Ah, the Occuria. Now there's a story most angels in my line of work know full well. The Occuria, angels like the rest of us, were beloved of the Gods of Ivalice. The lead among them, an Occuria named Gerun, attended a counsel called by Faram. A great counsel of Ivalice, all the souls of men, the angels, the unborn waiting to take flesh, all these he called together.

A war amongst the Gods had come to an end, and Faram had reaffirmed his role as the God of Ivalice, among trillions of other worlds, but had offered the other Gods the chance to remain with Ivalice, to watch it, to stay with that world they had so warred over, so long as he was their King. Such is the tale of Faram's assent to the Choir of Elohim, to being a God among even Gods. But I digress.

Faram called a counsel of his under-Gods, his angels, those men who were not yet angels, and those souls who were not yet born. All these things he called together to discuss the future of Ivalice, to discuss the means by which Ivalice would grow to be the brightest of all worlds.

At this counsel, two spirits stepped forth. Gerun, the Angel, and Kiltia, the unborn. Gerun cried to Faram "Let me take Ivalice, oh Father, and I shall build a world which shines brighter than all the stars in all the Heavens! Let me shape the wills of men to my will, and you shall see! Ivalice will be a diamond among pebbles."

Next came Kiltia, who, humble as he was, stated firmly, "All-Father. Send me to save Ivalice. If it be thy will, I shall give all Ivalice the chance to save itself from itself. Send me, and I shall show Ivalice the way, not force it. The Glory of the Heavens be Thine, All-Father."

And, being a God, Faram jumped at the chance to snag all the glory for himself. Gerun, pissed out of his mind, challenged Kiltia on the spot. He demanded to know how an unborn could possibly do better at saving a world than a spirit who had gotten his wings. Faram, not about to take nonsense from a Seraph after winning a war of Gods, gave Gerun two options: Get in line or get a new God.

Gerun, in wrath, chose to get a new God, namely himself. Rightly sick of the way some Gods (re: MOST GODS) treat angels, Gerun declared that Ascension was an unnecessary process, and that, right there, in the midst of that counsel, he had become a God. He turned to the assembly and demanded to know who would rather stay a thrall to a callous slave-master than become a God immediately.

When all they who would stand with Gerun had risen, Faram made his point clear: Becoming a God was hard, hard, hard work, and no one could simply declare themself a God and have done with it. He extended one Almighty hand and trapped Gerun and his closest allies within shells of Crystal, forever sealing them within, until they could find the power necessary to break free.

The tale of the Occuria is a caution to any angel who tires of his or her God. Gerun sought to step out of his place, only to find himself in a much, much worse one. Gerun went on to suffer the same pains Faram did, when Ultima, his favored Seraph, and one of the few whom had been close to Gerun yet not trapped within the Occurian Shell, turned on him. Gerun cast down the Seraph, and she became Queen of the Lucavi.

But I am not afraid to wind up like Gerun, nor The Prodigal, nor any of the myriad angels who challenged their Gods and fell. I am not challenging Cosmos. I am doing exactly what I was invited to do. And when that is done, I shall make known what I have done to the whole of Heaven. I do not declare myself now a God, nor aspire to steal the throne of others. I simply wish to inform my fellow angel that there is War, even in Heaven, and that I don't think well of that.

The Messenger has returned. He has apparently seen the great field where our Champions and Chaos' will do battle. He does not sound impressed. Mostly it sounds like a lot of boulders in an empty space. Which means it is, of course, The Battle Ground, that same battle field where Gods are often wont to drop their champions to fight. There was once a building there, suspended in air, but a God, seeing this, cast down the building, declaring that the structure was a hazard waiting to happen, and that it was better it be destroyed now than in a war.

The Messenger carries just three dockets. This is pleasing. I would rather not sift through a great minefield of persons again. Three is the most I ever enjoy deciding upon. He delivers to me a folded sheet of paper. This is of course the letter Cosmos received from this world's God, which I must now read to confirm that we may do what we please here.

Cosmos,

When I agreed to let you into one of my worlds to wage your war with Chaos, it was because I had seen that very first war you two waged, and I believed your war would not greatly alter all that I had labored for. At the time, it seemed to go well. The two of you resolved the problem with Zemus, and in fact the general problem with all the Lunarians as a whole. Their race, one of the most technologically advanced in my domains, would have awoken and conquered all others, rather than the way I desired for things to go.

When I agreed to let you in, I did not think you and Chaos were going to rip my history into tiny pieces. Today one of my angels informed me that my history was on the line because of my involvement in that war. I understand that The Highest cursed you both to forever war as punishment for what you did, but I do not appreciate my own person being trapped in that very war. I am an extremely busy God, Cosmos, and I cannot be troubled to redo a section of history personally.

Therefore, I allow you the choice of the following champions on the understanding that I am not dragged by my tail into another one of your wars. I sincerely doubt that I won't be, your clauses bearing the weight of The Highest, but I fervently do not wish to have to redo that same section of history multiple times; linear or not, Time has never been something I've enjoyed messing with.

You may choose one of the following: Cecil Harvey, son of Klu Ya (you must, unfortunately, take the younger Cecil, taking his older self out of time is inadvisable), Kain Highwind, Dragon Knight, and a dear friend of mine: Rydia of Mist. These three are yours to choose from. But decide wisely, for I shall personally seek you out should you fail to stop Chaos.

-Bahamut

It suddenly dawns on me: as irrelevant as this conflict between Chaos and Cosmos is to them, and to many others in all the eternal expanses of the Heavens, the consequences, should Chaos win, even once, are so sweeping and drastic that they can effect and undo the works of other Gods themselves. And ultimately, the responsibility for what happens to these trillions of souls across the whole of Creation falls directly onto my shoulders and into my hands.

To be sure, I could blame Cosmos, for taking me into her Ministry, but I applied for such a position. I could blame the champions, for failing to meet expectations, but it would be my fault for sending them there. I could blame the Blameless, The Highest, that Throne Which Sits Above All, for cursing Cosmos and Chaos to fight for eternity, but to blame the blameless is to forfeit one's wings. No, I shall take responsibility for this.

But I make known that still this is wrong. What did Chaos and Cosmos do, to cause this curse? How could whatever crime they committed be so great that it should jeopardize lives upon lives upon lives? Ages of Time are at stake, pivotal turning points with dire consequences for Eternity itself. And why?

But here I sit, wrapped in myself, when across the room all eyes have turned to The Engineer. I look up from the letter at him, to see his eyes have covered with mist. This has become personal for him. I know without asking that this world is his. Bahamut is his God, and these people, this Cecil, Kain, and Rydia, these names are known to him. And as I see that bearded man, so often so fiery, so proud and gruff, hover moments from tears, I myself cannot resist feeling a tad choked.

"Cid," I say, breaking standing courtesy. He is not Cid, not here. He is supposed to be The Engineer. Names are left outside. We choose these titles that we might not suffer reproach for our decisions. "Cid, what are you thinking about?"

The Engineer looks at me, doing his best to school his voice. "Me daughter, sir. Me family. I cannae make an impairshal decision here. I am too close to it. I have nae seen me family in some time, travellin' with ye. Their very souls are at stake. Me daughter is nae even an angel yet sir. How does a man take his family's salvation intae his oon han's an then turn it o'er to another?"

I lay the letter down gently. "Cid, you know who Chaos has chosen to represent him from your home, don't you?"

"I do. Golbez. Er, Ceodore, rather. But it dinnae make sense! When las' I saw 'im, 'e was a good man."

"It's not impossible that he still is, Cid. Who can say why he agreed to aid Chaos? Cid. You are close to the heart of this. You fought Golbez. Who do you suggest we send to fight him?"

"I cannae say."

"Then we will consider them all, and while we do, you remember your friends, and name the one you trust your family to." I turn to the others and say, "You won't here this from me often, but one of our own is at stake here. Chances are others among you will be at stake before this is over. We all may be at stake. I encourage you to pray to whichever God you might that we make it through this thing."

As the team begins to bow their heads for their moment of silence, I add, "One last thing-- We will make it through this."

Name: Rydia of the Mist.
Age: 7
Sex: Female
Species: Summoner (Hornless)

An interesting choice, if ever one was made. Rydia of the Mist is a Summoner. More noteworthy than that is that technically, she is a mere seven years of age. Physically and emotionally, that's something else, but chronologically, the dossier claims she's a mere 7 years of age.

Rydia, as a Summoner, was one of the more powerful members of The Engineer's company, her ability to call upon Eidolons in battle made her a fearsome force to be reckoned with, especially in the later stages of their adventure, when she could call upon Bahamut Himself to aide her.

Unfortunately, little is really present to determine a relationship between Rydia and Golbez. Every trap and snare laid by Golbez seemed to go off and catch someone else. We shall attribute this, therefore, to a great amount of luck on Rydia's part. I do this, not to offend The Engineer, but because he and I both know it would be offensive to score it any other way.

A summoner in this battle could prove incredibly useful. To say the least, her power to call upon Eidolons would tip the sheer number of combatants in our favor. Mateus and Sephiroth at the very least, would not long stand before the blade of Odin, nor the brine of Leviathan, nor even the flames of Bahamut.

But other foes, such as Kuja and Ultimecia, have experience with Summons. I fear they would not be stopped so swiftly as others. And there are, of course, extenuating circumstances in this situation.

Any spirit in any Heaven at any point in their progression may apply to become a Summon. The processes for becoming Summons are varied throughout the Heavens. Nevertheless, any living thing, animal, vegetable, sentient, any living thing can apply to become a Summon. HOWEVER, once approved to BE a Summon, there are only 3 routes available. 1) Stay in one spot waiting for a Summoner to prove their worth to you. 2) Have an Eidolon made of you, that your image might be used as a Summon across the Heavens, allowing anyone the use of it, for good or ill. 3) Gods with Omnipresence may combine option one with option 2.

Unfortunately, in a War Between Gods, special forms require the actual Summoned to be on call for the War. The negotiations are nightmarish, to say the least, and every Summoned must be approved by both Gods. Essentially, if we choose Rydia, we are showing our hand to Chaos. The Liar might have been foolish enough to show his hand to me, but I shall not show my hand to him.

Rydia's Scores are as follows:

Team Work: 6/10. Rydia played well enough on her team, but she was never much of a leader. She did come to the rescue at least once, and inspired others at one point to achieve their potentials, yet the docket indicates that day-to-day leadership was not something Rydia was particularly involved in.

Faith: 4/10. Chances are, Rydia, like Bahamut, would be largely indifferent if she discovered what was going on. She would be concerned with preserving her history, and stopping Golbez, but beyond that? I cannot say. I don't think Rydia was a bad person, but I do worry that, if Rydia understood that this war is just one of many, and that Chaos and Cosmos will continue to tear up the Heavens when this is done, I honestly don't think she'd stand by and let that happen. Would you?

Lethality: 1/10. Without her Summons, Rydia was a mere black mage, and nothing so phenomenal there, either. Her command of the Dark Arts is significantly dwarfed by that of Golbez, whose magic was only undone by Rydia's summons.

Opposition: 1/10. The docket does not suggest there is any special reason for Rydia to desire to stop Golbez in particular. She would fight whoever- be they Zemus or The Maiden- yet to really draw out the potential of a champion, we need some major reason for them to fight each other. Rydia doesn't really have that.

Name: Kain Highwind
Age: 21
Sex: Male
Species: Hume

There is nothing quite like seeing the face of a man who does not believe in God wake up dead. Such, I am told, was the expression of Kain Highwind on his first day in Heaven. Highwind was an excellent warrior, a passionate man, and, I am told, a fierce foe. But Kain's vices outweighed his goods in many aspects.

Religion in The Engineer's world is as lax as The Choir of the Elohim will allow any God to get. As such, Kain was not raised with much faith, and though he would eventually become one of a very, very, very select few of that rank of Sacred Dragon Knights (along with the likes of Reis Dular), Kain never believed much in God. He wasn't exactly devoted to fighting against God all his days, as was, say, Ultima, and he certainly was not so crass nor low of wit as to deride the faith of others, in deed, he was impressed by the faith of some of his colleagues, but Kain nevertheless was certain that when he died, that would be the end of him.

Since then, I am not sure what he has done with his afterlife. The docket does not say. What worries me here though, is that, though Kain Highwind was indeed a powerful warrior, one of the mightiest people on his world, Kain's mind was not so strong as his flesh. Which is not, of course, to insinuate that the unbelieving are weaker of mind (nor will I ever support the claim that they are brighter. I, an unbeliever, know only too well how foolish my colleagues can be.).

The problem is this: Kain Highwind's greatest sin was alternatively love or lust, whichever you deem to call it. Because of his affections for Rosa Farrell, Kain Highwind was taken, not once, but twice by Golbez. Golbez' power over Kain was more or less absolute, so long as the promise of Rosa hung before him. That is not something we can here afford. If Golbez does not play with Kain's mind, surely Sephiroth or Ultimecia will feel the urge to do so. Gods know those people cannot keep their hands of other mens' brains.

Kain Highwind, the version we would be pulling from Time to fight this fight, has another problem. Though his failure to attract Rosa later enabled him to become a Sacred Dragon Knight and stop a terrible threat in his world, Young Kain would not know this, and would still desire Rosa's hand. If nothing else, he is very likely to desire to change history, not allow it to be. Indeed, a world ruled by Golbez and Zemus would not bother Kain, not if he had Rosa. Or, if rumors are true, and Golbez has joined Chaos, not to fight for his old master, but to stop that fight from ever happening, Kain could only be happier. If Cecil were to stay a peasant with Golbez, he could not meet Rosa and know her as intimately as Kain.

No, Kain Highwind seems a lethal mistake to make. But for The Engineer's sake, I shall score him anyway, just as I fudged the scores for Rydia to make them higher before passing her on.

Team Work: 5/10. Kain Highwind betrayed his team twice. Even before that he wasn't especially well known for working with Cecil. However, Kain's betrayals were both under duress, and it was never a fully willing choice. Kain was friends with Cecil and Rosa, and within the Lunar Depths, he even realized he would rather they both live happily than he have to slay Cecil for Rosa. Kain's military training is also an excellent point in his favor.

Faith: 5/10. Interestingly, I am of the opinion that Kain Highwind would be far more likely to fight for Cosmos if he DID understand what was going on around him. Were Kain to realize the complexity and ruthless simplicity of the situation, he would be less likely to aid in the fight against history and more likely to seek to do as he'd been asked. Faced with the truth that this war will not cease the battles between Chaos and Cosmos, and only guarantee history's preservation for the time being, and the knowledge that he was already dead, and that this conflict would have a bearing on the state of his soul afterwards, Kain would fight to preserve his salvation sooner than he would to serve Chaos, and I find it doubtful that he would choose some neutral stance.

Lethality: 6/10. Kain was a Dragon Knight, and one of the mightiest warriors in The Engineer's company. His ability to fight in the air was unmatched. While the power to make great jumps will hardly be uncommon in The Battle Field, Kain's aerial combat was something else again. He could move as an actual beast of the skies, and change directions in the air without having to push off an object. Against most foes, this would be a great advantage, especially those who are apt to show off their power to fly. For all his heavy armor, Kain was an incredibly agile opponent in the sky.

Opposition: 7/10. Kain's connection to Golbez was fairly strong. The two were both puppets, and yet at the same time, they both sought to manipulate. Not so different from one another, Kain and Golbez were, though Kain's willingness to be manipulated to Golbez is much more apparent than Golbez' willingness to allow Zemus to use him.

The question, really, is whether that's to Kain's advantage or not. Freed from Zemus' claws, Golbez might claim he was the better man than Kain, and it would not be an impossibly great stretch of the truth. Kain's doubts might harm him, but then again, his loyalty to Cecil outshines Golbez' own.

And speaking of Cecil Harvey . . .

Name: Cecil Harvey
Age: 20
Sex: Male
Species: Hume/Lunarian Half-Breed.

Lax as religion is on The Blue Planet, there still is Sin. Sin, regardless of religion, is almost universal. Murder, for instance, is as frowned upon in Spira as it is in Vana D'iel or Ivalice. And if ever there was a sinner in all the worlds, that man was Cecil Harvey.

Prior to his fateful mission to Mist, Cecil's life was not an extraordinarily happy one. A Dark Knight, Cecil was trained to use his sword, not for the defense of his nation, but specifically for the killing of other people. This was a harrowing thing for a young man to learn. While other boys were being taught by their masters how to forge iron for armor, or to raise homes, or the husbandry of animals or the lore of potions, young Cecil was being taught that morning to slit men's throats from a distance with his blade.

The King of Baron, holding the Airship fleet designed for protection against a possible Lunarian Invasion by Klu Ya and built by Cid, declared that the nations of the world: Troia, Fabuul, Mysidia, Damcyan, and Eblan must yield their Crystals to Baron or their holding of vast and terrible powers would be seen as an act of war.

Needless to say, no nation was willing to yield it's only protection against Baron's mighty Air Force. So it was that Harvey, at that young age, was dispatched around the world to start collecting Crystals.

Now the constant killing had taken a tax on Cecil's soul. Though young, he sought out the two base comforts many men of the sword seek: booze and sex. He found these things in the Baronian Pub, and in a Miss Rosa Farrel. Cecil loved Rosa, such a thing should not be debated, but what is worth pointing out is that a White Mage and a Dark Knight a good couple do not make.

Rosa, consistently worried for her lover's sake, became an extra weight on Cecil's soul. He loved her, thought the world of her, but conversely thought very little of himself. At once resenting her purity and wishing he could deserve her, Cecil turned to lower classes of women. Later on in history men would believe it was perhaps because of an increased drive caused by his Lunarian blood (something that has been debated forever, given even the Lunarians had forgotten their culture's views on the subject), but whatever the case, Cecil Harvey drank more than he ought to, and was sleeping with multiple women.

I say these things not to tear down the man, but to provide a greater distance between who he was and who he became. On the Blue Planet, the word Golbez was for a long time synonymous with the boogey man, and to the elders, with hatred and fear. Yet for a time it was the name Cecil Harvey, not Lord Golbez, which struck fear into men's hearts. Hated the world over was The Dark Knight. After his appearance in Mysidia, there were people in that normally quiet nation who were clamoring to kill him.

But, as fate would have it, Cecil made a change for the Light. His power was not enough to stop Golbez as a Dark Knight, and so, with the guidance of a few forgiving Mysidians, Cecil began his ascent to the peak of Mt. Ordeals.

Redemption is the name of Cecil Harvey's story. The world could have bent before his blade; I have seen the futures in which Harvey obeys his king, and they all end the same: No one stops him. He conquers the world for his master, and ironically, Zemus uses Golbez to oppose Baron. Yet as the war comes to a head, Baron's Air Force against Zemus' Giant, the world watching in horror, Cecil Harvey is not present.

Most versions have him striking down first his friend, Kain, whom in these versions is Rosa's lover, and then the King of Baron himself. Cecil, now King of the mightiest nation in the world, challenges Golbez in a clash atop the Giant's Skull. Golbez, ever the weaker physically, is cast from atop the Giant, and Cecil, Dark King of Baron, takes the Giant and rules the world. Even when the Lunarians awake, seeing no reason left to spare humanity, none can stop him. Only at the end, when Bahamut himself intervenes does the Reign of Lord Cecil come to an end.

But this is not how things happened. There is a difference between what happens, and what could happen. Generally only Gods may see what could happen, and thus only Gods may interact across the timelines, while angels see only the one, though they may travel to any point in time on any world save prior to their birth on the world of their birth.

Cecil Harvey, forgiven even prior to his redemption, climbed Mt. Ordeals with a few mages. Upon it's peak he realized the truth of Knighthood; that a warrior ought never to draw his blade save it be to stand between the forces of death and destruction and that which cannot stand for itself. Sword or no, edges or not, all Knights must be shields, and all blades must be raised in defense, and never aggression.

And the rest, they say, is history. Cecil went on, as in all versions of his life, to strike down Golbez, though this time within the Giant, and not on his own. Following this he would stand within that Grand Lunarian Construct, the Savior Moon, and strike down Zemus, breaking even the hatred of Zemus upon his blade. Firion sought to destroy his foe's soul, not content with his physical death, just as Mateus, not content to die, had wagered his soul to stop Firion.

But Cecil, Cecil went another step further. He would not stand to have even emotional aspects of Zemus remain. And so he raised his blade, in defense of his own world, and maybe even in defense of his father's, and with it he slew Zemus' hatred, castrating any aspects of Zemus which might remain.

Team Work: 9/10. A hard decision to make, I am of the opinion that while Kain did betray Cecil twice, Cecil also won back his friend twice, and, seeing more of the positive in Kain than the potential for threat, Cecil welcomed him back each time. An experienced military commander, Cecil would be a huge asset to our champions, having fought wars both in the air and upon the ground. People from nations which had great reason to hate this Baronian Nobleman united beneath his standard and came together to stop Golbez. The Princes of Damcyan and Eblan, both victims of Baron, served with Cecil. The future king of Fabuul as well. Rydia of Mist, despite seeing her mother slain because of Cecil still befriended him. Such was Cecil- a man whom, even before his redemption, was so essentially good at heart that he could not stomach the death of the innocent.

Lethality: 8/10. Cecil Harvey was a trained killer. Yet upon becoming a Paladin he received some reservations toward the slaying of others. However, his foes, all incredibly monstrous (save perhaps Golbez and Jecht), will undoubtedly drive him to do battle with them. Cecil Harvey was a powerful warrior, and, as all timelines The Lady and Bahamut have provided for our viewing show, no matter the things which happened in between, Cecil Harvey would always become the King of the most powerful nation in the world. Even in circumstances where Zemus gains control of his mind, Cecil turns upon him, strikes him down, and rules the Lunarian Empire, which goes on to conquer worlds upon worlds in that instance. Though that is more technological than due to the might of Cecil. Nevertheless, Cecil's battle records speak highly of him.

Faith:9/10. Even should he learn what was happening around him, the truth about Chaos and Cosmos' war, Cecil would likely serve The Lady. He would serve her in every challenge he was forced to participate in. The reason for this is that, compared to the many, many ways in which Cecil might have gone wrong, his life turned out very good indeed. The many souls back home who could not fight to protect the Crystals for themselves would cry out to him and beg to be defended. But Cecil the Paladin was also righteous, and that righteousness leaves a window, however small, that he might rebel. Which is my segue into something I have avoided for some time now:

The Two Cecils.

Cosmos has demanded that, should we choose Cecil, we must take him as both a Dark Knight and Paladin. The reminder and guilt of his Dark Knight sins, coupled with the piety of being a Paladin, are apparently things she believes will hold him completely in line. I am told that I cannot refuse this. The docket makes it clear that, should we elect to choose Cecil, we must take this condition. Not something I want to do, but I shall speak to The Engineer first.

Opposition: 10/10. Cecil and Golbez are two sides of the same coin. Golbez chose in the end to leave the world of his mother's people in favor of his father's. Essentially, he could not face the sins he had committed for Zemus- whether he had meant to commit them or not. Cecil, however, had owned up to the many things he had done wrong. The one man chose to repent, the other chose to try and out run sin. These brothers oppose each other almost naturally. Golbez was a magic wielder, while Cecil followed the way of the sword. Cecil chose humanity, while Golbez chose the Lunarians. Golbez watched his father die, while Cecil was present for his mother's death. Everything about these men declares their opposition. Even had they grown together, they would forever have been entirely different people.