Author's Note
I'm back again for another update! I literally just finished writing this chapter today. I got preoccupied with playing the TWEWY iOS port yesterday andthe day before xD (I'm disappointed that they didn't announce a sequel, but I really like the port. Especially since they added about. 15 songs to the game)
This Saturday is the day! Sept. 1st Square-Enix is announcing the direction that they're taking the "Lightning Saga" in! :D I'm so incredibly excited for it. Since its the 25th FF anniverssary,they better give us some new info on FF Versus XIII(Like a release date. Seriously, they've been working on it since 06, and it apparantly entered "Full Production" about a year ago. I'm not being unreasonable, right?
Anyways, one of my fans has decided they want to draw a picture of Hope in his emerald knight armor. Once it's done, I'm gonna link it in one of my updates.
You know the drill. I own nothing. Square owns pretty much everything. Here's chapter 7!
Annals of the fragments
IV. Ortilinde's Bloom
In the mighty city of Paddra sits a fal'cie, sent there by the mighty god Pulse. The fal'cie channels the visions of the Farseer seeress and records what she sees in the oracle drive.
The people of Paddra pay homage to the fal'cie and worship Pulse who stands above. Devotedly, they bow their heads to the fal'cie and the prophecies. Fearfully, they kneel before Etro, the goddess of death whom the seeress serves.
The trio of knights found themselves on Gran Pulse once more. They were in a time of the distant past, as signaled by a lack of Cocoon in the sky. The sky looked unusual. Neither of the three were used to seeing it as it was. When Hope, Noel or Lightning would look into the sky, they saw either Cocoon encased in crystal, or in Noel's case an overcast sky foretelling sadness. The sky lacked either of these things, and it was unsettling for the three warriors.
A carriage drawn by chocobos approached. A man in Pulsian attire commanded the vehicle, and noticed Noel and the others along the side of the road.
"Ah hello there, you three seem to be lost." He happily greeted the strangers as if he'd been close friends with them.
Noel returned the jolly gesture. "Uh yea, you could say that. We're not from around here. You wouldn't mind telling is where the nearest town or city might be, would you?" Noel smiled nervously. They probably stood out like a golden chocobo. He wouldn't be surprised if when they got somewhere people gave them funny looks.
"Actually, I'm headed there right now, I'm a traveling merchant and I have a shipment of goods I need to deliver. If you'd like, you three and that little doll of yours can hop in the back and I'll take you with me."
Mog sighed at being called a doll, but quickly relented as the group took the man up on his offer. Noel, Lightning and Mog got in back, while Hope decided to sit up front with their gracious host.
"Thanks for the ride sir, we're glad to be in the company of someone so accommodating." Hope thanked the man.
"Hey, it's no problem. Let me introduce myself, I'm Alvaro." Alvaro held a hand out for Hope to shake.
Hope smiled and returned the gesture. "It's truly a pleasure Alvaro, my name is Hope, and the two in the back are Noel and Lightning. I can't thank you enough for how much this means to us."
"Hey, it's not a problem at all Hope. I'm always willing to help out someone in need. Where are you three from anyways? You don't seem to be from any village I know of."
Crap
"Well uh.." Hope stumbled over his own words as he thought of a convincing lie to tell Alvaro. Not only would saying there were time travelers be unbelievable, it could have some negative effect on the timeline since they were so far back into the past.
"We're sort of drifters. We don't really have a place we call home." The words were true enough. Alvaro was content with the answer, and dropped the subject.
Meanwhile, in the back Noel and Lightning talked strategy. They knew they were fighting a battle of unreal proportions and wanted every chance to be ready for what may come.
"So Alvaro, where are we headed anyways?" Hope thought it would be wise to know their destination.
Alvaro turned his head to the silverette, and gave him a confounded look. "You mean you don't recognize this trail? Why, we're headed straight through the Yaschas Massif into the great city of Paddra!"
-1500 AF. Era where the grand city of Paddra, ruled by the Farseer seeress Paddra Nsu Yeul. Hope had never imagined the ruins he had once spent countless hours researching would have been host to a civilization of this caliber. Technological differences aside, Paddra rivaled Academia, both in terms of expansiveness and population. The scientist within Hope was bursting at the seams, eagerly taking in the sights of the colossal settlement.
"Wow.." Hope was robbed of words. He stared in awe at the massive temple located in what must be the center of Paddra. He was knocked from his trance by a slap on the back by none other than Noel.
"We can sight-see some other time. I know this must really be something for you, but we can't afford to forget why we're here." Noel teased his friend, and Hope smiled sheepishly, walking over to Alvaro and began to help him unload his wares.
Lightning chuckled, which earned Noel's curiosity. "Mind sharing the joke with me? I could use a laugh too."
"It's Hope." Light began "He's all grown up now, my age even. He's built a whole world with his own hands, and finally found his way, but I can see that the child in him is still in there somewhere. I could see it in how he was admiring this city. Like a little boy on his birthday."
Noel smiled. "Heh, yea. I guess you're right about that.
Alvaro and Hope finished unloading the carriage, and motioned to Noel and Light.
"Alright you three, feel free to explore. If you get lost, meet me over there." Alvaro pointed at the large temple in the center of Paddra. "That place is the most recognizable part of Paddra, and it's also where I'm opening up shop. Should be easy enough to locate me."
The trio of Knights wandered around Paddra, unsure what they should be doing. There didn't seem to be anything going on that required their attention. In fact, the metropolis seemed completely peaceful, with all of its residents bustling about with their daily routines.
After much wandering, they arrived at an open field of sorts. Many warriors were sparring, waging brutal one on one fights that impressed even Lightning.
From behind her, she heard an eerily familiar voice. "Are you lost? The three of you don't seem too familiar with this city. I could escort you to your destination if you so desire."
The armored warriors quickly about-faced, to be met with none other than Caius.
Noel's entire body instantly tensed at the sight of his former mentor. What was he doing here? Were they so easily followed?
"Caius..." Noel spat out the name venomously.
The warrior was taken aback by the resentment in this strangers voice. How had he wronged this young man?
"How do you know of me? Has the name of Caius Validus already spread to the masses, of the next guardian in line to serve the seeress?
Caius Validus? Does that mean he's not the same Caius we know?
Hope placed himself between Noel and Caius, forcibly lowering his comrade's now drawn weapons. Lightning stood silent and austere, observing the events as they unfolded.
"Excuse my friend, he does this fairly often. We have heard of your name. In a large city such as this, that sort of thing is to be expected, right?"
That could have ended badly.
Noel glared at Hope in confusion, wondering why he would shield their enemy from him. "Hope what are yo-"
Hope spoke without even turning to his friend. "Noel, we'll talk about this later, alright? Anyways, thanks for the offer but we'll find our own way."
Caius grunted, and left the trio as they were.
"Hope, what the hell was that about? Do you know who that was? That was CAIUS, the guy who ruined the timeline and world as we know it." Noel sputtered the words in exasperation.
"I know, but we can't. He's not the Caius we know, even if he looks, or is the same man. Besides, being this far in the past, killing the guardian of the seeress could bring about a worse future than what we have now. The side effects of doing so could be regrettable. His replacement may be worse than he would be. We don't know any of this for certain, but I feel that it's better to keep a foe that we know, than to risk fighting something we don't."
"Tch, and what do you think, Lightning?"
"While I'd love nothing more than to strike down the man responsible for everything, including Serah's death, I must agree with Hope. It's too risky to take any other sort of action, regardless of the future threat he'll pose."
Seeing no other choice, Noel submitted to their reasoning. "Gah, alright fine. I still don't like it though."
"Hm, I don't really see anything worth checking out. Maybe we should call it a day, and check in with Alvaro." The suggestion came from Hope. Not having any better ideas, Noel and Light agreed, and the group left for the center of the city.
Now near the temple that stood in the middle of Paddra, the three armor clad warriors could see how the massive structure crept into the sky above.
"Just think you guys, we're witnessing history in the making! Isn't it incredible?" Hope was ecstatic. He'd never imagined that he would see something so incredible, like an ancient civilization.
"Eh, hopping through time and seeing this sort of stuff got a bit old when I was doing it." Noel's reply was a lazy one.
"From Etro's temple, I could see everything. This doesn't really evoke any emotion in me."
Hope deflated. "So it's just me then?"
Both Noel and Light spoke in unison. "Yea, pretty much."
"Don't be so mean to Hope, Kupo!" Mog defended the emerald knight, even going so far as to put himself between Hope and the others.
"It's no problem Mog, but thanks." Hope smiled. At least someone remembered that he didn't have the fortune of jumping through time as he pleased or being the chosen champion of a goddess prior to these unfolding events.
"Heeeeey, there you guys are! I've been wondering when you would show up!" Alvaro called out to the knights from his little shop a small distance away. Hearing him, the party went over to greet the man.
"Hey Alvaro, what's up?"
"Well Noel, since you guys are around, I wanted you to come to the foretelling tonight."
"Um, what's a foretelling?" Noel asked.
Alvaro was dumbfounded. Did these people know nothing of Paddra? "A foretelling is an event we have once every few moons. The seeress comes forth and records a prophecy in the oracle drive, which is then shown the the people of Paddra. It's a tradition of ours, and I'd like you to be a part of it. If you don't mind of course."
Before Noel could reply, Hope answered. "You can count on us being there!"
Alvaro smiled. "Well great, see you tonight then! I got a business to run!" He quickly returned to tending to customers.
"I know what you're thinking Noel, but I see it like this. We may get a clue from the seeress's prophecy, and with no direction on what we should be doing, we should follow whatever lead we can get."
Noel relaxed. "You've got a good point. How are we passing time until then though?"
At that very moment, a smile slowly grew in Lightning's face. "I've got an idea you guys."
"Holy crap, how in Etro's name were we able to afford all of this?" Noel was being crushed by the weight of baggage that he was carrying. Hope walked behind him, not faring any better.
"Don't ask me! Light had all the gil."Hope panted out his response. The two got dragged on the shopping trip from hell. Now, while Lightning wasn't like other women in that she wasn't into buying clothes for the sale of it, she knew how to shop. What did she make Noel and Hope carry? Why all of the potions, ethers, elixirs, and other miscellaneous items for use in battle that the former soldier had thought they needed. To be prepared for any situation of course.
The trip had lasted most of the day, leading into the evening. The sun was now setting, lighting the sky up in a crimson blaze as it did so. The streets thinned of people, which made the trek to the inn just somewhat bearable for the boys.
Finally arriving at their destination, Hope and Noel slowly followed Light into the inn. She paid for two rooms. One for her, and the other for anyone who wasn't her.
Noel and Hope set the luggage down, and took a moment to relax their muscles. Carrying supplies for hours on end really takes its toll on a man after all.
Lightning tossed a key to Hope. With one fluid motion, she grabbed all of the bags and made for her room.
Noel sighed heavily, before seating himself. "Next time, I get to pick how we kill time."
Lightning quickly returned, and beckoned for the group to leave. Thankfully the inn they decided to stay at was located only a block or two away from where the foretellings were held.
A crowd had began to amass at the base of the temple. Hope could faintly make out a throne of some sort atop stairs that led to the entrance. Almost parallel to this, a fal'cie stood. Hope recognized it as the dormant fal'cie that he studied in the ruins of Paddra, hundreds of years from now.
The crowd was teeming with people now. Everyone seemed apprehensive, as if they were worried, no, afraid of what they would see here this evening.
Yeul stepped out from inside the building. At her side were three men. To the left of her were Caius and a man Hope had never seen before. To here right was a tall man, who Hope could only estimate was the seeress's current guardian.
She took her seat on the throne, and the oracle drive reacted. Yeul's eyes glowed faintly for a moment, signaling that she was seeing the future. The oracle drive emulated this glow, soaking in her vision.
The vision was only a brief one. The fal'cie reacted, and began to display what Yeul had seen.
Caius was first to be seen in the image. He was struggling in a battle against a massive dragon of some sort. The scene flashed to him burying someone. The person who it was couldn't be identified. Then, a a strange thing happened.
The vision went black. Slowly, it grew brighter until it looked like the inside some sort of futuristic building. The perspective was a third person one. Caius could be seen again. This time, it was the Caius that Noel knew. The one who would sacrifice the world for Yeul. He drew his massive sword as a person clad in silver armor came into view. The vision ended shortly after this.
The crowd erupted in murmers. Caius was also visibly confused as to why the visions focused on him so heavily.
Noel pulled Hope and Light from the crowd quickly. "Lightning, that looked like you. The armor sort of matched how yours is."
"So wherever we go, at some point Lightning is going to confront Caius in a place in the future. Well, it's not much, but at least it's something. We know now that we'll end up in the future at some point."
"We should rest, and decide how to approach this tomorrow. Once we have clear heads, our choice of action should be easier to determine."
"Yea, good idea Light." Hope agreed with Lightning.
The trio departed for their inn, and for a good night's rest. However, back at the temple. Caius was frantic.
"Verus, what ails her?" He stood, staring at the unmoving form of the seeress.
The man named Verus, who was Yeul's guardian spoke. His tone was one of disappointment. "Nothing ails her, friend. She has departed from us once more."
Caius grimaced. He'd never witnessed death before. Now, looking at Yeul's lifeless body, it stared at him coldly. "Yeul.."
Author's Note
Remember, don't hesitate to review! I love getting input :D anyways, until next Wednesday, see you guys!