Purity Amidst Madness
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Chapter 4
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Orlandu's look of horror lasted only as long as it took me to realize that his sword hadn't detonated into an explosion of golden metal shards. He chuckled darkly, waving the point of the unbroken blade into an infinity arc as it pointed in my general direction.
"A Divine Knight, and nobody's bothered to explain the source of your powers to you?" The Thunder God demanded, one bushy eyebrow quirking over an amused grin. "My dear, if a piece of equipment is taken care of very well, your skills simply can't find the breaking point to explode."
My shock lasted only as long as it took him to thrust at my torso. I twisted my body and torqued my wrist downward to bring my blade into a guard position, guiding the stab to the right of my sternum and leaving my foe off-balance for just a moment. Even though I let go of my sword with my left hand to try to break the old bastard's jaw with a backhand, he dropped to his knees and allowed the spinning fist to pass over his head.
We both spun in opposite directions, our magical blades clashing in a shower of sparks as they collided. Orlandu grinned, the expression somehow terrible, as the full weight of his strength pressed down on me. I was shortly pressed to my knees, despite the trembling of my biceps and the shaking in my thighs. With a cry of desperation, I threw myself to my left, nearly losing my sword as it caught the turf while I tumbled.
Over Orlandu's shoulders, I saw Ramza's axe flashing lightning quick as he battled the rest of our party. Though I didn't have time to admire the specifics of his battle, the fact he'd escaped any wound thus far was especially telling, given the fact I'd heard two shots from Mustadio's gun. Before T.G. Cid had time to renew our battle, I saw Alicia thrown to Rafa's side from an especially brutal blow from my leader's weapon... And I knew she was dead.
Ramza was holding his own.
Further observation was forestalled as my foe charged, twisting as he began a massive thrust from his waist. Despite my dual-handed grip on my blade, he again nearly disarmed me, leaving me open to a vicious strike on my flank.
Only my unwilling collapse to my knees turned the killing thrust into a deflection off my shoulder guards, leaving me to bring my blade up in a powerful vertical slash which Orlandu almost didn't block, throwing him away from me and onto his back. He heels drummed the earth and turned the sprawl into a roll.
Again my eyes went to Ramza. A bloody hole now decorated his tunic at the left bicep, proof of Mustadio's eventual accuracy. Yet despite his injury, Lavian now lay sprawled at her friend's side. Malak was working in conjunction with Agrias to pressure Ramza at close quarters, his staff flashing in between her blade as his rusty melee skills replaced the bursts of pure magic energy he normally employed.
I spun around Orlandu's overhead slash, thrusting my closed fist into his kidneys with all my might as I did so. He fell to his knees, his shield rising to block my follow up slash as he stood back up. He flashed me a grin before he was upon me, and then I learned just why he'd been so feared.
I'd thought that my bladework was good. The Thunder God Cid made me realize just how foolish that notion was. I feel no shame in admitting that I died. I was fighting Orlandu himself, the only man in Ivalice who could lay claim to being the equal of Balbanes. My defeat was a foregone conclusion.
Orlandu bested me, even without employing his Sword Arts. Yet I fought him for longer than most would have. That was the thought on my mind as Death's icy fingers receded from my soul, yet it fled upon awakening to a stand off I'd not expected to see.
Ramza and Orlandu stood across from one another, both wearing the sort of smile a person would normally associate with the mad. Though Orlandu was winded, his opponent was clearly the one at a disadvantage: The Beoulve heir was favouring one side, the giant axe he held up in a defensive position clearly oriented so that he could deflect any attack. Blood streamed from multiple wounds, and I was honestly surprised he was still standing.
"Hey, she's awake!" Lavian called, a small smile decorating her blood-spattered face.
"Whuhuh?" I asked intelligently.
"They're the last two left standing," Alicia noted, her eyes locked on the two men in the center of the field. She nudged me with a foot. "You managed to hold off Orlandu long enough that Ramza dealt with the rest of us. Those two are just about to go at it full tilt."
Wait. I couldn't have heard that correctly.
Ramza couldn't have fought them all off.
"I've got five thousand on Ramza, if any of you ladies are willing to take me up on the bet," Mustadio noted with a grin, leaning back against a tree and observing the youngest son of the Beoulve family with what could only be called a hawkish look. "He'll flatten Orlandu, even with his injuries."
Could he?
"Really? I'll take that bet," Alicia exclaimed, reaching out to shake hands with the blond engineer. At his quirked eyebrow, she flashed him a wry grin. "He's facing T.G. Cid, Mustadio. Orlandu's won battles between hundreds of men based solely on his skills."
It seemed impossible. Yet... Nobody was standing except for the two, and they were focused on one another. It wasn't a prank. It was... It was real.
"Lucavi killed by T.G. Cid, zero," Mustadio countered, holding out a closed fist. His other hand leapt from his side, every finger but his pinky extended. "Lucavi killed by Ramza, four. Cid is pretty good, I'll admit... But I haven't seen him kill four of my childhood fears."
Ramza bloody Beoulve, a man younger than me, was now facing T.G. Cid himself after having fought the rest of our party and bloody defeating them.
"Lord Orlandu just hasn't had the chance," Lavian opined in a sagacious tone, raising an eyebrow at my incredulous look. "What, you really think that he couldn't have killed them?"
"I'm not sure," I admit. Clearly the girl was good at swordmanship, but not as good as I.
In fact, Orlandu and Agrias aside, I don't think any of my companions quite understood just how frightening Ramza's mastery was. He was better with every weapon he laid a hand to than the one I'd spent my life mastering. They didn't quite get just how hard it was for a normal soldier to achieve such total mastery that their peers gave them a wary eye.
Perhaps they had no frame of reference. For two years, this insignificant band, less than a score of individuals, had been attacking the most heavily defended areas of Ivalice and they'd been winning without a single loss. Beginning with Agrias' rather miraculous escape from Lionel, this band had not lost a single person. Not one. For two years, they'd never had to face the concept of one of their own dying.
And they didn't understand the profound impossibility of that in the face of their accomplishments.
Accomplishments like assaulting Lionel. Like breaking through the Riovanes guard. Like taking the Bethla Sluice long enough to unleash the lake. They didn't understand that they'd been accomplishing things that armies of hundreds had utterly failed to accomplish. They didn't understand that every one of them would be infamous in our history if the records were even remotely right.
I wanted to grab them and scream that "No! Nobody is this lucky!"
Yet I couldn't.
I was held in thrall as T.G. Cid circled a man dozens of years his junior. The thing that really caught my attention was the wariness Orlandu displayed. He was not being an indulgent teacher. He was honestly wondering which of the two would win in the oncoming storm.
And that, more than anything, really and truly broke the last pieces of the world I used to know, used to believe in: Orlandu was feared in every end of Ivalice. It was pretty much a rule that if you were a truly powerful warrior, you'd fear the day that Orlandu decided that you were worthy of a challenge. He was the Alpha and the Omega when it came to the qualifications one had as a warrior. You were not measured by victory or defeat, but by the margin of victory the man held over you.
Yet Ramza Beoulve stood with an axe in hand, bleeding from his wounds and struggling to stand, facing an uninjured T.G. Cid and the man who'd been Goltana's general for over twenty years was the one hesitating.
After the first pass, Orlandu was pressing his hand to his side beside Ramza's broad grin.
"Cid, just use your skills," Ramza said, resting his axe on his shoulder. "How am I supposed to face Vormav if I can't counter his abilities?"
Orlandu nodded once, and the whole feel of the battle changed. Frost marked the armor of every one of us as large blocks of ice formed in the air, ready to fall down on Ramza. He glanced up at them contemptuously and hurled his weapon, his axe flashing to shatter the ice into useless shards. Orlandu narrowed his eyes as his sword swung once more, forcing our leader to throw himself into a forward roll which brought him within melee distance of his foe.
His hands flashed through the air lightning-fast, and even Orlandu's magically-enhanced quickness didn't help him deflect the entire flurry of blows. The older man grunted as Ramza slammed his fist into the plate over his chest, actually leaving an imprint of his knuckles on the magic-wrought steel. The blond boy then bodychecked his opponent, forcing him back two steps and dodging out of the way of the counter-swing.
T.G. Cid remembered the axe at the last second, and his arm broke as the falling weapon smashed through his shield. Ramza darted forward ruthlessly, bringing his foot up to meet Cid's jaw. Orlandu spun with the blow at the last instant, robbing it of much of its power and leaving the Beoulve at a serious disadvantage. The grey-haired man grinned as he ruthlessly slashed Ramza's flank, rending chainmail and leaving his young foe clutching his bleeding side.
"You almost got me with the axe, Ramza," Orlandu admitted, quirking an eyebrow as the boy drew a pair of ninja edges from his sleeves.
"Maybe this one will get you," Ramza admitted with a smile. Orlandu only had time to twitch as vines burst from the ground to ensnare his legs, holding him firmly in place. Ramza began to chant. "King of Flames..."
"No you don't!" Orlandu snarled, his sword arm bursting free from the vines to swing down once.
Both men finished their attacks at nearly the same time, though Ramza felt the effects of Orlandu's attack first as a dark red blade impaled him, ripping his life from him while healing his foe. Seconds after his broken arm was healed, Orlandu was pummeled by the rising bursts of flame summoned by the demon floating in the air.
As Orlandu collapsed to his knee with a groan, I knew that the difference in the fight had been that final Night Sword. And for a very obvious reason, my mouth was hanging open. I clacked my jaw shut as Mustadio groaned, stalking up to our resurrecting leader.
"Come on, Ramza! One second earlier and you would have had it!" The ponytailed man chided, offering a hand which the other man gratefully accepted. Mustadio turned to Alicia with a sour smirk. "Double or nothing on the next round?"
"Not a chance," Alicia replied, her voice sounding a little stunned. I noticed that both she and Lavian were now staring at Ramza with very wide eyes. "I'd rather go to the Dead City than take that bet again, thanks."
"Kids have no respect for the abilities of their elders," Orlandu noted with a grimace, forcing himself to his feet.
"What's to respect? Ramza nearly won, old goat," Alicia countered, daring the man to reply.
"Nearly isn't winning," Orlandu concluded smugly, sheathing his sword.
"Care to try me one on one, next time?" Ramza offered, a rare grin on his face.
"I would, but it would seem I have a new project for the next little while," Orlandu noted, sighing as he rolled his eyes at me. I quirked an eyebrow in response, waiting for him to continue. After a moment, he did. "This one shows quite a bit of promise. Enough that I think I'll be including her in my lessons with Agrias and the other two wenches."
"I've warned you about that," Agrias noted darkly, her fist darting out to crash against Cid's shoulder with a loud clatter. "I've told you: Stop calling me a wench!"
"As soon as you lose the breasts and those hips, I will," Orlandu retorted quickly.
"There's more to a woman than breasts and hips!" Alicia protested, fists resting against her waist as she glared at the old man.
"I know that. But I doubt Agrias can just lose her ability to cook and clean," T.G. Cid pointed out, rolling his eyes theatrically. Despite his apparent lack of interest, he spryly dodged out of the way as the honey-blond swordswoman's blade cleared it's sheath and nearly beheaded him. He flashed the woman a grin. "Hey now, we're supposed to just be sparring when I teach, Agrias. Non-lethal blows."
"Except you're under the effects of Reraise, still," I pointed out, slowly drawing my own blade. "Even if none of us have the strength of cast a Raise spell, it's not really killing you if we take things a little too far."
"Hey now..." Orlandu muttered, his eyes widening and his grin freezing.
"It'd be good practice for us," Lavian noted, her own sword snapping out in the same instant Alicia's did.
Lightning slashed through the air where Orlandu had stood only an instant before, and the old bastard was already sprinting for the trees as he chugged one of the potent healing potions he always kept stashed in his pouch.
The four of us were after him an instant later. Of course, we quickly learned the error of our ways. Having just seen the man brought to the verge of defeat and empowered by our own righteous rage, we forgot just what sort of man we were chasing.
It took an embarrassingly short amount of time for him to wipe us out to a woman, bringing us all back with a phoenix down and just whistling to himself as he made his way back to camp.
We learned our lesson: The man still had a lot to teach us, and if we came at him like that he'd be happy to do it at the expense of our pride.
He didn't learn his lesson the next morning, when Lavian dumped a bucket of water on his sleeping head, cooled by low-level magic to the point that a thin sheet of ice had formed at the top.
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Although we did our best to keep things light-hearted, even I, new to the group, recognized that most of it was an act designed to keep us from thinking about the newest bit of insanity our fearless leader was taking us towards.
It's probably a mark of my own growning madness, caught from my new companions, that I was actually looking forward to hearing Ramza's plan as we gazed at St. Murond Temple.
"Orlandu and Meliadoul should take point," Ramza finally said, glancing at us. At my raised eyebrow, he explained, "You know the layout, so you can lead us through the temple to Funeral's quarters. Cid can keep you out of trouble."
I thought about pointing out that this presumed that we'd actually get through the outer defenses, then realized everybody but myself was assuming that we would. I didn't even think about disputing that Cid could keep me out of trouble: I was a skilled Shrine Knight for my age, but there were others with far more experience who would easily outclass me. I expected that we would meet at least one or two.
I hoped none would be my father. Or the demon wearing his face, rather.
"Agrias. You, Lavian, and Alicia will be guarding our rear. I want a group capable of preventing anyone from interfering if we have to fight, and you three form a pretty solid wall," Ramza noted, not noticing the way Alicia's face pinked a bit at the praise. "Mustadio, you'll be with them. With the long, tight corridors, you're not going to be much good attacking. Defending is an entirely different matter, I think."
"A nice, long hallway where I have plenty of time to line up my shots and people running towards us have nothing to hide behind? I like it." His grin turned nasty as he pulled an unfamiliar gun from his backpack, twirling it with a flourish. "I don't have much ammo for this, but have you ever noticed that magic always has a bigger effect on the faithful?"
"Why would that matter to you?" I wondered, eyeing the weapon.
"It fires Ice spells. Better range, no casting time, no getting tired or running out of magic," the blond engineer noted gleefully. Considering what we were about to walk into, I thought the look a bit disturbing. However, the advantage of such a weapon was obvious.
"Where did you get something like that?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Balk. I took it from that bastard's corpse when he ambushed us," Mustadio finished.
Well, that was one Shrine Knight we wouldn't have to worry about running into, I supposed. I hadn't known that his gun could do that.
"Let's focus," Ramza chided with a smile. "Rafa, Malak and myself will form the core, capable of supporting either the rear guard or the point. I've brushed up on my summoning and I'll be taking along a few katanas, so I won't have to worry about friendly fire.
"You two will, unfortunately," Ramza continued, turning to the two dusk-skinned siblings. "Rafa, Malak, do your best to keep your powers under control. Err on the side of caution, if you have to. I'd rather you miss an opponent than hit him and Meliadoul as well."
"Ramza, do you remember what I told you about my abilities?" Malak asked, frowning.
"Right, I'd forgotten," our blond leader said, shaking his head. "Do what you can. Don't target any priests, and be ready to keep anyone who gets past either the point or the rear from getting too near your sister."
The short man nodded, absently gripping his bo-staff a little tighter.
I noticed Orlandu exchanging a look with Agrias, noted the pride on his face. The plan was certainly a good one.
Thus, our plans set, we marched on the main gate of St. Murond Temple. The seat of power for both the Glabados Church and the Shrine Knights. Our band of eight against a fortified compound filled with thousands of the most powerful mages, warriors, and holy swordsmen in Ivalice.
I knew in that instant that my madness was complete and had no more to grow: I was looking forward to the coming battle.
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Author's Notes:
Oh Orlandu, you're so sexist. I have never seen a character with so much potential wasted so thoroughly. Count 'em up: From his introduction to the end of the game, he gets a grand total of 24 lines. 23 if "..." doesn't count as one.
-Gaming Ikari