The Kingdom of Etro
A/N: And the next chapter is up! As romance is not my strong suit, expect some character OOCness.
For those of you who left unsigned reviews, see my replies below:
MasterPr0 – Thanks for the review. ^^ Yep, I can understand your concern there. Fear not, Cocoon and Gran Pulse have not been forgotten. I do address it a bit in this chapter, but more will come in the coming chapters. As for Ragnarok, well... I believe some things will be answered in this chapter... XD
tlrc – Thanks for the review! ^^ I'm glad you liked that chapter. :) I wish I could post faster, but my real life schedule does not allow for that yet. Though, if you're ever bored during the wait, you're more than welcome to check out my other stories if you haven't done so already. ;)
thunder1514 – Thanks for the review. ^^ I think a lot of times, it's easy to forget that Lightning and Fang are human. I've read a lot of fanfiction in my years, and most of the time, we don't get to see the more tender moments between these two leading ladies. I wanted to capture that, if only for a snippet of time. I'm glad it worked out well. :)
Disclaimer: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them.
*** ~ Chapter 13: Guardians and Eidolons ~ ***
They had been walking for hours, the relentless sun beating down on them the whole time.
"Are we there yet?"
A sigh.
"Fang."
"What?"
With Lightning now awake and her strength returned, it was time to head to their next destination. Amodar woke them all at the first light of dawn, and after having a quick breakfast, they were off.
"Didn't you just ask that a minute ago?"
"Yeah, so? I'm askin' again."
Another sigh.
"Is she always like this?"
"You have no idea."
Five days had passed since Caius Ballad's attack on Cocoon's Imperial Palace, the attack wounding both Fang and Lightning, scattering the rest of their party. Only by the skin of their teeth did they escape, Lightning almost not making it. But, by the grace of the Goddess Etro, the Primarch, Claire "Lightning" Farron, Oerba Dia Vanille and Oerba Yun Fang still lived. And it was all in thanks to the Wanderer Amodar.
"Claaaaaaaaaire..."
A pink eyebrow twitched.
"Caaaaarrrrrry meeee..."
Blue eyes narrowed.
"Excuse me?"
Vanille couldn't but giggle at her sister's over dramatic theatrics. It was nice seeing Fang back to her regular, obnoxious self. The last couple of days had been trying on everyone, but even so, much to Vanille's relief, the bond between her sister and eldest Farron only grew stronger. Both of them were very cautious around each other at first, Lightning especially as the pinkette still felt uncomfortable with the revelation of her true identity. Bit by bit though, Fang helped the pinkette past that discomfort, opening up the soldier without her realizing. How Fang managed to get away with calling the Primarch's sister by her given name without dying by gunblade, was a miracle in itself. Vanille however, chose not to tempt fate and called the older Farron by her chosen name, that being Lightning.
Serah Farron, who had been walking beside the Vanille at this current moment, leaned over and whispered to her. "Is she serious?" the pinkette asked, eyeing the other Pulsian. To see Oerba Yun Fang acting like this... very much child-like... was quite the shock for the Cocoon Primarch. After all, just days ago, Fang looked ready to ring her neck. Literally.
Vanille giggled again. "Yep!" the redhead replied in her usual bubbly tone. "She acts all mean on the outside, but she's really a softie on the inside."
"C'mon Claaaaaaaaire!" Fang drawled again, pleading as she trudged behind the eldest Farron. The Wanderer led the group of them, walking just a few feet ahead of them as a scout.
"No."
"Pleeeeeease?"
"No."
"C'mooooooon!"
"What part of 'No' don't you understand?"
Vanille supposed the most recent contact with those still inside of Cocoon also played a part in this relaxed and happy atmosphere. Just a day prior, the Primarch intercepted a message from Advisor Katzroy on an emergency Cocoon communications channel. Vanille was preparing dinner with Amodar at the time when the Primarch rushed inside, her communications gauntlet glowing orange.
Despite the patchy signal and at times broken connection, everyone was relieved to learn of Sazh's survival, and that of the others including Advisor Bartholomew, Captain Villiers and his two lieutenants, and Kamau Gadot and Kamau Lebreau. Caius was barraging Cocoon in an all out assault with his Undying Army, causalities running high. But the people of Cocoon were no push overs. They promised to hold their ground and protect the mountain kingdom for as long as they could, giving their Primarch what would hopefully be the time she needed to assemble reinforcements.
"Purty pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" Fang continued to beg. As she wasn't getting the results she wanted, the Pulsian had now resorted to mimicking Vanille's puppy dog look, something which she wasn't doing too badly at the redhead noticed.
"Do I look like a personal hover carrier to you?" Lightning grumbled, clearly annoyed. "No means no."
"Purty, purty pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"
"Maker help me." Lightning's hand went up to her face and she sighed again.
With barely restrained laughter, the Primarch smiled as the scene unravelled ahead of her. This was just too funny. Who would have thought Oerba Yun Fang could look so adorable, begging like that?
"Etro," Serah said, giggles threatening to break loose again. "I think Sis may have just met her match."
"Claaaaaaaaaire..."
"I swear to the Maker, Fang, if you don't stop your incessant whining right now, I'll-"
"Carry me?" Fang finished for her, hopeful. At the Pulsian's excited look, Serah burst out laughing, holding her stomach.
Vanille laughed too, but her giggles soon faded and her jovial expression quickly scrunched into a frown. The conversation she had had with the Wanderer days ago came to her mind again, a recent thing which kept playing over and over inside of her head like a broken datalogue. It always caught her at the worse moments, completely off guard, like now.
"Amodar," Vanille said, a slight tremble to her voice. "What do you know about Ragnarok?"
~ Three days ago ~
Hazel brown eyes narrowed, the Wanderer furling his brow before looking away from Oerba Dia Vanille. The half peeled root, along with the carving knife he was using, was set down on the small granite slab used for a chopping board near the fire. That's where the rest of the unprepared food also currently resided. Amodar sighed.
"Ragnarok is a very old name," the older man said. He gazed at the fire. "Almost as old as me."
A chuckle.
This brought a strained smile to Vanille's face, the redhead doing little more than waiting for the eldest l'Cie to continue speaking.
"It is a name I haven't heard in centuries."
Vanille swallowed uncomfortably at that admittance.
"Tell me, young one," the Wanderer Amodar said, turning his gaze back to the redheaded Pulsian. "Where did you hear that name from?"
Vanille fidgeted, her hands wringing in her lap. She stared at her up turned palms.
"When Lightning was injured," she began. "Back at the Imperial Palace, Fang turned into this... I don't know what it was... She just got so angry and became this... creature... There was so much rage. I was so scared."
Tears pooled in the corners of Vanille's eyes, the magic user biting her lip. "When she went after Caius as that... thing... I prayed to the Goddess, begging for her to turn Fang back into my sister. I couldn't accept that... beast... was my Fang."
Vanille jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she looked up, tears rolling down her cheeks as she stared at Amodar in surprise. He offered her an encouraging smile. Sniffling, the redhead rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands before taking a deep breath.
"Caius called her Ragnarok," Vanille continued. "He looked so surprised when that happened, and then he called out this chant, turning him into a monster bigger than all of us..." The staff wielder chewed on a lip.
"I see..." the Wanderer said, rubbing Vanille's shoulder consolingly. He looked back to the back cavern wall where all the cave paintings were. Funny how linked the past was to the present. Perhaps it was time to revisit history again. At least for a little while.
"Long ago," Amodar began. "Just a few years after I became a l'Cie, I met another l'Cie who went by the name of Kain Highwind."
Vanille's head popped up, surprise written all over her face.
The Wanderer smiled. "I'm sure you recognize that name from Fang's weapon, yes?"
Vanille nodded.
"Like me, Kain was chosen by the Goddess to defend her lands from Chaos." The elder l'Cie frowned. "But even though we were her Elite Guardians, that meant little in the face of Chaos."
Amodar paused to reorder his thoughts.
"One day, during a long and hard battle, Kain's childhood friend Cecil Harvey, another l'Cie, was almost mortally wounded by a Cie'th. Seeing this, Kain flew into a rage like none had ever seen before."
Vanille's hands went up to her mouth, the redheaded Dia gasping. "It was just like-"
"Yes," Amodar affirmed. "Chaos took advantage of that rage, and for a moment, Kain was twisted into a horrific beast of pure anger and hatred."
"Goddess..."
"But that's as far as Chaos went." The Wanderer chuckled. "For you see, Kain was very strong of heart and of will, so in spite of Chaos partially corrupting him, he used Chaos' own darkness against it to fight."
"Just like Fang!" Vanille exclaimed. It was rather eerie how much history was repeating itself. "Does that mean Fang is Kain's-"
"Descendant?" The l'Cie completed for her. "That is quite likely, considering what you've told me."
"What happened to Kain?" Vanille asked, immediately worrying for her sister again. It was very hard to forget what happened to Lightning after the corruption of Chaos took hold of her. Had it not been for the resonance between her and Fang, Vanille shuddered to think of what they'd have to do to the other Cocoonian. Or what she'd do to them if they couldn't stop her.
"By the end of the battle, Kain was able to return to his regular self," Amodar said, relief evident in his tone. But then his expression darkened. "It wasn't without a price, however."
The youngest Dia looked at the Wanderer in fear and dread.
"After that, there would be many other battles in which Kain succumbed to the rage, the darkness. And while each time he was able to push it back, it became harder and harder with each corruption."
All of the blood drained out of Vanille's face.
"It would be his last corruption, one so twisted and dark, which stemmed that fearful name, the one I'd almost forgotten."
"Ragnarok," Vanille whispered.
Amodar nodded. The Wanderer remained silent.
The Pulsian gulped. "What happened to Kain after that?"
As much as Vanille wanted to know what happened all those years ago, at the same time, she didn't want to know. Did Kain die? Did his childhood friend have to kill him in the end when he succumbed completely to the darkness? Did Kain kill Cecil instead? Just the thought of having to put Fang down if it were to come to that-
"After that particular battle, I lost track of him and Cecil," the Wanderer admitted. "It was one of the most brutal fights to date, both sides suffering from countless casualties. It is likely both of them perished that night. But with no bodies to verify that, they could have survived these years after all. I do not know. All I know is that I haven't heard from another l'Cie in over two centuries, and I'm starting to think I may very well be the last human one left."
Vanille looked at the older man sadly, the redhead having heard the loneliness in the Wanderer's tone. For him to have lived all of these years all by himself, Vanille couldn't even begin to fathom how he did it. She would have gone insane within the first year.
Wait.
Vanille blinked, her mind having finally caught up to her ears.
"Last... human l'Cie?"
Amodar smiled. "Who said l'Cies were only human?" The Wanderer chuckled again as his words sunk in.
"Eh?"
"Human beings were not the only l'Cies created by the Goddess."
~ Present ~
Thump.
A gasp.
"Fang!"
The Pulsian huntress lay face down in the dirt.
"Claire!" Serah admonished, looking at her sister incredulously.
Lightning rolled her eyes. "Don't look at me," she said. "It's not my fault she wasn't paying attention and tripped." The soldier looked at the lancer.
Following Lightning's gaze, the Primarch's and Vanille's eyes lowered to Fang's feet, both of them surprised to see an above ground root just inches away from her toes. Thoroughly amusing herself with pestering Lightning, Fang had completely forgotten about the hazardous walking trail they were traversing. Twenty feet into Yaschas Massif, the path quickly turned treacherous, trees and fauna covering the already rocky canyon like a second skin.
Oh well.
Fang couldn't but grin at her minor mishap. The tumble was well worth it. An annoyed Lightning was so much fun to tease, especially now that the threat of violence was only a bluff. Most of the time at least.
"Are you alright?"
Fang looked up from the dirt. Despite the aggravation she caused the pinkette earlier, Lightning was now kneeling down next to her, concern written all over her face. The soldier was trying her damnedest not to show that she cared, wearing that perfectly stoic mask of hers, but Fang could still tell. And one word came to her mind. A-dor-a-ble!
The huntress grinned sheepishly, pushing herself up to her hands and knees. "I'm as right as rain," Fang said, chuckling. "It's not the first time I've tripped over mah own two feet before." Another smirk.
Vanille giggled from nearby. "Yep!" the little Dia added. "You should have seen the first time she tried walking around in her sari! She kept falling over every two steps. It was so funny!"
"Oye! Vanille!" Fang rose to her feet quickly to nab the tattle tail. While Vanille spoke the truth, Fang had a reputation to upkeep, and this was doing it no good.
A hand wrapped around Fang's wrist, holding the lancer back.
"You're hurt."
Fang followed Lightning's gaze passed the soldier's grip and down to her hand. There was a small scratch on her palm, the area around the would slightly bruised and red with a trickle of blood. Truth be told, Fang hadn't even felt it, such a thing not even warranting the sting of a paper cut in her opinion. The Pulsian was used to harsher wounds due to her style of fighting, after all.
"It's jus' a scratch," Fang said, giving Lightning a reassuring smile. "I'll jus' get Vanille ta-"
Fang's words caught in her throat when Lightning covered her hand in her own, a soft blue light flashing momentarily between them. When the soldier pulled her hand back, the scratch was gone. Emerald green eyes raised to meet sapphire ones.
Lightning looked away scoffing. "Vanille's not the only one who knows healing magic, you know." A huff. Lightning's cheeks were dusted pink.
Fang stared at the Cocoonian in surprise.
Etro's grace! Lightning had the strongest urge to crawl under a rock to hide from the world right now. Well, from Oerba Yun Fang's intense gaze at least. Healing magic was not her forte, Lightning being more proficient in the offensive arts of magic. But even so, she knew a little bit of healing, though nothing so extensive beyond healing a few bumps and bruises. For the worse wounds, Vanille would be the one to go to for that.
Lightning's eyes widened and she froze when she felt lips press to her cheek.
"Yer a sweetheart, Claire," Fang said softly, making Lightning blush even further. "Thanks."
Up ahead, the Wanderer Amodar couldn't but smile at the scene behind him. It was nice to see all of the young ones getting along, especially Lightning. He had been worried about her the most, because of Chaos' long influence over her. But now he saw he was worrying for nothing. Lightning was strong, very much like her father. Serah too. All of them were, in fact. But as strong as they were, they still needed to get even stronger if they were to end this nightmare once and for all.
"We should continue onwards," the Wanderer said, drawing the group's attention forward again. "We cannot afford to delay."
"The city of Paddra," Fang said, in a voice no louder than a whisper.
As the sun began its descent in the sky, the group emerged from the thin rocky corridor that was Yaschas Massif and into the former city of Paddra. Stone buildings of all sizes lay in various states of ruin, at times forcing the group to scale broken walls and scramble over rocks and trees. Long ago, it was a beautiful place, the home of the Nsu clan, the clan known for birthing seers and seeresses.
"Yeul's home?" the Primarch asked in surprise, her hands raising to her mouth as she gasped.
But now, it was just another reminder of failure in the war against Chaos.
Just like the village of Tarak, the city of Paddra also was devastated the night of Caius' betrayal. Cathedrals and temples crumbled and toppled, the once breath taking capital city of Gran Pulse disappearing into the night of flames, never to be found until years later.
Now.
"What are we looking for in here?" Lightning asked, sticking even closer to the group than before. There was a... feeling to this place... an ancient and uncomfortable feeling. Lightning didn't like that feeling. Fang must have felt it too, for the Pulsian edged her way closer to the others as well.
"It is not what is here but what is beyond here," the Wanderer answered cryptically. He continued to lead the group through the lost city, towards what looked to be what was left of the main temple to the Goddess Etro.
"What is beyond here?" Lightning questioned again, not liking the vagueness of her teacher's answer.
"Valhalla," the Wanderer said. "The cursed forest of the ancients."
"I thought that was only supposed to be a legend!" Vanille exclaimed, her words rushing out in a whoosh.
Amodar smiled as the group reached the centre of the main temple. Debris lay scattered all around them, the roof no longer covering their heads, many of its walls and statues broken beyond repair. But that was alright, for what the eldest l'Cie sought was neither in the ceiling nor on any of the walls.
"There are many things you young ones have yet to learn about this world," the Wanderer said, raising his hand in front of him. He stopped at a massive engraving in the middle of the floor which spanned outwards covering the entire floor. The engraving was oval shaped in nature, within it, smaller sigils and runes of unknown origin and design.
"I wish I had enough time to show it to you all," the older man continued. "But I fear I will never get that chance."
"Is that... the Door of Souls?" Serah questioned, her eyes widening as she realized what they were looking at.
Many times in her historical studies, that symbol, or a least a symbol very similar to that one, appeared within the pages of Cocoon's disintegrating history books. She never managed to learn much about it, for the texts were badly kept, but she knew of its importance, given just how frequently it appeared in the texts. To see it here, now, was truly wondrous and foreboding.
Before anyone could react, the hidden brand on the Wanderer's back lit up like the sun, blinding them all.
Vanille let out a noise of surprise, crossing both arms in front of her face to protect her eyes. Serah did the same, her vision going blinding white in spite of how tightly her eyes were squeezed shut. Fang groped at air blindly, one arm up in front of her eyes protectively. Somehow she managed to find Lightning's hand and squeezed, Lightning squeezing back in spite of their momentary blindness.
Rock scraped against rock, a hum filling the air. A hidden mechanism deep beneath stone and rock creaked to life, once rusted veins now filled with magic, the first time in centuries. Stone floor rippled and retracted, Lightning and Fang stunned to see a newly revealed staircase leading downwards in place of the engraved Door of Souls once the light had faded.
"This way," Amodar said, not skipping a beat. "We are close."
Torches burning with green-blue flames lined the staircase downwards, no one saying a word as they all traversed into the unknown depths below. The moment they passed the threshold of the hidden door, the Door of Souls closed behind them, blocking anyone from leaving. It was too late to changed their minds now anyhow. Aside from the Wanderer, no one knew how long they walked in silence for, with only the burning torches as their company.
Eventually, the staircase opened out into a large forest, one with petrified trees of stone, illuminated by the pale full moon. It was only upon further inspection that the group realized stone buildings were also intermixed with the stone trees, ones seemingly carved out of what looked to be stone trees hundreds of meters wide.
"This is..." Vanille couldn't even begin to describe what they were looking at.
A blur of movement.
"Watch out!"
Lightning dashed forward, pulling Blazefire Saber from its battered holster hanging from the back of her thighs. Due to the damage the sword received in the previous battle against Caius Ballad, the weapon was permanently stuck in sword form.
CLANK!
Metal met impregnable scales, the force of the impact flinging Lightning backwards head over heels in the air.
"Claire!"
"CLAIRE!"
"Lightning!"
Lightning managed to land on her feet, albeit a bit awkwardly, taking a few clumsy steps backwards to remain upright, fifteen feet away. "Tch!"
The attacker moved to strike at Lightning again, only to retreat at the sound of a battle cry.
"No Escape!"
Fang cratered the ground in front of Lightning, shaking the area with a reverberating boom. With her lips pulled back into a snarl revealing teeth, Fang growled, holding Kain's Lance defensively in front of her, quickly taking up a protective posture in front of Lightning. The Pulsian moved to lash out at the creature which attacked them, attacked her Claire, Fang pausing in her steps when a blur of brown darted in front of her.
"Hold Yun Fang!" Amodar called out, moving to stand between the group and the creatures they now faced. "Do not attack them. These are the ones we came so far to meet."
"What... what are they?" Vanille asked, flinching when one of the larger creatures looked in her direction. This particular creature was massive in size, bigger than a behemoth king, with scales as black as night. A wyvern of sorts, Vanille guessed by its silver tipped wings and its blood red reptilian-like eyes. But the redhead had never seen a wyvern of this type before, nor of this size.
"They are Eidolons," Amodar said, still facing forward. "They are the last of Etro's Elite Guardians and quite possibly the only hope we have left in defeating Caius."
Serah and Vanille exchanged looks.
"Hundreds of years ago, human l'Cies and Eidolons joined forces in the fight against Chaos. They were a powerful force, able to push back the main contingent of darkness for centuries."
Amodar's face went grim. "However, because the war between the Kingdom of Cocoon and the Kingdom of Gran Pulse broke out, they were forced to the front lines in the fight against Chaos, bearing the brunt of the causalities while everyone else forgot about the true enemy. Many of them are still sour over the deaths of their fellow Eidolons, as you can see here. And because of that, they withdrew from the fight, seeking out sanctuary here."
Lightning and Fang glanced right and left, sizing up their opponents. They counted a total of four Eidolons, out in the open, with at least another two to three hiding in the shadows further back. Two specific Eidolons stood at the forefront to the others, the black wyvern creature and another one neither Lightning nor Fang could even guess what its species was. It stood proudly on four hoofed legs, its skin as white as snow, with a mane of silver and a horn of gold protruding from its forehead. Eight multicoloured eyes glared at them.
"What if we can't convince them to help us?" the Primarch asked. Some of those Eidolons looked mighty angry upon having their sanctuary intruded upon, but given all that had happened over the past few centuries, Serah really couldn't blame them.
"What if they refuse to help us?"
It was then Wanderer looked at the youngest pinkette, his expression tight. "If we cannot convince them to aid us, then Caius wins."
A/N: Something about this chapter just doesn't sit right with me. Oh well. I apologize for the off feeling of it.
Kain Highwind and Cecil Harvey are from Final Fantasy IV. In the game, Kain was possessed by the mage Golbez and forced to betray his friend. I liken this to Kain and also Fang being corrupted by Chaos, as both Chaos and Golbez represent the bad guys.
Etro's Gate, also known as the Door of Souls or the Unseen Gate made a prominent entrance in Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2. I envision the engraving in Etro's temple to be very similar to how it was in game. Serah, being the natural history buff in this story, not surprisingly recognized the gate from her research. You can find out more information on Etro's Gate here: http[col on][slash]/finalfantasy[period]wikia[period]com/wi ki/Etro% 27s_Gate
If Amodar were to have a l'Cie brand, I envisioned it to be on his back.