Fallen - Chapter 10
Black Mage Village: Thoughts
In the middle of the night, Kazi, or Mr. 288, stood before the graveyard. The moons were high over head, casting shadows as clearly as if they were suns. Unlike most nights, there was a cool breeze weaving through the village. The silent forest around them resounded with the songs of crickets. It was comfortable, like a mother cradling a sleeping child.
But Mr. 288 was anything but comfortable. He contemplated the young master's actions and thoughts of the little black mage the young master had with him.
Mr. 288 had to admit that he was surprised that young master had been kind to the one they had dubbed Vivi. Young master Zidane was against creation of artificial beings, swearing his eternal hatred against things not born of nature. But then again, Zidane was always the less harsh of the two. He played, more jokes than seriousness. He could swear hatred one day and act like he never meant those words the next day. He said he disliked the dolls but he treated them like family, like friends. In the old days, when they served in the desert, Zidane was the bright light that brought rare laughter in a dark palace of solemn emptiness.
Vivi, though lacking experience, reminded Kazi of Zidane when Zidane was young, though Vivi by nature seemed more morose and shy.
"Hello. Nice to see you again," said Mr. 288 without turning from the graveyard. Mr. 288 had lived a long time, and he could tell if anything was coming his way. He, however, did not live long enough to see Terra, the sorrowful world of graves and vengeful spirits.
Vivi peered at Mr. 288 from under his large hat. He clasped his hands, his thumbs twitching uncomfortably. There were so many thoughts in his head, about the strange concept of stopping. "Um... I wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?" asked Mr. 288, still staring at the graveyard.
"I was wondering," Vivi began fast then paused, not sure how to say the next few words. "How many people have ...stopped...moving."
Mr. 288 paused. He did not expect the little one to ask such a question. Most avoided questions with answers they knew they wouldn't like. Courage was something few had.
"You're very kind to use our words," replied Mr. 288 slowly. The Elder one used to say those words to the ones he deemed worthless. But the elder master had the weight of an entire world on him since birth. He had the right to judge so. "But you already know what it means to live...and to die. You're asking about our friends who have 'died,' not 'stopped.'" Death was a term given only to those with a soul.
Vivi seemed more nervous about the subject than him. "Um..."
Mr. 288 decided not to hesitate any more and gave Vivi the news. "The real answer to your question is Seven. Seven of our friends stopped functioning recently. I am certain that those without proper imbuing stop functioning after a year."
The little black mage seemed dismayed. "No..."
"Many others had realized this, but no one speaks of it," continued Mr. 288. Death was a frightening thing. Would there be pain? Would they be alone? Would they even be remembered? If Zidane accomplishes the request, all of the completed ones would be gone within a heart beat. Mr. 288 remembered the purification Zidane had performed. The dragon had screamed in despair, knowing that its existence had been wiped out from soul memory. It was the cruelest thing Zidane could have done. It was the only way to heal the Madness. Would Mr. 288 and his friends like Nima howl like that shadow dragon did when the time comes?
"What do you feel?" Vivi finally croaked.
Mr. 288 was honest in his answer. "I don't know... Fear? I don't want to die, no one does. And maybe...I want to run away from it all." A particular thought came to Mr. 288. If a child was left alone without anyone, why continue living? Then a revalation came to him. That child had intertwined his life with others, and in that he found the purpose in living. Mr. 288 felt the same as he continued speaking. "But living in the village with everyone fills me with joy. The joy of living with them far outweighs the fear of death. Isn't it the same for you?"
"I..." Vivi was at a loss for words.
"Traveling with your friends gives your life meaning. You should treasure those memories because they will define who you are." Mr. 288 turned to face Vivi. Mr. 288's eyes were dim, like a pair of dwindling candles. "You should get some sleep young one. It's late."
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The next day, Dagger woke up early. The sky was already brightening into a light purple. The Village was still rather quiet. No animal noises came from the surrounding forest and no sound of wind. The place was mournfully still and silent, except for Zidane's light snore.
Speaking of Zidane, Dagger checked on Zidane's injuries. She stepped slowly up the stepping stool and peeled back some blankets that covered the monkey boy. Her movements were tedious, slow, and deliberate, careful not to wake him. Once she saw the extent of the healing, her mind was at ease. Most of the cuts and bruises on his limbs had receded or disappear altogether. He mumbled a few incoherent words in his sleep, and even said "Dagger" a few times. Inexplicably, Dagger smiled about that. It was nice to have someone who dreamed about her. Then Dagger's face vaulted: what if Zidane was dreaming about inappropriate things? He was a scoundrel and a thief who probably had done everything and anything under the two moons short of actual murder. Who knew where he had been?
Shaking her head at that line of thought, Dagger descended the short stepping stool and snuck out to explore. She wanted to ask some more questions about silver dragons. From yesterday's conversations, there seems to be a whole flock of these so-called 'tamed' dragons. Dagger was not sure if Kuja had only one dragon that he used or an entire nest of these creatures.
This time, the mages were much more willing to answer her.
"If you really want to find silver dragons, I say you go find the Iifa Tree," one of the shopkeeping mages had said to her.
Dagger nodded in acknowledgment. "I heard of it before, but where is it?"
"It's in a desert northwest of here, past the Harrow Straight. There's a root path that bridges the straight from Conde Petite."
"That's very helpful. Thank you," Dagger was about to turn away, but something tugged at her. She had asked this same mage the same question yesterday with no avail. "Why...did you seem..." Dagger searched mentally for the right words. "So hesitant to speak to me yesterday?"
The shopkeeper's yellow eyes bore into her. "Because you're a Summoner."
Dagger frowned. They could tell what she could do just by a glance? But she did not summon until that fight with the dragon last night! "What do you mean Summoner? How can you tell?"
The mage stared at her, unblinking. "That bad lady uses summon magic. We can tell who the magic types are by looking at them. We thought you were bad too."
So the mages could tell what she was just at a glance. That was certainly interesting. They classify good and bad by magic? "Why did you decide to answer my questions now?" asked Dagger out of curiosity.
"You helped Mister Zidane," said the Black Mage, his round yellow eyes shrinking into merry crescent moons. "You care for him and you were as brave as he."
"Oh," was all Dagger could utter in reply. Zidane was well-liked on the Outer Continent, it seems. It was almost like he was the more famous person on Gaia, since people recognized him wherever he went, but Princess Garnet was only distinguished on the Mist continent. That realization put many things into perspectives for her. Now she envied Zidane more than ever. Free and loved without all the burdensome responsibilities.
So why did he come here with me?
Zidane had once told her that his philosophy in life was "you don't need a reason to help people." He saw that she needed help with Lindblum so he decided to pitch in, no question asked. So he was here on simple whim? That could not be it, could it? No, Zidane was here to see his brother, but Dagger detected little urgency at all, if not a little reluctance. Dagger bet that's how normal siblings behaved; she knew intimately the concept of brotherly hate from several of Lord Avon's plays.
With those thoughts in mind, Dagger went back to the small hostel and roused the drowsy monkey boy. She tersely told him that she knew where they'd be going next, then left to do some preparation shopping.
Zidane rubbed his eyes with the butt of his hand and patted his own cheeks.
'Wake up. Wake up.' he chanted to himself like some holy mantra. 'For those who sleep so deeply may never see the dawn of destruction. Wait! Wrong phrase. The early bird gets the worm! The early bird gets the worm!'
Once he found himself chanting the correct motivational phrase, he rolled over, expecting to land on his feet as usual.
Instead, he half fell down the stepping stool Dagger had been using to check up on him. Almost like a wheel, he spun so that his feet still landed along with his butt and not his head.
The innkeeper Black Mage glanced in his direction and bit back what sounded like...laughter?
Zidane narrowed his eyes and made a face at the jubilant mage. Unexpectedly, Zidane snarled like an angry hound and emitted guttural speech that sounded like a curse to the Black Mage.
The Black Mage shrank back, more ashamed at its own bad manners than alarmed.
Grumbling to himself and still waking up, Zidane shuffled around to gather their packs. In actuality, he was still reeling from that little fight with the dragon.
It was rare to have some collective minds communicate with him again. The effort to separate his own thoughts from the shadow dragons' thoughts had left him slightly disoriented, though more at ease than ever. It reminded him of a time when he could have several simultaneous conversations, and he felt more engaged than anything, even if it was with animals.
But there was that burst of agony when he decided to purify the one Mad creature. More than a dozen lives played themselves out within a matter of seconds, weaving a shroud of all its pain and pleasure that blanketed all life nearby with Zidane taking the first shock to buffer the shocks to those around him.
All in all, the whole thing was fairly dreamlike. It felt a bit like drowning. His heart pounded, his entire body gone cold, and his head about to implode on itself. Time seemed to dilate, turning mere seconds into hours of flashing images, like the proverbial "life flashing before your eyes." Luckily, there was only one creature, and he had taken the brunt of the memory release. He had seen some bad reactions, like that eccentric artist who was too close to a Purification a long time ago. The artist had gouged out his own eyes because of the horrible memories that ruthlessly assaulted his mind.
He had thought about telling someone, like Kazi or Dagger about the experience, but decided on second thought that silence was golden. It was not like anyone could actually relate to what he had done. Those who could glimpse even a tendril of what he had experienced were either dead or Kuja. And Zidane was sure as hell that Kuja was not in the mood to listen to Zidane prattle. Mister ol' Dark Messenger might be Mad, a condition that should drive even the fiercest warrior screaming for shelter.
Picking up a spare tent that was stowed away in a closet, Zidane paused, thinking. There was no way that Kuja went Mad. Kuja was too disciplined, too arrogant to allow some inferior souls to overwhelm him. Kuja would kill himself before such indignity happens. Did he have some ulterior motive? Why did he revive both the white and black dragons? Zidane's affinity was for the shadow dragons and knew that he could still command them if he wanted. Besides, why would Kuja trick Brahne? Laying Burmecia, Cleyra and Lindblum to waste seemed too elaborate for a simple takeover, not when Kuja could have easily accomplish the same thing by brute magic.
Unless he wants souls...or just lazy...no. It's efficiency. Remember! He's a Terran Prince!
The thought made Zidane pout. No matter how far away from home they was or how much time passed, their rigorous teachings would always stay with them. Zidane had to remind himself that both Kuja and himself were taught to be living machines, computers that approached goals in logical steps, capable of optimizing thousands of variables in an eye-blink analysis. Only the greatest scholars could match their tactical logistics.
Maybe Zidane should have left Dagger and Vivi in the first place. He was getting nowhere fast traveling with them. In fact, he was certain that he was being watched at all times, stepping into every single trap laid by all sides. But the thought of leaving Dagger made him feel...out of place. There was just something about Dagger that made him grin like a fool when no one was watching. The idea of her alone without help tore at his heart.
Finally finished packing, Zidane swung the bags onto his back. For now, he would follow Dagger. His mental calculations did guarantee another face to face meeting with Kuja. Perhaps that was the best marriage of his two goals: protecting Dagger and facing Kuja.
There were very few people out at the small welcoming square at the entrance of the village. Zidane parked himself on a bench and yawned. He was still a bit tired from last night and wouldn't mind a few more hours of sleep. He then saw Dagger pacing up to him with a black mage next to her.
"What's up, Dagger?" greeted Zidane, putting a bit too much cheer into his voice.
Dagger and this one particular black mage were chattering fervently about this Sanctuary called the Iifa Tree. From the looks of it, Dagger seems to be getting some excellent instructions on the tree's location.
"I think this 'Kuja' said something about a secret being hidden on this continent," said Mr. 144 with all seriousness once he started addressing the two humans.
Zidane paused. There were many secrets on the Outer Continent. "You heard him say that?"
"Yeah, Something about the source of the Mist."
Zidane immediately frowned. The origin of the Mist! That was one of their best-kept secrets! Why would Kuja let anyone know about that? How much do they know?
"Maybe we can find out more if we go there," Dagger proposed to Zidane. "And maybe save my mother."
Her words seemed to stab Zidane as he looked away. "Right..."
His reaction did not escape Dagger. Since yesterday, Dagger had decided to keep a closer eye on their fearless leader. Something was not right about him and she was just starting to notice. He would stare off into the distance, like his mind was elsewhere. More and more, his eyes flashed red at odd times. Dagger did not feel threatened, but seeing the subtle change was still disconcerting all the same.
"So...where's Vivi?" asked Zidane absently. "If Vivi says he's staying behind..."
Speaking of the their little black mage, Vivi came lumbering and huffing toward them, "Wait for me!"
"Vivi?"
Vivi's two glowing yellow eyes blinked from panting as he stopped to speak. A few proud-looking Black Mages watched from behind him, waving amiably. "Everyone in the village asked me to see the outside world and tell them all about it."
"I see."
Zidane chuckled. "Oh man!" he sounded just slightly disappointed. "And here I thought Dagger and I would get to spend some quality time together."
Dagger frowned and was about to retort when their eccentric Qu almost knocked her over.
"What you say!?" it huffed a wonderful morning breath that smelled like a dead swamp. "You no can leave me here! I starve!"
"No you won't!" Zidane disagreed. "You're a cook!"
Dagger just rolled her eyes, deciding to take leadership role. If they left it up to Zidane, they'd never get outta here. "Let's go, everyone! To Conde Petite! And to the Sanctuary that lies beyond!"
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Corpulent Queen Brahne stirred as lightly as she could manage in her oversized bed. She snored like a drunk pig, drifting in and out of sleep. She kept on shifting her rippling middle for a more comfortable position. The beds in Lindblum were far too soft to support her massive stature, and two beds had already buckled before she settled into them.
She dreamed, imagining the entire planet under her control. The wealth of knowledge both academic and arcane under her own fingertips. A military above the imagination of any mortal. Alexandria bustling and hustling with extraordinary economy. Her enemies, imagined or real, all bowing down to her, begging for mercy. And the legacy she would leave to her beloved though misguided daughter.
Garnet...she was a necessary sacrifice for the good of Alexandria. Never would her kingdom be threatened. But somewhere there was a chuckle. A monster in deep crimson towered over Castle Alexandria, destroying the sparkling city with horrible hellfire. The feeling of euphoria from the monster was nauseating, like indulging in too much sweet liquor. The beast roared in the weirding ways, sounding more like a chorus of chuckles. It hunted the fleeing citizens, sinking its teeth on the vulnerable flesh then gorging itself on human blood and suffering.
Brahne was jerked awake when she suddenly realized that the chuckle was coming from a spot only a few feet away from her.
"Quite an imagination you have there, Brahne," the figure said, still laughing in that condescending chortle of his.
Brahne struggled to get out of bed. She achieved a semblance of half lying down and half sitting, enough to allow her a clear view of the figure that sat cross-legged in a plush lavish chair. His arms were crossed, calm dark blue eyes intent on her.
"Kuja!" Brahne hissed, her blue face swelling darker into an ugly sore. "Guards!" she hollered with her thunderous voice. "GUARDS!"
Kuja flicked his hair, patiently waiting for the elephant lady to cease her yowling.
The rolls of fat quivered in anger. Her constant requests for one of her soldiers ended only in vain. It was almost as if there was no one else in the pregnant bowels of the Lindblum Grand Castle. Watching Kuja twiddle one of his feathers at his hairline, bored, only enraged the ponderous queen.
"The one guard is having an eternal nap," said Kuja almost amiably. A knife suddenly appeared a small space in front of his eyes, glistening with warm red blood. "And there are no more to come." As if to demostrate his point, the knife was swallowed into the palm of his hand.
"And why is that? Oh so ingenious Lord Kings?" Brahne spat. The Kings family was home to the traditional generals and officers of the Alexandrian military. Even that one fluke, with the child general, the girl Marlene, had the advice of the Kings'. The most recent general, Beatrix, was hand selected by a Kings. Alexandria, a militaristic weaker kingdom of high culture and decent wealth survived through the ages of conflict with its two other neighbors because of the tactical planning by the current Kings of that era. However, in the years of plotting, Brahne learned the true secret to their genius.
Kuja was and always had been Lord Kings.
How he lived through the centuries was a mystery. A study into the Kings family records revealed some aging, but only from a child to adult. There were no old decrepit men in their dusk years.
Eternal life. Brahne swore that she would steal that secret too, as soon as she took over Gaia. The Alexandrian royal family would no longer be a puppet of anyone.
Kuja watched her with those dark eyes of his, like a pit to hell in the midst of white marble. If he was younger, he would have found her ambition and thoughts amusing. He would have enjoyed playing her like an ornate wooden marionette and breaking her like an expensive gaudy china bowl. Now, he wondered why he bothered in the first place. Not when the sweetest rapture and bitterest misery all tasted like stale indifference.
Was he going Mad? He was not sure of his own sanity at times, but he knew he was not being overwhelmed by souls.
Or was he really going mad in the traditional sense of bedlams and asylums?
Would he be actually amused for real?
"Even when you exhausted so many of my dolls, you still overtaxed your soldiers," Kuja pointed out in a lecturing tone, distracting himself from a downward spiraling logic. Thinking was what he was bred and trained for. He sought solace in progressive thought patterns. "There are about five-hundred Lindblians to one Alexandrian. The number of citizenry on the verge of open revolt against disgruntled Alexandrian soldiers is at least five-thousand to one. The numbers are very much against you, your Majesty."
"Then I will destroy them," said Brahne. "Kill all those who dare dissent, break their factories and homes."
"That would be unwise. Lindblum is no use to you in ruins. You need its educated citizens to run the existing machinery that builds Lindblum's superior navy and airships." Kuja stood up, revealing his own tall and lanky frame. His seraphic features only reminded Brahne of her own gross obesity. "You do want a stronger army, correct?"
Slowly, Kuja paced over to the window and opened the curtains. The night air was intermingled with the roar of fire, the anger of the mob, and the surge of magic. Here, high above all the disorder of the metropolis below, even chaos rose into the heavens.
"You are not my personal advisor anymore," Brahne reminded Kuja. "I don't have to listen to you."
Kuja turned suddenly, his whispering robes and hair flowing with an otherworldly grace. "I'm not here to advise you. I was simply stating the facts that Beatrix had been spewing to your face since you decided to take Lindblum. I am merely an observer."
"An observer who is lord everywhere else!" spat Queen Brahne.
"I never said that. A lord implies power and rule. I don't necessarily rule the other three continents per se."
"Bullshit!" Brahne spat. "I need to look no further than your personal endowments and patronage. I know you sponsor the libraries of Daugerreo, bribed Esto Gazians to keep the treasures of that dormant volcano to yourself. Even the underground admits that Outer Continent is solely yours."
The man shrugged, an action that seemed out of place with his expressionless face. "I rule over no living thing. I keep no active force to oppose you, at least no soldiers that you can recognize."
"Then are you here to concede?" leered Brahne. Ideas of how to torture this pesky ex-advisor played themselves over and over in her head. She would first see if he was a man, so to speak. And if he was, then she would make sure he wasn't anymore. "Are you giving up Outer Continent to me?"
Kuja chuckled in that self-same supercilious laughter, his lips never moved. "Even if I did, there's nothing valuable on the Outer Continent unless you want dim-witted dwarves, a library full of gibberish, and a few bad memories."
"Then why did you take this special trip? Hum? I heard you ran out your little hole out there with tail in between your legs ever since I demonstrated my proficiency with this!" Brahne thrusted out a black stone of liquid darkness. In that space of time, twelve knights appeared in the room, each carrying a long sword, drawn.
The mage looked slightly perturbed, but was otherwise unalarmed. Instead, he showed an emotion that Brahne had never seen before.
Anger.
"I don't need guards, when I have this," hissed Brahne triumphantly, thrusting her summoning stone. "I can kill you right now."
Kuja shrugged, his expression turning to his typical pleasant neutral facade though his eyes started to flash between burning deep red and cool dark blue. He paced over to a small table where a silver pitcher of water sat and poured himself a glass of water. He even lightly shoved the knights aside.
Brahne was not about to kill him, not without witnesses to Kuja's glorious death and to her awesome powers.
"Your Majesty," Kuja began, turning to her. His entire form flashed into that terrible red once like her dream then back to his innocuous white. "You will never comprehend the absurdity of your threats to me."
"You dare mock me!?"
"No. I am not that rude. As before, I am merely stating a fact," he said smoothly. "The only person who may even stand a whisper of a chance of killing me is my younger brother. All your soldiers combined can never match him."
"He can summon eidolons?"
"No. He can BE an eidolon." Kuja looked to the queen again, eyeing her disbelief. "Like me, he is intelligent and has as much raw power as I have raw magic. If the Ancient Summoners only knew...they might've not been obliterated."
"Then where is this possible eidolon? huh?" Brahne said in a velvety smooth voice.
"That rat is coincidentally on the Outer Continent too, with your wayward daughter."
Brahne's eyes widened into plates, which were quickly overshadowed by furrowed eyebrows. "It's that damn thief! Your damn brother is that thief who corrupted and stole away my beautiful Garnet!"
"Then you must go get her back," said Kuja, draining the cup of water. The very faint trace of that anger completely vanished. "I've left a map with your second-in-command, with very specific details as to where we'll be at the appointed time. I shall await your magnificent arrival at the Outer Continent."
"It'll be a slaughter," Brahne growled with assurance. "I WILL have the Outer Continent!"
"I will roll out the red carpet. If it is truly a slaughter..." he laughed mysteriously again, like the chilling hackling of a ravenous wolf pack. "I can ask for no greater reward."
The Queen of Alexandria only glared at him.
"Your Majesty." With that, Kuja mockingly bowed, satisfied. He had gotten what he came here for. He only had preparations to finish in the Outer Continent. As he arose from his mock servitude, he realized that he had one more bit of theatrics to perform. Before turning to leave, a slight aura enveloped him, and he shimmered out of existence, displacing himself a meter and reappearing inches from Brahne's face. His black blue eyes burned with icy fire.
Brahne shivered and gasped. Even the man's breath was cold.
"Remember. I shall be waiting...Hahaha" Laughing again in that chorus of bestial laughter like a lion playing with mice. He faded this time and disappeared.
Brahne was alone now, seething. She would enjoy stripping all legal rights of Lord Kings, even if she knew she could not enforce such a blatant denouncement of the most respected Noble Family. Then she would finally capture Kuja and his brother. She would enjoy another advance in her plan of world domination.
She would relish tearing them into pieces.
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AN: Whew...Kuja made an entrance! I am OVERJOYED! I hope he's in character.