A/N:

Now we're getting into the realm of the somewhat obscure here. In the game, in the library in Daath, one of the books has a list of the God-Generals. You know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and…Cantabile? Who the heck is Cantabile? It seems that there was intended to be another God-General in the game, who was for some reason cut out. From online research, I found out that she was intended to be a swordswoman, and a survivor of Hod, and one site suggested she helped Legretta train Tear. If the game isn't going to provide me with a responsible explanation as to why she never showed up, I'll entertain my own theories. If you're interested in seeing what she was supposed to look like, let me know. I have a link to the website with her picture, but the link won't show up on this site.

Chapter 11

"Before we head to Keterburg, I think we should stop in Daath first." Saphir leaned back against the leather armrest of the Albiore IV's seat, his legs up over the other arm.

Jade shook his head. "Why? We haven't much time."

"I think it's worth our while to make time. This entire situation with your new friend Lẽtum got me thinking about something. Or rather, someone. She's in Daath and she may, if she's willing, be able to shed some light on the subject."

"Is she a scholar?"

"Not exactly." Saphir hedged. "Truth is, we always viewed her as a raving lunatic. Tear knows her."

"I do?" Tear sounded puzzled. "From where?"

"She lived on Hod, and ended up in Yulia City with your brother when everything went to hell."

"You're talking about Cantabile, aren't you? But she's dead."

"Of course she's not dead. Would I be asking you to go to Daath to have a chat with a dead woman?" Saphir was annoyed. "Well, to be fair it's been a few years since I've seen her. She might have died in the interim."

Jade waved that aside. "Who is this Cantabile?"

Saphir smirked, pleased to know something Jade did not. "She was a God-General."

Everyone stared at him.

"But there were only six God-Generals." Natalia felt the need to point out.

"Oh good, you can count. I had wondered. There were never more than six of us at a time. When Cantabile had to be…replaced, we simply moved Arietta into her vacant spot."

"She was Legretta's friend. They trained me together until I was twelve, and then she went to Daath. I never saw her again." Tear remembered. "She was always kind to me, but eccentric. Deeply religious, but she had her own god."

"Cantabile was ten when Daath was destroyed. She was about to die as well when her god, one she never named, spoke in her head and gave her directions on how to get to safety, or so she always said. She followed those directions and was found near Van and his mother in the aftermath. She was a brilliant fighter; one of the best with a swordswomen I'd ever seen. However, her true gifts were her Fonic abilities. She could do things no one else could, although she demonstrated that rarely.

"She wasn't at all shy about her private god, and would stop in the middle of whatever she was doing to chat with him or ask him for advice. That's why most of us thought she was insane."

"So what exactly happened to this Cantabile?" Guy was intrigued.

"Well, in spite of her…tendencies she was actually well-liked. Until, of course, she murdered Ion."

That made them all stare at him again. "The original Ion. Well, I don't know that for a fact. He died of an illness no one recognized or could treat, but she claimed responsibility after he had perished. She was very free with that information: she said that her god had told her to, that Ion was a wicked child that needed to be stricken from the world. Well, he was horrid, I'll give her that." Saphir shrugged. "I certainly didn't miss the little beast, but I was in the minority on that. She would have naturally been put to death for her crimes, but she was judged insane, her slots were sealed, and she was locked away in Daath. This was about four years ago, give or take."

"I never knew." Tear said softly. "I never knew any of this."

"Well, it wasn't as if we were going to put up posters announcing it. We did have a reputation to maintain, you know."

"Of course." Jade nodded. "It wouldn't do to have people thinking you lot were insane."

"Oh, be quiet. You've missed my point entirely. Cantabile might well have been insane. Or, she might well have been an 8th Fonist, and her 'god' is Lẽtum."

"It makes sense." Anise was sitting on the floor of the plane with her legs folded, the ever-present Florian at her side. Jade was beginning to wonder if those two even separated to bathe at this point. Young love was so…all-consuming. Anise never did anything with half a heart, after all. Florian, who was sweet and amiable, and would have done anything for her, simply followed in her wake. It was rather touching, even if he found them a little silly at the moment. "I met her a few times, and she was really out there. She always gave me the creeps."

"You? Our fearless Anise?"

"I was a kid, Jade." She put her hands on her hips and glared. "Even a kid can sense when there's something off about someone."

"Fine, we'll head to Daath and see if we can't get an audience with this Cantabile. I believe it may turn out to be a waste of time. Lẽtum seemed to indicate I was the first in an age to actually utilize his powers."

Vilo had been sitting in the back of the cockpit with Willy, pretending to study but really taking in the conversation around him. "Dad's just jealous." He finally remarked casually. "He wanted to be the only one Lẽtum loves."

"That's not funny."

"He's absolutely right, Vilo. That's not funny." Saphir paused. "It's hilarious."

"I hardly think it's appropriate for you to encourage disrespect toward his father." Natalia couldn't keep silent any longer.

Saphir desperately wanted to retort back "You're hardly an expert on the matter: you killed yours!" He then had a brief mental image of the girl running to the back of the ship in hysterics, everyone glaring at him like he was the scum of the world, and Jade hanging him from the helm by his toenails. Perhaps that was a bit harsh, after all. From the way Jade was looking at him, he had the sense his lover knew exactly what he was thinking.

"He doesn't need my encouragement. Vilo is perfectly capable of being disrespectful entirely on his own." He snapped instead. "He's highly gifted, you know."

"It's alright, Natalia." Jade tried to settle the situation. "They're just teasing. They both know the consequences of taking it too far." He gave them a toothy smile. "I tease back, and I'm far more accomplished at it."

"Jade, may I speak with you in private please?" Natalia asked.

"Certainly. If you'll excuse us…"

He led the girl back into the hold of the ship and closed the door behind them. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to overstep my bounds here, and perhaps it's none of my business, but are you sure that…well, it just seems….Vilo is at such an impressionable age, after all…"

"If I've lost my mind?"

Natalia blushed. "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's quite alright. Had anyone told me two years ago that not only would I have a son, but that I would entrust the bulk of his care to a robot and Dist the Runny, I would have probably impaled them on the spot. You're not the first person to question my judgment on the issue and you won't be the last."

Jade tried to think of the best way to explain. With Natalia, as fond as he was of her, it wouldn't do to get overly complicated. "Vilo never met Dist the Reaper. The only one he's ever known is Saphir, and Saphir is the one who immediately befriended him, the one who is taking the time to teach him Fontech, the one who built him his own robot. Vilo is a child: he has a different view of right and wrong than an adult would. He knows that Saphir was a criminal, but in his mind that's ancient history and has no bearing on the present."

She still didn't look convinced. "You loved Asch. You knew the things he'd done in his life, and you made the decision to love him in spite of them. One of the hardest lessons I have ever had to learn is that love is never logical. Besides, I really don't think I could have handled any of this on my own, as much as it pains me to admit that."

"Perhaps you should consider getting married. It might be good for Vilo to have a mother around to keep after him."

Jade coughed. "Natalia… you are aware of my…relationship with Saphir, correct?"

"Of course. He lives with you as your servant. Why?"

With anyone else he would have assumed they were teasing him. How was it possible she didn't know? Everyone knew; people who had no business knowing knew. "We're together, Natalia. We're lovers."

She stared at him. "But…that's not possible."

"I can assure you it is." He was perversely enjoying this, he realized. "It just requires a bit of imagination."

"But you…him…"

"He can actually be very sweet when he chooses to be. In fact, just the other night…"

"Please. I don't…" She looked a little pale. "I'm going to go back out with the others now."

"Excellent idea. I'll join you. We should be almost at Daath by now."

*************************************

Trithem had considered their request for nearly two hours before finally sending word to the inn that he would allow them to interview the imprisoned ex-God General, but he was firm on his conditions. "Only three of you. We don't believe she's a danger to anyone at this point, but it's better not to take chances. She has her good and bad days; if she's having a bad one you won't get two words out of her."

Jade, Saphir, and Natalia followed the young Oracle knight down the twisted, maze-like hallways of the cathedral, up and down staircases and through too many doors to count until they reached the prison area of Daath. Or, as Saphir thought looking around, the dungeon. The walls seeped liquid and there was a general odor of death and decay in air, of thick dust and an underlying stench of unwashed bodies and vomit. The overhead lights only emphasized the bleakness and did nothing to dispel it. Compared to this place, the prison in Grand Chokmah seemed palatial.

The guard finally stopped before a cell-door. "You'll have to speak with her through the bars."

Only Jade's eyes were good enough to make out the small figure huddled on the prison cot, a spill of tangled, greasy black hair falling past her shoulders, her knees drawn up to her chest. She appeared to be rocking herself, and he could hear a faint humming.

"Cantabile?" Tear called out softly. "Is it really you?"

At first there was no response, and then slowly the young woman turned her head in their direction, and Jade felt his breakfast rise up in his throat. The woman's eyelids were scarred and sunken down into her skull, nothing behind them any longer to flesh them out. Her teeth were broken and jagged, and the smell emanating from her was so strong he had to take a step back.

Beside him, Saphir was pale. "She was beautiful." No one heard him but Jade. "This can't possibly be her."

"Mysterica…" The creature spoke, and they all jumped. She climbed off of the cot and walked blindly to the bars, and extended her hand through them. The fingers were almost as jagged as her teeth; obviously broken multiple times over the years, and her nails were long, black, and caked with filth.

Tear seemed to come to at that. Reaching forward, she grabbed the twisted hand in her own. "I'm here, Cantabile."

Cantabile's fingers squeezed hers back. "How old are you now?"

"Eighteen."

"Then it's been four years. I wondered sometimes. I lost count a long time ago."

"What happened to you?" Tear was blinking rapidly.

"He lied to me." She hung her head, the matted hair hanging down over her face. A lank fell into her mouth and she spat it back out. "He lied."

"Who lied?"

"God lied. He lied to me. He told me it would be alright. He said that if I killed the boy, they'd recognize my powers, who and what I was. That I'd have whatever I desired." Her voice cracked. "It was all lies."

"Cantabile." Saphir spoke for the first time. "Do you know me?"

"Dist…" She smiled, and for some reason it just made her more hideous.

"We need to ask you about this god of yours."

"He can't speak to me since they sealed my Fon slots, but he tries. I can feel him. It's like being in a locked room and listening to someone rattle the doorknob. He's here now, listening."

"Is it Lẽtum? Is that your god?"

The woman pulled her hand away from Tear and walked back to her cot, the prison uniform they'd given her hanging from her body. "I called him Father. I asked him what I should call him, and he told me Father. He told me that I was born to him and of him, and that I belonged to him."

Jade raised an eyebrow. "Exactly what he told me. 'Father' certainly isn't scoring any points for originality."

"So it is Lẽtum, then." Saphir sighed. "I was hoping I was wrong about this."

"Cantabile." Jade called out, and her head turned again.

"My name is Jade Curtiss. Can you tell me anything else about your god? Where he lives, anything at all?"

She drew her knees up to her chest again and resumed rocking. "He was afraid of Lorelei. He doesn't like the others, but he was afraid of Lorelei. He didn't like 7th Fonists at all. I know why he lied to me, why he betrayed me. I couldn't do what he asked."

"What was that?" Tear asked, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was crying now.

"I couldn't kill you. He wanted me to go back to Yulia City and kill you, and the other 7th Fonists, like I killed Ion. But I couldn't. I could have killed the others, Tear. Not you, never you. I defied him, and he had me punished."

"I have to go now." Tear swallowed. "But I'm going to come back to see you. I'm going to try and find a way to get you out of here."

"No…I don't want to leave. It's nice in here. They don't ask me to do anything."

The odd humming started up again, and something went blank on the woman's face. Jade sensed they'd learned all they could from her, at least today.

"I need to get out of here. Please." Tear was shaking her head. "I need to get out of here right now."

To Jade's surprise, Saphir reached over briefly and touched the girl on the arm. "When this is over, we'll find a way to help her."

"I suppose…she was your friend too, wasn't she?"

"I never thought of her like that, but…she was never unkind to me, and I never wished her any harm. She had unlimited potential. None of this is her fault. Lẽtum did this to her, all of it." His voice broke with anger. "He lied to her and used her, and I swear I'm going to find a way to track him down and make him pay for this."

"Saphir, you made the fon slot seal Largo used on me, didn't you?" Jade asked as they followed the knight back out of the bowels of Daath.

"Naturally."

"Could you make a modified one? One that just seals the 8th Fonon, while leaving the others in tact?"

"I don't see why not. Are you sure you want to do that?"

"I'm still trying to make up my mind on that, actually. There's a large part of me that wants to do it at once, to prevent him from ever contacting me again. There's another part of me that feels it's better to keep the lines of communication open in case he does decide to send us his address. What I'd like do to is have you create the seal and hold on to it, using it if it becomes necessary."

"You're thinking he's going to go after your son, aren't you?" Tear glanced over at Jade now, worry making her look older than her years.

"You heard Cantabile. He hates 7th Fonists. I don't know the extent of his abilities; I don't know if he can merely speak to me through the fon slot, or if he might actually be able to control me through it. My thoughts are on the former, because if he could have forced Cantabile to eliminate all of the 7th's I believe he would have done so."

They were almost at the surface. "There's another part of me that almost thinks I should send you both away, Saphir. That I should have you take the boy and vanish, somewhere I don't know about, at least until this all passes over."

"Don't be stupid. You know very well we'd never agree to that, it would just lead to a fight, which you would lose. If you try it, I promise you I will immediately revert to my old self and turn Vilo into my accomplice. Don't think I won't."

In spite of everything going on, of the horror they'd seen down below today, Tear laughed. The reserve she'd always shown around Saphir seemed to vanish. "I have a feeling Vilo would love it."

"Look, about Cantabile. I have it on good authority that Trithem had some strong feelings for her at one time. He never acted on them due to the difference in their ages, but he cared for her. You might want to appeal to him to have her moved someone else, somewhere she can be better cared for. That poor girl isn't a threat to anyone at the moment."

The room underneath them suddenly rocked violently, and Tear fell to the floor. Jade went down on one knee, and Saphir found himself flung into the wall. The tremor stopped as quickly as it started, leaving them all (as well as their young escort) to stare at each other in confirmation that they hadn't imagined the entire thing.

//I could level it, Necromancer.//

Jade's head came up.

"I'm sure you could. May I ask the reason for this little display?"

//A warning. You've seen what happens to my children who displease me.//

"No dessert?"

The fortress shook again, even more violently this time.

//Go to Keterburg, Necromancer. We'll speak again there.//

"Jade…" Saphir pulled himself together. "What's going on?"

"He seems to be a bit put out that we spoke with Cantabile, that's all. This was just to get our attention. I believe we've accomplished all we can here. Come on, if we hurry we can get to Keterburg before Nephry's cook retires for the evening."