Author's Note: Okay, so I realized that I was doing the dates wrong. If you get multiple messages about me updating when this chapter goes up, then I'm sorry. I really don't know what happens when I replace a chapter after fixing it.
Anywho, enjoy! =D
Disclaimer: I'd own Final Fantasy VII, but it'd take too much work.
Cheat Codes: On
Chapter 004
Create Calamity Encounter Cheat: On
Location: Cosmo Canyon Area?
Date and Time: Aug 5?, [ µ ] e? 20X?, Daytime
"Nng..." I groan softly upon realization that I'm awake. Cracking open my eyes lets me see the world in a blurry and spinning manner. I believe that means I'm still a little disoriented, so I blink my eyes a few times and try to regain my bearings.
Let's see... something soft is under me, so bedroll? Not itchy, so can't be grass. Up is not sky, so that's not good. It's not tree branches... ah, that's green tent canvas tent. ... Tent is okay. Want to see sky. Sky is goodfreedommovingrushflow... or something.
I try to stand but fail at the part where I sit up. When I try everything spins a lot faster. I decide to lie still and wait it out.
After a minute or two, I become aware of voices. Old people voices. Familiar old people voices that are whispering strongly.
"... telling you, he's not ready," says the voice of Zangan. "Even if he has the talent, his training isn't far enough along for that."
"You're training him harder than you've trained anyone else in your entire life. Surely he can handle it by now!" old man Tellah argues diplomatically.
"Tellah, I just found one of my people after thinking they were all dead! I am not about to needlessly put him in danger!" the martial art master whispered harshly.
"So letting him fight a Golem by himself isn't needless danger?" was whispered back pointedly.
"Letting him fight on his own when we're both right here is different from running him through exercises that could cripple him for life."
As this conversation happens, the spinning slows and disorientation fades. Although still not thinking quite clearly, I quickly become curious as to what they are arguing about. It isn't often that the two genuinely argue over anything.
"If he fails he could lose his magic," Zangan says, somber and serious. I don't really blame him. I'd be hesitant to implement training like that as well.
"He loves magic. How could I do that to him?"
There is a long pause where nothing is said. I admit, if only to myself, that the thought of losing my ability to cast magic is sobering. The lingering joy of my victory over the Golem evaporates as I think about living a life without magic again.
"Zangan," Tellah starts cautiously, "Is this about Zell?"
Another long pause follows. By the time anyone speaks again I am no longer disoriented. I sit up without issue this time.
"Tellah, we've been friends for over fifty years. You know me better than to ask that," he chides, a hint of teasing in his words. He sighs before continuing on.
"But yes. Liu was an adult. He died in battle, but he knew the stakes and understood what he was choosing to do. Bethory was an adult as well and made her choices the best she knew how. Zell... Zell was an infant."
Both Tellah and I don't say a word. I do not simply because I don't know what this has to do with anything. Tellah does not simply because he understands Zangan better than I do.
"You know, Zell would be about the same age as Kae Lin if..."
"I understand. You don't need to say anything else."
"Thank you."
It hits me suddenly, the realization that Zangan is using me to replace his grandson. Maybe that isn't quite correct, but I doubt I am mistaken. It would explain things a little better.
Not only is he treating me like his lost grandson, he seems to honestly believe I'm Sacaean. It makes me feel a little guilty, deceiving him like this. However, I need the help. If he doesn't say anything then I am not going to correct him.
Does this make me a user? Probably, but I've lied, stolen from, and manipulated people for things less important than survival. This level of guilt is nothing special.
I've never claimed to be a good person after all. With the things I've done, I can't ever say that I am not an evil man. My past indiscretions aren't important right now though.
I sit for about five minutes without doing or saying anything. It then takes a minute to affix a sleepy and slightly light-headed expression. I think about messing up my hair a little, but I haven't made any sounds of movement in a while now. It would be suspicious if my hair were any messier.
"So wha's this trainin' I'm not ready for?" I mumble sleepily, now prepared to lie straight to Zangan's face. I'm confident I can pull off the act. After all, I have three major advantages.
The first is that I now know more about Zangan's life than he does of mine. The second is that I've been lying all my life, successfully getting even suspicious friends and family to believe my falsehoods. The third and most important advantage is that he wants to believe me.
Besides, I just need to pretend that I didn't hear everything while gathering more information on the training he doesn't think I'm ready for. If I fail, deflect suspicion and wait for a new opportunity to present itself. Pretty basic, all things considered. Even if he sees through the lie it's doubtful he will see it as me manipulating his desire for family.
There is another small pause while I wait for an answer. Rather, it might be more accurate to say I'm waiting for a reaction. After all, you can learn more about a man by how he reacts than how he acts.
Or so they say.
"How much did you hear?" Zangan asks cautiously. Although I can't see him from inside the tent, I can almost hear him tensing up. Exactly what he's tensing for is the key to making a believable lie. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem ready to talk. Time to deflect suspicion.
"Jus' somethin' 'bout throwin' bangles at T-Rexs," I say through a yawn, "Tha's about it. There was more, but I don't remember clearly. Lil' dizzy..."
There we go. Save for the first bit it is all technically true. I'm not straight out lying, I'm just speaking out of context. It's been more than five minutes, so I don't remember the conversation quite as clearly. I said I was little dizzy, but I never said when or for how long.
Maybe I'm putting too much effort into covering this up. However if Zangan knows I've heard then he will feel the need to explain himself. For someone who is so strong, I'm not sure I can stand seeing him so weak again.
For my own sanity, I've got to keep my anchor steady. For my own survival, I can't let Zangan worry needlessly. That's all there is to it.
"You must have been hit harder than I thought if you're starting to hear strange things like throwing armor at extinct monsters. Stay still, I'm coming in to inspect your wounds again," the old Sacaean warns me.
The fifteen minute examination tests my acting skills to their fullest. Not only do I have to replicate the process of waking up after an injury, but also my attitude that I usually take. These aren't things that normal people pay attention to, at least in regards to themselves.
Fortunately for me, I make it through without Zangan realizing anything. Even if he does, he's not making a fuss about it at the moment so I don't care. Just as he's finishing up, my stomach rumbles.
"Hungry, huh?" Zangan laughs. "No surprise, you've been unconscious for the past six hours."
"Six hours? Damn it!" I shout, upset that I'd have to spend another half-day without Tellah mentoring me on the Advanced Draw technique. As I'm thinking about my magic teacher another thought pops into my head.
"Oh yeah! Master Zangan, did you see my Limit Break?" I say while stumbling to follow him out of the tent. This time is it is Tellah who laughs. Zangan stills for a moment though maybe I imagine it, then manages to suppress his mirth down to a chuckle or two.
"I hate to break it to you Kae, but that was no Limit Break," my martial arts master informs me.
"What?" I respond in confusion, "But... I heard a voice speaking to me, telling me what to do. What was it if it wasn't part of a Limit Break?"
This immediately gets both of the old men to stop laughing. Their gazes linger on me just long enough to make me slightly uncomfortable. Then they share a look.
"Kae Lin," Zangan says sharply just as a feeling of dread starts to settle in my stomach, "Don't worry about the voices for now. Just let either of us know if you hear them again, all right?"
"A-ah, yeah..." I manage to utter. The fact that he changed my singular voice to the plural voices would normally be ignorable if he didn't seem like he knew what was going on. It's somewhat unnerving that he knows but isn't telling me.
Karma for lying, perhaps?
"In the mean time, let's go over your fight with the Golem, shall we?" Tellah cuts in. For the next half hour we talk, going over what I did well and what I could improve. At some point Zangan begins to cook dinner.
"So if it wasn't a Limit Break, what was it?" I ask again as the sun starts finally sinking over the horizon, "I did a lot more damage than I should have. Was it the talismans?"
"No, it was not the talismans," Zangan surprises me by clarifying. "If you had been dealing even the most miniscule amount of damage with them in the first place, then it might have been. Unfortunately for you, you were not. Ten times zero is still zero. Sorry Kae."
"Isn't magic kind of... Tellah's thing? How would you know?" I inquire haltingly, my curiosity just barely overriding any caution or politeness.
"It's simple math. Plus, I've seen every blow you've ever made with those little paper-card-things. I knew your opponent, and I know you. You weren't doing any damage to the machine."
I nod to let him know I understand. If Zangan says I wasn't doing any damage, then I guess I wasn't doing any damage. He has walked the world at least twice over, so if anyone would know how much punishment a Golem can take it would be him.
"That Golem was rather extraordinary, though. It should have been felled by your twelfth spell. You fired off thirty-two attack spells in that encounter, almost three times the amount it should have taken."
"... Wait, what?! What the hell are you talking about old man?! Are you making fun of me?" - is what I'd like to say but I am currently shocked speechless. Not by what he told me, but by the red marble glowing faintly in between his fingers.
"You took this from inside the Golem's core. Congratulations and well done," Zangan says proudly as he hands the Summon Materia to me. I turn it over a few times in my hands. For a minute or two I just stare at it, not really registering the fact that I now have a Summon Materia in my grasp.
"Wait, does that mean I beat a summon creature in combat?" I ask, hoping beyond hope that the answer is yes.
"No," Tellah says, dealing a deadly blow to my hope beyond hope, "It was merely powered by the materia. Consider yourself lucky. If it had been an Eidolon, you would likely be quite dead."
I pocket the materia. I know that if I start poking about it now I'll forget about what I'm doing. Actually, that was rather crafty of them.
"Even if that's true, you're changing the subject again. You handed me a materia in hopes that it would distract me. That was clever. Now tell me, what is it that I did?"
I dare to level a glare at the old men. First at Zangan, whose lips press into a grim line, then Tellah. The red-caped martial artist then turns his gaze to the the blue-robed mage.
"You might as well tell him, old friend," the mage sighs, shaking his head as he speaks. "It's not like he's dumb."
"I know that, but the young tend to do stupid things," Zangan grumbles before turning to me again.
"Kae Lin, before I tell you anything you must agree to not attempt anything with this knowledge until I deem you ready. Do I make myself clear?"
I nod sharply. This is likely the same thing he was talking about earlier, so I'll probably not be messing with it any time soon. If Zangan warns you something is a bad idea, the chances are high that it is actually a bad idea.
Funny how that works out.
"In that last blow of your fight, you reinforced and strengthened yourself with Chi. Chi is-"
"The mystic energy of the living animate, right?" I cut in while wearing a dumbfounded expression. "Without Chi, a person's body cannot move. Without Chi, an living being stops 'living' as per the definition of human science."
"Right," Zangan asserts, sounding a little miffed, "However, Chi is closely tied to a person's physical stamina. Those that say Chi and physical stamina are one and the same aren't far from the truth. As your stamina grows or shrinks, so does your Chi pool.
However, Chi is a mystic energy. Whereas your stamina is material within your body, your Chi is not. Chi can be used for casting but is more often used for augmenting the fighter's body. As you know, Chi is Physical Energy. Using one's own energies for casting is dangerous.
In combat, running out of any energy is lethal. Run out of physical stamina and you either fall unconscious or become an easy mark. Run out of Mental Energy and you fall unconscious. Run out of Chi and you die. Run out of Spirit Energy and you stop existing.
This is why all fighters experienced in using materia have a certain amount of energy that they measure out beforehand and use as their energy reserve. They have a set amount of excess that they are willing to use without diminishing their combat capability. One's stamina isn't something that can really be set aside, but it is something you'll need to learn to use wisely.
There are techniques that I could eventually teach you that would be useful for a martial artist. They would allow you to reinforce your body with Chi without actually using any up. It would require years of training."
Zangan pauses and lets me try to absorb everything he just said.
Okay, so... to recap, HP is a measure of one's ability to keep fighting. This includes wounds, but is mostly a measure of stamina. Great. Run out and you're knocked out, your body unable to fight any longer.
MP is a measure of Mental Energy, which is not the same as mental stamina. Also known as Psi or Psyenergy, it is primarily used by psychics and psions in absence of materia. The usable amount is merely the excess of what is required to function.
Mental stamina is usually a measure of willpower and one's mental faculties, although it is generally hard to quantify. Running out varies from case to case, and an issue for the social and medical sciences.
SP is Spirit Energy, also known as Mana. Same as MP, the usable amount is the excess of what is required to function. To run out is to stop existing.
Chi, also known as Physical Energy, is... what stat could I attribute it to? For simplicity's sake, how does that fit? Eh, I'll just call it a Chi Pool for now. Like all mystic energies, the usable amount is only what is excess of what is needed to function. Running out means death.
"In my last battle I panicked and failed to manage my energy efficiently. I'll need to work on that," I murmur, unintentionally voicing my thoughts.
"You know your limits so don't worry about it. That will come with experience," Zangan comforts while ruffling my hair.
His comforting words bring me little comfort at all. I want to know now, not later! Even though he says that, even though I know he knows better than I about the matter, I can't help but feel impatient.
There's still so much left to learn. Things like how Chi interacts with Spirit Energy and how Spirit Energy is different from Mako. I want to know what I'm missing that allows for Limit Breaks and the full extent of what Para-Magic is capable of.
I want to know Alchemy and Magi-Technology. I want to know more about Rune Magic. I want to know about the summons and their place in history. I want to know so many things that it's hard to keep track of it all.
So I decide to skip my language studies tonight in order to Draw more knowledge from my materia. One thing at a time, after all. The rest will surely come as long as I search for it.
Location: Cosmo Canyon Area
Date and Time: Aug 6, [ µ ] εуλ 2000, 2:00 PM
While most of the time spent walking was time spent studying language in order to reinforce the knowledge, I did manage to weasel a few answers from my teachers.
Like why we didn't take the bridge when we crossed the river. Apparently the roads are closed to pedestrians and all vehicles must have papers. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. There is a war going on and all.
They still won't tell me what I'm missing to Limit Break properly but I suppose that's okay. I'll probably figure it out eventually. I have several ideas as to what it is, and it won't hurt to try most of them.
Although it doesn't seem like it, we're edging the mountain range as we walk. There are plenty of hills, trees, and small lakes around, so it's hard to tell where the mountains actually start. Cosmo Canyon isn't so subtle.
Honestly, you'd have to be almost blind to not see Cosmo Canyon from here. Hell, we could mostly make out the observatory from the river. The place where the grass becomes sparse is really obvious too, though not enough to seem unnatural.
I wonder briefly if it is because it is natural or if it is due to something else. Maybe the land is healing from some wound like up at the Northern Crater? If so it is much closer to being healed.
On a more sinister note, perhaps it was cultivated to look like that. The shift in grass quantity could indicate a long-lasting area spell of some sort. Then again, it could be that it is just too far from a strong flow of the Lifestream? Things tend to grow better the closer they are to the Lifestream.
"That reminds me, the Dragoons of Nibelheim patrol the hills of the Nibel Area, right? Who patrols the Cosmo Area? There aren't a lot of Guardians left..." I think aloud.
It's a valid question. I mean, look at how many towns are on the world map in the game. See how small everywhere but Junon, Midgar, and Wutai seem to be? With just that, there is no way that there are enough people in the world for the number of deaths reported in whatever it was that had an actual number. I don't remember it off the top of my head.
Anyway, the point is that I've seen plenty of country houses out here. In the Nibel Area alone we passed by ten different ranches and six different farms where the land was more flat. Sometimes the land was tilled in man-made stair step-like ledges when the hills were large enough.
The occasional Nibel Wolf isn't an issue for the folks around there. They've got knights in shining armor riding on dragons patrolling their skies. See a wolf trying to attack someone? All the Dragoon has to do is jump off their flying mount and land on the monster spear first. Two seconds after making sure everyone is all right, pwang! He's just jumped fifty feet into the air where his faithful winged steed catches him and carries him off into the sunset.
As for any 'pwanging', real men make their own sound effects.
I don't think Shinra likes it, but I don't see them doing anything about it. Probably because they're currently fighting Wutai. They need all the people they can get for that meat grinder.
"It isn't, but that doesn't mean it isn't guarded," Zangan grunts, answering my earlier question. I tilt my head in curiosity to ask him what he means.
"What I mean is that most of the population live in villages carved into the canyon walls," he explains. I frown. He sounds slightly upset.
"You're being grumpy. What's wrong?" I try calmly. Zangan doesn't give up a thing, though. Tellah just shakes his head and answers in place of his friend.
"I'm afraid he doesn't care much for Lilties."
"Ah, right," I say, dropping a fist into my open palm. "I forgot. They live in these parts, don't they? After the mines dried up and their empire fell to the Yukes back in the First Era, they weren't well liked enough for them to travel back to their homelands safely. In order to hide, they carved their towns deep into the walls of Cosmo Canyon.
Supposedly, they never bothered to move again after that. Instead, they decided to build upon what they had so that they could be safe from the monsters and people who still wanted them gone. My research points to the ancient Lilty city of Alfitaria resting in one of the canyons many valleys and gorges."
"It seems you've taken well to your history lessons!" Tellah laughs. He then leans in close and speaks in a conspiratorial whisper.
"Do you want to know why the Lilties irk Zangan so?"
"Yes, please. What phenomena could possibly trigger the metamorphosis of a master martial artist into a grumpy old geezer?"
"I can hear you, you know! I'm not senile yet!" Zangan growls at us. That's only to be expected since we were purposefully loud enough to let him hear. He's being grumpy so we're teasing him. That's how family works, isn't it?
Huh... since when did I start considering him-no, both of them family? That's odd.
"Zangan was a young man once, too-"
"Of course I was! I wasn't born old, you know," Zangan retorts. Tellah ignores his interruption.
"He roamed from town to town, seeking to perfect his martial arts by fighting strong people."
"-And winning!" the martial artist cuts in again. Tellah continues on as if he said nothing.
"One day while traveling he stumbled across a caravan of Lilty warriors who were out hunting for meat to bring back to their city."
"H-hey, you don't need to tell this story-" Zangan tries again to get Tellah to stop but becomes subject to karma and is cut off in the middle of what he is trying to say.
"Lilties have a reputation of being very strong despite their small size. Naturally, he challenged the leader. Guess who won?"
"Uhm... I'm guessing the Lilty did since it upsets Master Zangan so much."
"That's right! Do you know how?" Tellah says, a mischievous smile looking far too at home on his face.
I shake my head. I simply can't imagine anyone fighting better than Zangan. He's old now, so how amazing must he have been in his prime?
"Superior craftsmanship," Tellah says, eyes twinkling. Somewhere off to the side, Zangan groans. Perhaps he's palming his face. I don't know, I'm not paying attention to him right now.
My confused face prompts Tellah to continue.
"It was quite humorous. Earthshaker Zangan, the man who could punch holes in solid steel six inches thick, broke his hand on the Lilty captain's gauntlets."
"Huh? Really? What were they made of? Mythril? Adamantine? Vibranium? Did they have some sort of enchantment on them?"
"No. It was merely iron."
"... I... a-ah...?" I stutter, tilting my head as if that would make the world right again. It fails, so I reboot my brain and try again.
"Wait, what? How...?"
I would like to note that it took me a full ten minutes before I could open my mouth and speak anything other than my wonder at how that was even possible.
After I finally become capable of shaking off my shock, I change the topic. I'm not quite ready to think about the revelation of Lilty armor quality.
"In any case... Master Zangan, why is Nibelheim named Nibelheim? It isn't cold enough for that, right?"
After asking such a thing, the red-caped man looks at me funny. He furrows his brows as if saying, "What the heck are you talking about?"
"Nibelheim translates to Fog Home. Where'd this 'cold enough' thing come from?"
"A-ah, is that so?" I say, my words followed by sheepish laughter, "Well, ah... Nibelheim sounds similar to Niflheim, so..."
Zangan chuckles at my reasoning. Well, that's to be expected. When you say something stupid you should expect to get laughed at.
"Here's another history lesson for you, then," Zangan begins as we walk, "The part of the Nibel Area we were just in was once part of the Holy Dollet Kingdom. Its capital, Dollet, is on the west side of the Nibel Mountains and is main reason the Nibelheim Reactor was built. The hills full of farms and ranches we just passed through was one of the three major provinces. That was before and during the War of the Magi back in the early to mid 1500's. After Dollet fell in power and Wutai Empire ruled most of the central continent for three hundred years, this place was under Wutaian control until the end of World War I in 1906. After that, it became its own state known as Texas and developed its own distinctive style."
I nod absently. So that explains Tifa's cowgirl outfit and the sign for Texas draft beer in her bar. I suppose all the cattle farms and beef ranches were a clue as well. Then again, there were a lot of wheat, corn, and soybean fields as well.
"Before all that, though, Nibelheim was home to the Dragoon Order of the Holy Mist. An ancient order of Dragon Knights bestowed with the power of the dragons themselves, most of them can rival a SOLDIER any day of the week. Their Patron Draco is the Mist Dragon, a holy elemental dragon from the Land of Espers."
"Patron Draco...? Mist Dragon...?" I mutter. Wasn't the Mist Dragon the first boss fight of Final Fantasy VI? It was guarding a town of summoners, right?
"What, you don't think dragons are dumb beasts of burden do you?" Zangan questions. He continues when I shake my head. Really, everyone knows that wyverns are the dumb mooks of the dragon-kind family tree.
"Dragons are proud and strong. For a human to ride one like a mount means a partnership between the two. Anything less means war and I can tell you right now who would win it.
Anyway, the pact was forged back during the Mythic Era between Parthunaax the Mist Dragon and the Dovahkiin atop the Throat of the World, back when Texas was known as Skyrim. The Dohvakiin was a dragon's soul and blood in the flesh and bones of a human being. You could say that he was the first Dragoon.
The pact came about due to the three way civil war between Tiamat-the Mother of Dragons, Bahamut-the King of Dragons, and Aduin the World Eater. I don't know if you know, but Bahamut is good, Tiamat is evil, and Aduin is a draco-lich. Even so, there were many dragons who did not wish to fight. The Throat of the World became the safe haven for all those who wished only for peace. It is now known as Mount Nibel, and is the first known instance of humans peacefully co-existing with another species."
My mind? It is equal to blown times two. Mythic Era, First Era, Middle Era, and now the Current Era... there's so much history! Revolutions, inventions, advancements of both magic and science, peace and war... I want to know more.
Though... there have been a lot of large scale wars. The War of the Magi, World War I and World War II, the Wutai War, the War of Ironmine, the Holy Crusades of the Order of Light... If war is our nature as humans, maybe I shouldn't be surprised. Still, war sucks. Why would anyone want to deal with war?
Even if there's glory and honor, there's just too many negatives to war. Death, pain, loss, sorrow. Rage, hatred, revenge, fear. The regular 'bad things' about life are multiplied in magnitude. It's all so... pitiable? Perhaps the word I want is horrible? No, that isn't quite it either.
"Hrm..." I hear Tellah hum, "We've been making good time. You trained him well, Zangan."
"Of course. Who do you think you're talking to?" Zangan replies with a cheeky grin.
"What do you mean, 'we've been making good time?' We can't be that far along, can we?" I question. Both Tellah and Zangan laugh at me in a good-natured fashion. Zangan is the one to answer.
"You mean you haven't realized it boy?"
"Realized what? That ten hours of walking every day is tiring? I figured that one out on my own, but I doubt its what you're talking about," I grumble, slightly irritated. That's twice in the last hour that I've made a fool of myself.
"You've been walking much faster than normal," Zangan continues, "The average human walking speed is 3.1 miles per hour. That's 31 miles for a ten hour travel day. We've been keeping a pace of 6.3 miles per hour since we left. That's a little over double speed and thirty extra miles every day we've been out here."
"Wait wait wait, how do you know exactly how fast we're going!?" I shout in disbelief. I haven't seen him consult a speedometer or anything, so how would he know? Seriously, what the hell? Is Zangan just one of those guys who has to master everything?
"This is a perfect example of how spirit energy allows for one to perform deeds beyond what their body capable of on its own," Tellah says, picking up the conversation. I don't miss how neither of them answer my question. I get the feeling that this is just going to be another one of those things that never gets explained, no matter how much I ask.
"A normal human being would not normally be capable of walking this fast for ten hours a day without noticing it. Even with six months of training with Zangan, you should have become considerably more weary than you have. Do you know why you have not?"
I fall silent so that I can think carefully before responding. There are many reasons it could be, but which one is it? No one said it might be only one reason, either, so it could be many different factors combined.
"Well, Zangan trained me for stamina and speed above all else. Maybe I'm subconsciously bolstering my body with my spirit energy?"
After all, the people of this world do some pretty crazy things. They need to be trained of course, but I've seen Zangan kick through trees five feet thick. I've watched Dragoons jump over fifty feet into the air without using a Limit Break. My spirit energy augmenting my abilities out of habit isn't that farfetched.
I mean, running from Zangan day after day could have built such a habit easily, even if I was unaware of it. He's a freaking beast of a martial artist. I could have died at any time, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
"No. I slipped a pair of mastered Speed Up materia onto your person every morning before we started walking so we wouldn't have to slow down for you," Tellah replies blithely.
"Really?" I deadpan after a moment, something I've been unable to do for a while now.
"Really," the blue-robed mage confirms with a nod.
My hand slowly raises itself to my face. Upon arriving, it assists me in my most incredulous face palm since my discovery of Nyan Cat. The face palm is prolonged by my mental shock.
I just got horribly, horribly owned.
That isn't unusual. They're my masters, my teachers, and my seniors. I expect to get owned at least once a day by each of them. This kind of prank, this kind of joke? Completely unforeseen, and kind of a dick move.
Tellah hadn't lied, since the power of materia is the power of spirit energy. I must concede to his cleverness. Even if he's laughing at my expense
I'm so proud to call these guys my masters. No sarcasm, no joke. I seriously think that was pretty funny, not that I'll tell them that. It's just like my father used to say, after all. There's no such thing as bad humor, just bad jokes.
He also took the time to explain a clear difference between bad humor and poor humor, so maybe my sense of humor is kind of skewed.
"Speaking of materia, how do you check a Summon Materia? I tried focusing on it like with Magic Materia, but it didn't work," I state as I let my hand drop from my face.
"That should be all you need to do," Tellah frowns, "Let me see it."
Honestly, I don't know whether to be frightened or relieved as I hand the him the red orb. On one hand, he doesn't seem to know what's wrong off the top of his head either. On the other, Archsage Tellah doesn't know what's wrong off the top of his head either.
The next hour is spent in silence as Tellah inspects the materia. While we walk I start on a new exercise. I was told it is a necessary component of performing Para-Magic on objects. So I practice the Structural Grasping spell, the first stage of safely delving into the Sea of Data.
At its base, Structural Grasping is exactly what it sounds like. You are grasping the structure of something. Using the word grasping in the way that means understanding, that is.
Starting over, the Structural Grasping spell is like the Sense Materia or the Scan spell from FF8. You are opening your senses to understand the construction and makeup of the target. The Sense Materia gives the basics, and the Scan spell takes the data and filters out anything unrelated to battle. This cuts down on the time it takes to absorb all the information, minimizing the time the caster spends vulnerable.
Structural Grasping isn't filtered at all. As I use it on this rock, I am presented with information on its current state of being. By reading the Data within its spirit energy, I'm getting its blueprints and its chemical composition I get to know how much spirit energy it has, as well as its mass and dimensions.
I can't know when it was last wet, or what temperature it was two hours ago. Structural Grasping tells you the current situation of the target, not any previous states it may have recorded. That's the next step of training.
Ultimately, it's one of those things that's difficult to explain without experiencing it.
Anyway, this spell doesn't take much spirit energy at all and it isn't an actual mental or spiritual immersion in the Sea of Data. It is closer to a sonar or an imaging radar. It sends out signals that are bounced back, read, and translated into a format the human mind is more easily capable of understanding. The risk of spells like Sense, Scan, and Structural Grasping lies in numbers. That is to say, aside from the blueprints of the target, the data I get from this spell is purely in numbers. Much like a fantasy RPG, I gets stats, experience levels, and many other numbers with no visual representation.
The 'trouble of numbers' is what spellcasters call it. Rather, what they call it when a mage starts using numbers and magery to define people. In their training to delve into the Sea of Data, they have started objectifying living, thinking people.
For someone who is effectively messing with the programming code of reality, being so out of touch with reality is potentially disastrous. It was a group of people who had the 'trouble of numbers' that sparked the War of the Magi approximately five hundred years ago. It is why magic generally isn't studied by the world at large, regardless of how useful it could be. To this day, the fear of magic is great. Even materia-based casting is looked on in equal parts fear and wonder.
That is to be expected, of course. Magic is an unknown to many. As long as there is an unknown, man will seek to unravel its mysteries. As long as there is an unknown, man will know fear. The stories of Wutai's mastered materia obviously don't help any.
Regardless of all that, one hour later Tellah informs me to the problem with the materia.
"It's asleep."
"I'm not sure how to respond to that. Elaborate, please," I ask in response to his words. Honestly, there are all sorts of things that could mean when you're dealing with magic. Pretty much all he told me is that it is either almost safe or potentially going to kill me.
"Materia is made of crystallized spirit energy, yes? Spirit energy is required for something to be 'alive' in the eyes of Gaia. Materia is made entirely of spirit energy, so it is considered to be very much alive," he explains.
"Ah," I say in realization, "Much like blood, when asleep or unconscious a life form's spirit energy slows in its movement. Assuming that an orb of materia is capable of having its energy movement slowed, then it isn't impossible to force it to dormancy."
"You shouldn't be so quick to weaponize your findings," Tellah says while frowning slightly. "But yes, this materia is asleep. Alternatively, the Eidolon it is connected to is asleep. In that case, all of its materia are likely asleep."
"But not certainly asleep?" I ask. In the case that the Eidolon is asleep, then I need to be able to wake it up somehow. Hopefully I would be able to do that through a materia that hasn't fallen dormant.
"I can't say. I've never encountered this before. Ah, the world is still wide," Tellah says in some emotion akin to satisfaction. Meanwhile, an uncomfortable feeling swirls in my gut. What he said isn't exactly what I wanted to hear.
I know it is a little unfair, but I have somehow come to expect Tellah to have all the answers. Even though he told me straight up that our understanding of the rules of reality will always be incomplete, I was expecting him to have more knowledge, more experience with... well, everything. The fact that there are things he still does not know is the reason he seems so happy. It is the same reason behind my unsettled feelings on the matter.
"Master Tellah, what is the difference between a Guardian Force and an Eidolon?" I pipe up, intent on distracting myself from this oddly frightening revelation.
"Oh?" he says as he quirks his brow, "I was wondering when you'd ask that. Prepare yourself, this is going to be long."
Despite saying that, he gives me no time to prepare before launching into his lecture.
"An Esper is a Summon Creature while it still lives. Its death produces a Magicite as it returns to the Lifestream, which operates at its corpse. This is because it has too much Spirit Energy for it to be dealt 'death' as defined by science.
Still, it hits a switch within the Esper. It becomes a part of the Planet's Ecology, a theoretical place within the Lifestream which holds the souls of unique creatures which are born only once in the lifetime of the Planet. Current theory states that this is where the WEAPONs are birthed from and will return to when killed.
Once this switch is flipped, the Esper splits into an Eidolon and a Guardian Force. Its Eidolon form can be summoned from Summon Materia or its Magicite, but will not stay. Summon Materia are birthed from the Magicite once it has taught all it knows to its holder.
The Summon Materia function as connection to the Eidolon and can teach spells to those who can speak to the World. A Magicite can teach to any who hold it.
A Guardian Force can only be summoned by those who form contract with it, signified by the creation of a Medium. Those who speak to the World can contact GFs via Summon Materia of a corresponding concept, though a Magicite can connect any who hold it.
The main difference between an Eidolon and a Guardian Force is their function. Eidolons are creatures so powerful that they do not always need to follow the Laws of Science. Exceptionally powerful ones may be transdimentional and can traverse to and from the land of the living without issue.
Guardian Forces outright defy the laws of science, but are anchored to the Planet and its will. They are conceptual beings with no true physical form, an amalgamation of all the Espers which embody a specific concept. They often have a different appearance from their Esper and Eidolon counterparts.
Eidolons are of comparable power and appearance to their Esper form. Guardian Forces have power varying on their attributed concept and how strong that concept is within the souls of the living and the dead. For example, the Fire GF is powerful since just about everyone has a concept of Fire. The Justice Guardian Force is powerful because Justice is a powerful concept, and those who hold it close to heart tend to have strong wills.
Eidolons have a second tier of summoning in which they stay in the world for a limited time. This is referred to as their Aeon forms, as it is more powerful than they were as an Esper in life. It often appears similar, but more bestial. The requirements for Aeon summoning is unknown. Last recorded Aeon summoning was during the War of the Magi in 1512, when High Summoner Yunalesca of the Holy Dollet Kingdom summoned Odin to defeat the Wutai Empire's Leviathan Eidolon."
I nod and get back to practicing Structural Grasping. I have plenty of things to think about now besides the things I don't want to think about. Such as Aeons and how they work.
I know that in Final Fantasy X, Aeons are provided by the sleeping Fayth. That method still leaves a lot unexplained, however. Although, it has been almost a year since I last looked at FF10. I could be mistaken.
Still, the connection to ten makes me wonder what else has been connected to the world I am now living in. Could the Farplane gate-thing where you could meet the memories of dead exist in this version of Final Fantasy VII? It sounds like something the Cetra could have built to connect to the Lifestream.
How do the Lilties fit in? They're from Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles along with three other races, two of which are arguably humans. Where are they?
What's up with Dollet? I know it's from FF8. I suppose it makes sense that the Nibel Reactor isn't just powering the small town of Nibelheim, but that doesn't explain its history. I mean, up until one thousand years ago it was named Glastheim. That isn't even from Final Fantasy!
At first I thought that this world was just a mish-mash of Final Fantasy titles, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Dollet was Glastheim from Ragnarok Online? The Mist Dragon from FF6 is Parthuunax and the first Dragoon is the Dovahkiin, both from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim?
In addition, there is supposedly a city of mages called Mysidia hidden in the mountains near the river. It isn't so odd since it came from a Final Fantasy game. I don't remember which one, but that isn't the point. No, the point is that it is home to the Alchemy Academy of Al-Revis, which comes from the Atlier Iris series.
The entire Nibel Area just seems to be screwing with me. The first two I could understand. They follow the whole Norse theme that the area has going on. Al-Revis does not in any way I can currently discern.
Then again, it isn't like this world is a video game. At least, it isn't a video game to me since I have to live here. On the other end of the screen it might be a video game, but I honestly don't think I rate high enough to get that kind of development budget. My story is a fanfiction, at best.
This is really just Multiple Reality Theory in a nutshell. If you can imagine it, if you can not imagine it, then for someone, somewhere, somewhen, it is reality. Regardless of whether it is possible or not, everything is real.
For all I know, my reality was created due to another reality me writing a Final Fantasy fanfiction.
In which case, screw you! Er, me! Er... damn.
I suppose I can't be too upset, whatever the reason for me being here. I can cast magic now. I'm doing what I love and have the chance to make a real difference in the world around me. I don't know about my siblings, but mom and dad would understand that. They wouldn't like that I'd probably never get to visit again or that I'd be putting my life in danger almost constantly, but they'd understand.
As for how I got here, I have a few ideas. While I would prefer to think it was just a coincidence, I sincerely doubt that's the case. In this reality, the Planet is not only both living and sentient, it's sapient. It can understand language and use tools. If there's a higher power in play, then it is undoubtedly something of that scale.
That is to say, I'm likely being toyed with by a neigh absolute power. While there could be others, it is most likely to be either Jenova or Gaia. Something that doesn't really die, even if you stab it or set it on fire.
Either way, I just need to keep on moving forward.
Location: Cosmo Canyon Area
Date and Time: Aug 7, [ µ ] εуλ 2000, 11:20 AM
Despite how close Cosmo Canyon looks, it's still quite a ways off. The actual canyons themselves run far and wide. There are many dips, cliffs, gorges, and valleys that only seem to increase in number as we approach.
The change from the earlier emerald hills to this dry wasteland is kind of amazing. Made of cracked, hard packed earth and covered in small amounts of sand that shimmers every time the wind blows, the Cosmo Area has its own very real beauty. Comparing the rural kindness of the Nibel Area to the dusty indifference of the Cosmo Area is kind of impossible.
Though I say it is impossible, I feel like the two are comparable. Like they're two sides to the same place. Maybe it's because they feel like they're the same that I have trouble comparing them?
Hmm... a difficult to explain feeling. How bothersome.
Regardless of that, the Cosmo Area is much larger than I thought, but not for the same reasons as the hills of the Nibel Area. The terrain gets more rocky for every hour that we travel. There is a lot of hiking and climbing.
Fortunately for me, I was a boy scout once upon a time. I'm used to such activities. My time in the Nibel Mountain Range with Zangan only improved my body and my skills.
The whole Cosmo Area is one huge maze of canyons and valleys. Many of said places are actually underground, or arched over in several layers by the towering walls of packed earth, clay, and stone that make up the canyons. I think I understand how a bustling Lilty city can be hidden here now.
There are many abandon mines here, connecting place to place via their underground passages. That isn't to say that they're empty. Many monsters have taken up residence in the abandon shafts. One particularly famous mine known as the Mine of Cathuriges.
It was once the Lilties' most productive mine. Rumor has it that it became a stronghold for the monstrous orcs after it was abandoned. No one who has ventured there has ever returned, so the truth remains unknown.
Still, other mines exist. Many of them are very dangerous, and safe paths need to be marked or else travel becomes impossible. There is an entire trade based around exploring and mapping the Cosmo Area's mines. Since the Cosmo Area is place that was once known as the Ironmine Downs, I'm certain that it would take more than one lifetime for any one person to map them all.
It is as we are entering one of these winding crevices that we stumble upon a peculiar sight.
In front of us is a rundown town straight out of an old western. Despite the fact that it rests in a canyon and has walls towering on every side, the town has a five foot wall made of brick and mortar surrounding it. It makes a perimeter that stands about ten to fifteen feet away from the buildings. Interestingly, there are still somewhere around sixty yards of empty space between the brick wall and the wall of the canyon.
The wood houses are small and unpainted. Though most look lived in, some are boarded up. All of the buildings appear to be in various states of disrepair. If it weren't for small signs of living and the noise from the saloon, I'd think this place was a ghost town.
The saloon seems to be the place that is the least broken, and actually appears to be fairly lively. It is also the only building in town with a painted sign. I can only guess that business is doing well for them, all things considered.
It even has horses drinking in front of the saloon. As far as I've ever known Final Fantasy VII has no horses. Rufus Shinra says something about Heidegger's laugh being a 'horse laugh,' but he's wealthy and presumably well educated. For all I know horses could have been extinct for years!
"Is that a horse?" I can't help but ask aloud.
"What? Have you never seen one before?" Zangan replies. "That isn't unusual. Horses are usually recreational animals now. Mostly for the rich. After all, chocobos have a higher average speeds and maneuverability than horses from the get go. Plus, well trained chocobos of good breeding can sprint at over one hundred miles per hour. Who needs horses?"
"Now now, old friend," Tellah chimes in, "Don't let your Sacaean pride get in the way. Some people are allergic to chocobo feathers, you know. In addition, although both animals have foul odors, horses still smell better than chocobos."
"Only if you raise the chocobo wrong!" Zangan retorts fiercely as we actually pass into the town proper, "If you raise it on Gysahl Greens then it won't smell."
As we get closer to the Saloon, the sign lets me know that it is also an inn now that I close enough to read it. I've slept in a bed once in the past six months, and that was at the Nibel Inn. By that time I had almost forgotten what a bed felt like, and since then I've been badly wanting to sleep in a proper bed again.
So much so that I don't notice Zangan and Tellah slow down as we get closer to the swinging doors. As I'm about to walk in, the sounds coming from the building suddenly don't sound like cheerful shouting or drunken merry making. In fact, they sound rather angry.
Unable to abort my action halfway through, I step through the doors and straight into a bar fight.
The first thing I do is size up the room. There are twenty-three people, all various stages of drunk, and the furniture is not yet being used as a weapon. There is one broken table and a lot of spilled booze, but no one has fallen unconscious yet.
Most of the people are rough and tough, burly and boisterous manly men. There are a few wild looking women as well, but they're in the back where I can't see them clearly. All of them look like they just stepped out of a Western.
After everything I've been through, this shouldn't be a problem. And when I'm done, I think I'll buy myself a Stetson to celebrate.
I quickly call my talismans to wrap around my hands. Seeing as I haven't had a chance to replace the ones I've used, I have five to use for each. It isn't enough to cover the hands entirely, so I only wrap my fingers and knuckles. Those are the parts doing the hitting anyway.
Someone will probably ask me later why I don't just blast them with magic. Honestly, why would I blast a bunch of people during a bar fight? For one: I don't know what's going on. That's kind of important. Magic is really deadly to the average Joe and I'm not going to kill without necessity.
More importantly: you don't use real weapons during a bar fight. That's just bad sportsmanship. Improvised weapons and your fists are good, but don't bring in guns, knives, or magic. Really, just what are some people thinking?
Using what Zangan has taught me of martial arts and basic tactics, I rush into the brawl. I take care to make sure I never expose myself to attack from more than one person at a time, using the tables and other people as cover. Most of my attacks are counterattacks, jaw shots, and rather aggressive parries.
Although I thought it would be quick, the battle starts to span minutes. The people here are hardy, taking four or five punches to the chin that would down any normal man. Even with my talismans amplifying my blows I have trouble knocking out my opponents. My stamina is starting to run low by the time there are twelve left.
Despite this, I'm in little trouble physically. I can keep fighting for a while yet if that were the only issue. My issue now is actually the same issue as in the fight with the Golem. That is to say, my mind is tiring.
This battle is taxing on my mind for different reasons than my fight with the Golem. In the Golem fight I was exhausting myself by trying to destroy a fortress with my magic power. In this bar brawl I have to keep track of the entire battlefield and everything in it, then move myself to where I'll have the most tactical advantages and the least disadvantages.
It comes as no surprise when I slip up and get myself hit.
In my fatigue, I make a misjudgment and end up sandwiched by five guys. Though they don't all gang up on me, I still get sent through the meat grinder. Up until now I managed to avoid taking a hit from them. Which is good, because their punches hurt. It isn't as bad as the Golem, but these guys pack a pretty heavy punch.
It's while I'm being pummeled by these heavy blows that I see something extraordinarily beautiful.
From between the gruff and tough men that surround me, I spy a head of long, wavy gold. Atop her golden locks is a sky blue ribbon styled into a bow that bobs along with her confident movements. Her blue eyes are sparkling with joyous energy, somehow fitting perfectly with her toothy, lopsided grin. Her cheeks, both cute and regal on her peach colored face, are flushed with heat of combat.
Dressed in her leather combat boots, dainty white gloves trimmed with lace, and yellow dress befitting a lady of the deep south, she plucks away one of the men punching me. She then proceeds to spin him around, pick him up, and flip him upside down in a single movement. Her arms wrap firmly around him before she drops him on his head, sitting down on it forcefully as she does so.
In short, this beautiful southern belle in combat boots just performed a pile-driver on a man three times her weight in muscle.
"Well hot damn..." I think aloud, entranced by her fiery beauty.
My standing around and gawking gets me punched in the face. I try to steady myself through my dizzy vision and sense of balance, only to see another fist coming my way before I can fully recover. I try to dodge, but I'm too dizzy to account for my Bag of Holding's swaying weight and fall.
On one hand, I dodged the punch. Those punches hurt. I can already feel ten different bruises forming, and I don't bruise easily. On the other hand, I'm lying prone on my gut. In melee combat, that's bad. Very bad.
Fortunately, it seems that two of the remaining four surrounding me have been knocked out. Taking the opening provided, I roll out of the way of a stomp that would probably break a rib or two. I move to kneeling even as another kick comes my way. I punch the inside of the man's foot to divert it.
The shift in his intended landing is too odd for the drunk man to keep his balance. Having been trained by Master Zangan, I both see and capitalize on this opportunity. I swiftly raise from my kneeling position, my fist snapping harshly into the man's chin for a painful uppercut.
My vision is done swimming just in time to see him hit the floor with a loud thud. He doesn't get up after that. I check my surroundings to make sure I'm not about to be attacked again, finding that only 4 men and the hot chick- no, fiery lady still stand.
I take stock of my situation and find the results to be less than satisfactory. My wounds and my bag are impeding my movement, though my cloak hasn't caused me any problems so far. My mental stamina is running low from spreading my focus over the entire room. Really, there is only one conclusion since my pride won't allow me to use my magic.
I can't take much more of this. I need to end it quickly.
One of the guys is rushing me, but the other three are ganging up on her. She looks okay, so she'll probably be fine since she made it this far. I don't have the energy to bother playing nice, though.
I drop low to prepare for another uppercut. The rushing beef wall sees this and moves his arms to protect his chin. He's probably thinking his bull-rush will plow through me after he blocks my punch. Which is unfortunate for him, since I was never aiming for his chin.
One groin shot puts him in his place. That is, on the ground at my feet. I ignore him in favor of rushing to aid the golden haired woman.
Two of her opponents swing at her wildly, clearly intent on drawing some blood from her. They're positioned in front of her since she's been maneuvering well. Judging from their staggering, they'll be done with in a moment or two.
She seems to have forgotten the third one, who is sneaking up from behind with a broken bottle. I rush to meet him as he raises it for what could potentially be a life ending blow. As she is clapping the dust off her hands after trashing the fools in front of her, she sees the shadow of the man looming over her.
She only half turns before he attacks, just enough to see him start to bring the bottle down. I interrupt him by swinging my left palm up into his wrist, grabbing it as he is about to strike. It only slows his blow since it has more downward force than I could muster with one arm. If I don't do something else, the golden girl will get hurt.
With that in mind, my right arm reaches up and palms the opposite side of his head from under the chin. My right leg kicks out and smashes into the back of his knee, pushing it out from under him as I pull his head toward me. He drops the bottle as he falls sideways.
Even though he is defenseless on the ground, I put his lights out by dropping a heel on his face without hesitation.
I try not to let out a long breath or let myself relax in the aftermath of the fight. A quick check for damages says I'll need a Cure2 spell to put me right. In other words, I'll be fine as long as I don't get ambushed before then.
I turn to see if the blue eyed beauty is planning on attacking me as well. Well, for the most part. I suppose that isn't the only reason. I also want to know if the pretty lady is all right.
Oh man, did I really just use 'pretty lady?' That's such a lame way of putting it. The writer in me is ashamed.
I can make out her features a little better now that I'm not in the heat of battle. Her dress actually cuts off halfway down her shins, and is actually only yellow on the second layer. The top layer is an orange similar to burning desert sunset. Although I dislike wearing bright colors myself, it looks striking on her womanly form.
Though her bottom is somewhat frilly, her clothes are still mostly practical. Her top is a long sleeved piece made of the same orange cloth, laced together over a white undershirt down the middle of her torso. At her neck is a blue bow tie, though the length of the tails make it look like it belongs on a Christmas present. In all likelihood, it is a ribbon that she tied there herself.
I also see the gun on her hip.
We lock eyes, and a contest of wills begins. The twitch in her wrist and her furrowed brows lets me know she doesn't consider me an ally. Frankly, I'm worried about her considering me an enemy.
Still, I refuse to look away or back down. My own gaze sharpens again, my focus locked on this fighting woman's beautiful blues. I don't make any hostile moves as she scans my eyes. Honestly, I wish I were experienced enough to do the same. To be able to gauge another warrior's spirit just by looking in their eyes sounds like a useful skill.
From the edge of my vision I see her fingers twitch again. From that I am certain she's about to attack. My shoulders tense slightly as I prepare to defend myself.
If she pulls her gun, I'll have to throw my talismans in front of the barrel to block the bullet. If she just tries to punch me, I'll have to take care not to hold back just because she's cute. Either way, I'll have to end it quickly.
Then she surprises me with her greatest weapon. She smiles. It isn't the wild, lopsided grin from earlier. No, it's something else. I don't know quite what it is, but it's amazing.
She laughs, bubbly joy pouring from her lips. My heart hammers in my chest, even as I try to deny the feelings that are coming way too quickly for me to believe them real. After all, love at first sight is a thing of fairy tales.
I can't really be that attracted right off the bat, can I? It isn't possible. If anything, it has to be just an infatuation, a fleeting desire for her body or something. This kind of feeling is something that gets built up to. Everything in my experience tells me so. I can't be-
I try not to let my cheeks almost redden as she offers her hand to me. My breathing hitches when she speaks. Her melodious voice pierces my heart and leaves me dead on my feet.
"You're pretty good! My name's Jane Maxwell. Welcome to Little Twister!"
... Falling in love. Well hot damn.