SNOWE'S LESSON FOR LIFE

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Author's warning: I am not going to describe all the people in this story, so play the game.

Snowe was standing around, looking through the books that Tanya keeps in there, trying to see if they have any info on the True Runes. After some of the things he heard about the Rune of Punishment, he had to find out what he hasn't heard about through the rumor mill. He looked up just in time to notice what looked like a charred Oleg, with his hair shooting out in all directions. "What the hell happened to you?" Snowe couldn't help asking since this is his first time seeing the young inventor like this.

Oleg turned to look at Snowe while he took off his glasses, "I was working on a project for the Captain when I accidentally crossed a pair of wires." He answered while he wiped off his glasses and placing them back onto his nose.

"What kind of project?" Snowe asked, somewhat interested in what goes through the mind of someone like Oleg.

Oleg couldn't help but to smile when it came to explaining his creations, "The Captain wanted me to see if I could find a way to install some kind of device that would allow the people on this ship to communicate with each other when they're on different levels." He then looked at the book in Snowe's hand, "May I ask what you are doing at the moment?"

Snowe looked down, all of a sudden remembering what he was doing there in the first place. "I was trying to see the story on the True Runes, but I haven't found the book for it yet."

"The book you are looking for" Tanya said, while scaring the two guys into submission when she came around the corner, "is on that table in the corner there." She said, pointing to table next to the wall map.

"Thanks Tanya." Snowe said, while he was placing the book back onto the shelf. When he reached the table, he couldn't help but overhearing the conversation going on behind his back.

"Would you like to go on another date when we reach Obel?" Oleg asked the librarian.

"I haven't turned you down yet, have I?" Tanya answered back, smiling.

Snowe lost the rest when he found the page that he was looking for, mainly on the Ruin of Punishment: The Rune of Punishment governs atonement and punishment, attaching itself to a bearer's left arm. The Rune has tremendous destructive power; however, it comes at the cost of the bearer's own vitality. When the wielder's lifeforce is at an end, their memories are absorbed by the rune, and the person bearing the rune turns to dust. The Rune then appears on the closest person to the late owner.

Snowe couldn't help but shake at the last part. If he had shown up just a moment earlier, then not only would he deny a lot of people of their happiness on board this ship, although Maxine is different story, but he would go through two of the hardest things in his life: Sending his best friend out to his death, and being used by his father as a weapon against the Kooluk.

"It's scary isn't it?" A feminine voice rang out from him, scaring Snowe from his thoughts, "How something so powerful could also come with a heavy price." Snowe turned to see Frederica to his left, looking at what he was reading.

"And the fact that I would have been next is just scarier." Snowe said, recalling the memory of the day that everything really changed for everybody. "Did you find the info you needed on Graham Cray?"

Frederica just had an angry look on her face, "Yes, and some of it makes me even more frustrated." She answered, while looking at Snowe who had a curious look on his face, "When I went to talk to Helmut to see if he ever met Cray face to face, he told me no, but he has heard rumors that Cray has a mechanical left hand."

"Actually he does. I saw it one time while I was at El-Eal." Snowe said, while missing a mean look appearing in Frederica's eyes.

"Wouldn't surprise me any since you sold out your best friend to save your hide." She said, causing Snowe to give her his look of anger, "Anyway, from what I read from those old books, the elders in the Scarlet Moon council decided to do a little hunting, unfortunately the prey were other people." The look of disbelief on Snowe's face was an understandable one since she had the same look, "And they decided to set their sites on a village that was on the border of both Scarlet Moon and Kooluk empires. From what Sir Link has told me from some of the memories he received, this is where Graham Cray started his decent into the darkness. Cray used to live in that village with his son, just living the normal life. It wasn't until somehow the Rune found its way onto Graham's hand, and in order to avoid the same fate as those before him, he cut off his hand above the wrist. What happened next was beyond anybody's call, when the Rune moved onto the hand of his son's. When that happened, he made his son promise not to use it, no matter what." She said, although she could feel a little pity for the guy, it was his desire for the Rune that made think twice about questioning his character.

"I'm guessing this is where the 'where things go really bad' part starts.

Frederica could only nod at this before continuing, "A few days later was when the hunters showed up and started to kill people just for the fun of it. That was when the young Cray decided to use the Rune to try and protect his father and the village from harm, but at the cost of his own life. Cray was among the few villagers to survive the whole ordeal, and when word reached the Scarlet Moon king about the activities taking by his own council, he decided to reprimand them big time. As for the rest, well everybody else has there own little story to tell."

Snowe just nodded before library. When he was out the door, he couldn't help feel sorry for those whose lives were permanently changed whenever the Rune of Punishment showed itself. He looked across the hall to notice the door that led into the judged side of the confession room, so he decided to go inside and get some things off his chest.

When he walked in, he heard Keen give the usual greetings before he asked the usual questions. Right now he was hoping he didn't end up like Reinbach or Dario.

Would you secretly inform me about anyone on board this ship who you think is causing problems?

Igor. I've noticing him trying to use two-headed coin to win his games.

A slight 'I knew it' was heard before he started on the next question.

Then, would you tell me what you think of Link?

I think he is a good captain, a great swordsman, and an even better friend.

Now came the final question

Finally, quietly confess the things you wish to atone for, or all the things that you are thankful for.

I'm thankful for getting another chance in life, even though I probably don't deserve it. The person that I want to atone my actions to most of all, and I can't do it because my pride keeps getting in the way.

When he finished, he quickly closed his eyes, waiting for his sentence. When he felt something landing all over him, he opened his eyes to see a bright light with confetti floating down. "You might not realize this, but on this ship, the only thing we're about is giving people another chance to live." Could be heard from the other side, before Snowe left the room.

Snowe stood in the hall for a bit before spotting Aldo walking towards his direction, looking a little sweaty. "Where have you been?" He asked the tall archer out of the blue.

"Oh I was doing a little training to help clear out my mind." He answered back, before looking him in the eyes, "Maybe you should give it a little try." He said, before entering the library, only to be chewed out by Tanya.

It only took about a minute before Snowe decided to take his advice and headed towards the stairs at the other end.

I'll end it here, since I'm still working on new stories, updating current ones, and also trying to get all my characters mixed up in the story. Enjoy, Read & Review.