and even as time went on she personally developed feelings for those she had found. When it came to the thirtieth birthday of any given person, it was a day met with both great celebration and great sorrow. Everyone would gather around for a morning feast and then an afternoon party. A family had been made from the strays of Eorzea full of brothers and sisters who came to love one another. They lived and played together, they hurt and cried together and no bond could be stronger than that born from necessity and pain. They had all grown harbor a great affection for Elena as she did keep her promise and then some. On the night of one's thirteenth birthday Elena would ease the soul of the chosen offering from their body. Once separated, the physical form would fade into what is called "the nothingness" and the soul itself would rise up, shining vibrantly with a luminescent glow engulfing it as it transcended into something more.

A higher calling now awaited them for there is nothing more powerful than the unshakable faith in all things good when in the face of a tidal wave of terrible circumstances. After the light had softened and eventually faded entirely it formed a small item. This would be known to our heroes as a 'Soul Stone.' A small object that held great power with the ability to transform an ordinary person into a Warrior of Light by binding it to their soul by dark magic. Some would even host more than one. This was made possible depending on how pure your soul was. Each and every stone would taint its user more and more not only by the number of spirits that they hosted but also the number of times one has drawn on its power. The purity would eventually correct completely once fully bound. It was a fair trade of. You could gain the abilities of a knight or a ninja or even a mage and all you had to do was surrender yourself. This was the sacrifice one must make in order to help restore the goodness of the world. A Warrior of Light would eventually become a Warrior of Darkness in order to save their home and once this transformation was complete the powers of a soul stone would increase tenfold.

As with most things, everything must eventually end just as with most adults the mind closes off to all things it cannot comprehend and it them embraces fear. A man by the name of Garren had discovered what was going on and deemed the Castle of Dreams to be evil. He took to the streets of Kugane and gathered all who would listen to him. Emboldened by liquid courage that burned its way throughout his body Garren hatefully amassed a small militia to take up arms.

"Gather round fellow townsmen! Hear me and hear me clear!" Garren had shouted. "There is a monster among us! An evil snatching our children from us during the night. It is a powerful demon that preys on the young, it feeds on our very future! I ask that you join me in destroying this beast! Take up torches, pitchforks and blades. Gather any weapon that you can find to protect yourself and follow me to exorcise this creature that does not belong in a world of humans!"

Rather than leave Elena be they had rallied together beneath this misguided man whose anger was toward something entirely different. So the sheep followed this self-loathing man throughout the streets and to the housing area. After entering the ward in which the house was located the mobs numbers grew rapidly.

"Kill it!" Someone shout.

"The beast must die!" Shouted another.

"Purge the demon from the rafters and cleanse it!"

They cursed and condemned the castle of dreams repeatedly. Not a single person stopped to question what was going on. No one considered the fact that these children were unwanted let alone that Elena was providing a service by accepting taking them in. She had taken in hundreds of children by this time. The streets were no longer overrun. She was also contributing to population control as well as providing the weak with strength. She did this out of both duty and selfishness but did they care? Not at all. The slurs and slander increased as the house came into the view and without wasting a single moment they rushed the yard with torches and weapons in hand. They started by setting the stables ablaze without freeing the chocobos. They lit the shrubs and gardens. Fire rained from the tree tops but they did not stop there.

Elena cried out for them to stop but they did not.

"Please! If not for me then for the children who have made themselves at home inside of me. They sleep, even now through your hate and disgruntlement. Please I beg of you stop this. It is not too late. Please! Please, please, please!" She begged and pleaded even as members of the violent group invaded her doorways and made their way to her core.

"Screw you and your begging. Take along the young you have corrupted for your own personal gain you disgusting thing! Your very existence is a threat to all!" That was the one and only reply Elena had received just before the scent of oil filled the house. During the time she spent trying to save her beloveds she had never noticed both her insides and out being doused in kerosene. Just moments after becoming aware of this was her core set to flames. Books, curtains, linens and anything else that could be used as kindling was and anything the fire could spread to burned to ash. This not only mean the house and decorations but the children too. They burned in a way no one should ever have to experience. This was not a simple singe from cooking or even a campfire. Oh no… This was like cooking a karakul for its meat only while it lived so that its fleece burned down the flesh and then the flesh charred followed by the muscle and the blood could do nothing but dry and flake off the bone just as the flames finally decided to settle.

"Save us Elena!"

"Yes! Please help us!"

"I don't want to die, not like this!"

"This isn't what you promised us!"

The castle of dreams looked on with a broken heart as she could do not a single thing to aid them nor to ease their suffering. She merely accepted the fate that awaited them all. Many tried to run to the bathing area to put out the flames only to find there was no stored water. Other tried the sinks in the bathrooms and the kitchen, however they met the same problem. A few managed to make it to the well and jumped in, successfully putting out the flames only to drown instead after realizing that not a single one of them knew how to swim. The rest of the children made a final attempt to run to the beach behind the house, thinking the ocean water would save them but sadly their bodies carbonized before they could even make it half way there.

This had been one of the longest, coldest and darkest nights in Eorzean history. As dawn began to break the vicious crowd had broken apart; their task completed. There Elena had fallen, now nothing more than a pile of burnt wood, ash and rubble with the added adornments of corpses. One could still smell the rotting scent of burning flesh that had the accompanying aroma of hate and distain. Month old garbage that had been out on the summer's hottest day had a more pleasant smell. The Castle of Dreams was no more and Elena's spirit simply faded from the world and rested within the aetherial currents where she had planned to remain with her silent tears until one faith night she could not have foreseen.

Garren had taken so much. One man walked down the path of utter destruction and held no remorse. Now it was up to another man to make amends. A mysterious person who has traveled throughout the land doing all kinds of good deeds with no want for anything in return. He has fed the hungry, protected the weak and even given his very last coin to those in need. His only condition is that they too do something to help another. The dark hooded figure expected good to grow from the little goodness seeds that he planted in the hearts of those he met along his journey. See, this person was looking for something but never knew what it was. Something inside him compelled him to press forward day in and day out and he listened to this unknown source of strength. What Garren had failed to realize is that everything has a balance so if he had and he did commit a great evil then someone, somewhere must do a great good.

The hooded figure had finally made his way to the little corner of Shirogane. With a masculine stride he followed the very same path as those who had defecated upon the good name of Elena and spat on the home of countless children without so much as a second thought or a single sign of remorse. As he walked down the street he could hear the endless chants, the string of curses and demeaning slurs. Every hateful word grew louder and seeped with venom the closer he had become to the fallen house. Even as he had reached it and turned to approach it by climbing the steps, which seemed to be the only thing that remained intact he could still hear the horrible things being yelled but not only that he now could smell the unmistakable scent of burning earth and sulfur, flesh and hair. He bore witness to flashes of murder with every step he took forward until he finally set foot on the top stair where he took a moment's time to take in his surroundings. Then with one last step he was within the broken archway that barely stood amongst the broken walls that had once provided privacy and shade to the inhabitants of what he had seen to be a once beautiful home.

Out of nowhere came a whirlwind that swept up all of the broken stone, the cracked rafters, the ash and dust. It collected everything and then in an instant the shoosh of air vanished and in its wake was the castle of dreams only… pale in comparison. Its beauty diminished from that which our weary cloak clad figure had seen in his visions upon arriving. It was of a ghostly white and the feeling of despair emitted strongly from its very presence. He wanted to question what the reasoning of its reappearance was but the staff he held in his left hand told him he should know better than to question the essence of magic and the dark unknown powers of this world.

As if reading his mind the voice of a woman broke through his thoughts and asked him a simple question.

"Who are you?" The voice called to him.

"I am a traveler of little importance." He responded.

"Lies. Why have you come here? This night of all nights, the eve of the thirteenth anniversary of my murder and the murder of those who had been under my protection?" She pressed on.

"I do not know, I was unware of my own arrival but I did not lie. I am a traveler who holds no level of importance to anyone, anywhere." It was when he said this that the entity who had revealed herself to him began to lose her patience. A rush of wind blew forward and knocked back the hood from the face of the person who stood before her and after a few moments silence she then spoke softly. "My child, you have come home." It was at that time a feeling of unease settled into him and just as he were to turn and walk away the voice suddenly did more than just speak. Roots sprang from the group beneath his feet, wrapping around his feet and she forced visions upon him, visions other than those he had seen just prior. She showed him a life before the death. She showed him joy and happiness. Memories fluttered through his mind in a way that very much resembled that of a flip book and it was she had finished that he found himself free of the roots and able to speak.

"Elena…" It was barely a whisper but she heard it.

"Yes my child."

"Those people… those people hurt you. They ruined you and you were helpless to fight back." His voice broke as he spoke and tears took to his eyes."

"They did."

"You have given so many strength but left yourself weak and vulnerable. How could you? Children everywhere have needed you!" it wasn't that he was accusing her of abandoning the lands young but it was something he couldn't help but say. After all he had just seen so much in so little time and to add that to all that he had seen along the way while finding his way back home only to have found it taken away from him it was just too much to take in.

The once proud castle of dreams that stood before him as a ghost of a memory gave him a minute to collect himself. Once he had calmed himself she moved on to speak.

"Tell me the name that you now go by." Elena inquired.

"I go by the name of Tomo in this form."

"It would appear that this 'Tomo' has collected the last set of soul stones that were created from my loved ones. Tell me, how did he come to have these and not the lesser stones created in my absence?"

"I have been guiding him to find my brothers and sisters. He not only has one of every power but he also harbors a handful of similar ones. He's kept them all this time not knowing why. While they others have bonded with him fully, I had been waiting until I could return to you but had I known what had happened I would have been here to protect you." Tomo spoke to Elena as if she were an old friend and in a sense she was however the true Tomo who was locked within his own mind watching and listening as this went on was confused as to when and where his soul stones had been as he could only understand as 'in control' or having a separate existence aside from his own.

"Will you now release him and become one? There is something I wish for him to do." Surely her own creation would not deny her? As luck would have it her child did just as she wished and a much disoriented Tomo, the true Tomo came forth in mentality. Elena gave him a chance to put together all of the pieces and then made her request known.

"Within you, you have many of my young souls. Amongst them a black mage who has led you to me and in doing so I wish to grant you a great responsibility." The Ghost Castle began. "I want for you to continue my work. Save those who need saving, guide their souls to a great calling and give power to the weak so that they can make our world strong from those who wish our people harm and to keep all safe from the once kind hearted but now dark gods. Will you do this for me?"

This was such a strange and deeply felt request but he had only just met this being. He knew nothing of her let alone how to perform such deeds. He opened his mouth to decline but just before he could speak he felt the heartache and sorrow of each of his stones. They too had seen the horrid fate of the only Mother they had had in a different life. This was all so overwhelming and hard to take in but these stones had given him so much power and strength that he did not feel it right to deny them something in return. So instead of telling her no he decided to make his own request of her.

"I will but I will not do it your way. I will protect the weak and offer strength. I will save all those that I can and I will guide any and every lost soul that should come my way. However you must provide a safe haven for all in need, not just children and you must allow me to take in comrades to aid me but I will not kill those who are innocent. Their lives will be spared and strength will be gained a different way. Do you agree to this?" His tone stern and serious.

"Is this your desire of me?" She asked.

"It is. You agree to this and I will make your dream come true." He stated coolly.

"Then the contract is made, Master of Souls."

"The contract is made… Elena." He recalled his black mage saying her name earlier.

Tomo, a pink haired miqo'te of great possibility who knew nothing of who he truly was just yet entered the front doors to embark on his new future. Once inside Elena closed the doors behind him and all that could be heard as they shut was her voice softly whispering, "Sssooooul Huuunnntteerrsss….."

(A/N: Do not own anything relating to Final Fantasy XIV or it's related content aside from my own original characters and the content written with use of other personalized personas in my fanfics as seen fit but the owners of said personas. Any main scenario characters that appear with the story of the game in any of my writing are used as the story sets them to be and are strictly owned by Yoshi P and Square Enix.

A/N within the A/N: If it were up to me, Final Fantasy would be filled with smutt.)