Chapter Twenty-Six: Fall of Bur-Omisace
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, everyone! I will start updating regularly now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XII or any FFXII characters. I do, however, own my OC (Celeste von Valen).
We made our way out of the Stilshrine. "What do you propose is next?" I asked aloud. There were some glances thrown my way, but no one really spoke up. "We return to Bur-Omisace, I suppose. Maybe with sword in hand, we can prove my lineage and begin the revival of Dalmasca." Ashe tapped a finger on her chin as she thought of our next plan of action. I nodded at her words and faced forward as we pushed open the big double doors that we first came through. What came next was both horrifying and unexpected.
The sky was suddenly overcome with the sight of Archadian airships, massing overhead as smoke billowed from the direction of Bur-Omisace. I knew already that the holy place, which was meant to be neutral territory, had been defiled by Archadian political scum. "Smoke..?" Vaan questioned as he squinted towards the holy land. "I wonder what it could mean?" Fran asked in response. I knew what it meant, and it wasn't good by any means. "We have to hurry," I cried out, "Bur-Omisace is under attack!" I heard a gasp come directly from behind and I turned to see Ashe's eyes fill with horror. "No… The Gran Kiltias…" I had refused to think about it, but now it was impossible. My mind flashed to the first time I played, and a terrifying glimpse of his body filled my vision. I could tell everyone was thinking the same thing. "We must get going. Full speed ahead!"
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Upon reaching the mountain, we were met with solemn rain. I approached the wounded Kilitias, who immediately cursed the Imperials for besieging the holy land without fear of punishment from the gods. I handed him a potion and made my way across the path to the Seeq merchant who sat quietly. "I thought the Imperials had gone, but I heard screams coming from the temple. What could they possibly have done?" I shook my head. "It is better if you not know until it is all over. Do you need anything?" He shook his head and waved me off. "Please check on the other refugees, I fear they are more in need than I." I nodded and motioned for the group to move ahead. Another wounded Kiltias sat against the wall and I quickly administered first aid. "Prepare yourself for what you are about to see," The Kiltias warned as he slipped into unconsciousness.
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The first sight around the bend of the mountain was nothing but rain and black smoke. The path of the Temple Approach, which before had been crowded with people, was empty. There were few refugees about. I dashed from one person to the other, curing their wounds with Magicks and giving them potions. It was heartbreaking to see all this damage. I stood atop a crate and raised my voice, "Okay everyone, if you will all please seek shelter under this cavern, I can easily heal everyone and you will all be safe from any further damage!" All the refugees helped one another make it over to the big cavern and I finished my work as a makeshift medic. "We must continue, no matter how heavy our hearts may be." Everyone nodded in agreement and we headed up to the Temple Grounds. The sight we came upon immediately opened the flood gates. Tears rushed from the corners of my eyes, and I quickly set to work. "Ashe, Penelo, and Fran, please help me. We need to heal all of these Kiltias. I can't handle any of them dying, especially since we were just here. We could have protected them…" We passed five wounded on our way to the doors of the temple, but I wasn't ready for the mass of Kiltias that we found in front of the stairs. "Oh my gods…" My heart dropped to my stomach and I covered my face with both my hands. "How could the Imperials do this? Has Vayne no shame?"
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We opened the door to the Holy Circle, and our eyes fell upon the mass destruction that had occurred within. The bridge was in shambles and all the beautiful pillars were torn apart. "No…" My mouth was agape with horror, and I felt intense rage bubbling out of every blood cell in my body. My eyes locked on the Judge who turned to look at us. "Ah, our vagrant Princess. Swift has your lust for revenge led you to the Sword of Kings." The Judge's cape fluttered behind him, revealing the Gran Kiltias lying on the floor. I could see that he did not draw breath. Vaan, Penelo, and Ashe gasped. "You will surrender it to me. Too late, and to their sorrow do those who misplace their trust in gods learn their fate."
I clenched my fist tighter than I would grip my sword. "How dare you! You monster! You defiled this sacred ground with your lust for blood and like a dog do you follow Vayne's orders. You disgust me! You will see the punishment that has been set before you for these crimes!" As I drew my sword, an apparition briefly flashed behind the Judge. "There it is again!" Vaan exclaimed. The Judge's body began to emanate an evil aura, black and red in color. "Fran, I don't like the look of that." Balthier proclaimed as he put a hand on the buttstock of his gun. "This Mist-he holds a stone! It controls him as it did Mjrn!" Fran shouted. The Judge laughed, "No, no. The power of Manufacted Nethicite is the power of Man! A weapon forged by his wisdom… who would challenge the gods themselves! A fitting blade for a true Dynast-King! Raithwall did but pretend the title… a cur begging Nethicite scraps from his master's table. Hark! Ivalice hails her true Dynast-King, Vayne Solidor! He shall defy the will of the gods, and see the reins of History back in the hands of Man! His time is nigh! The new Ivalice holds no place for the name Dalmasca. The stain of Raithwall's blood shall be washed clean from history's weave!" The Judge raised his swords in defiance, as if to prove his words to be true. Vayne was a monster, and he had to be stopped before Ivalice became nothing but a wasteland. We readied our weapons, and braced ourselves for the battle that would soon begin.
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We were all breathing raggedly, tired and drained from the fight with Bergan. "How can a single man have that much power against the seven of us? It's damn near impossible!" Bergan thrashed about as the dark aura that we had previously seen began to glow again. "What is going on with him?" Vaan asked as we all stared at the Judge. A small beam of blue-white light appeared on his chest as he threw his body back and forth. "I'm not sure…" Suddenly, the beam of light exploded in about twenty different directions and Bergan fell backwards in defeat. "What just happened?" I asked Balthier as he approached the body with Fran and me at his heels. He knelt down and lifted the lid to the helmet, cringing and quickly letting it fall back down. "Burned to a crisp..." I wrinkled my nose in disgust at the smell of sizzled flesh. "Was it the stone that did this?" Fran nodded in response. I heard a cry from behind me and I turned to see Ashe knelt down at the Gran Kiltias's side. The three of us approached the rest of the group, and Balthier informed them of Bergan's demise. "He set his very bones about with Manufacted Nethicite. The Gran Kiltias?" Penelo shook her head and I gently grasped Balthier's damaged silk sleeve. He turned his downcast eyes to lock with mine and we both knew what her gesture meant.
Penelo quickly turned, "Wait-what about Larsa?" A voice, all too familiar, sounded from behind the group. "Gone. Spirited away by Judge Gabranth." I looked over my shoulder to see Al-Cid limping with his assistant keeping him upright. "You okay?" Vaan questioned the dark-haired man as we rushed to them. The assistant sat him down against a crushed pillar and I took a knee to assess the damage. "Ah, as for our young Lordling, he went along-to avoid trouble, you see. But Judge Bergan had other ideas. He flew into a rage, and I was left to fend for myself," We all glanced up to the pile of Imperials in front of us, "Please, Princess. You must permit me to take you back with me to Rozarria." Ashe scowled at him. "So you can protect me?" I sighed at his wasted effort. "I would lay down my life at maundering illusions of valiant grandeur. Vayne has our war pavilion jumping at shadows. They favor a pre-emptive strike. But you-you will convince them otherwise. You will see that they do not start the war." I tried to interject, "No, Al-Cid. We need her here, with us. We six cannot fight without Ashe's help. She has to use the powers handed down to her, alongside our strength, in order for us to defeat the Empire and put Vayne in his place." Ashe nodded in agreement with me. "This I cannot do, Al-Cid. Forgive me, but my errand here is not yet done."
Ashe stood up, "I must wield the Sword of Kings, and with it bring an end to the Dusk Shard." I had completely forgotten about the stone that Vaan and I had stolen from the palace all that time ago. "Ah, this stone. Do you even know where it is?" "I can venture a guess," Balthier added, "The Draklor Laboratory. In Archades. The Empire's weapons research begins and ends there." Balthier gently brushed past me and walked toward the Princess. "How soon do we leave?" With a nod of her head, she announced that we would be leaving at once. I sighed once again, this time in annoyance. We just battled a Judge, who nearly killed us all, and they wanted to leave this very second?
My body was aching from both the pain and exhaustion, but I knew I would have to use Magicks to heal myself instead of getting some rest. "As for matters in Rozarria," Ashe began, "I bid you luck." Al-Cid's ever-so-quiet assistant helped the dark-haired man up. "So you would leave each to fend for his own? Let us hope that you are not disappointed." Al-Cid turned away from us, but quickly turned back. "Ah, that's right. Larsa left a message. He said, "The differences between our two lands will fade before the shared dream of men."" He took out his sunglasses and put them on. "My leave, I take." With that, he and his assistant slowly, but surely, made their way out of the double doors.
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As our group descended the stairs of the temple, all of the Kiltias and Acolytes looked to us for news of their holy leader. It was with a heavy heart that I hung my head and shook it back and forth. The small glimmers of hope that I had seen were instantly retracted back into the depths of their emotions and replaced with intense sadness and grief. Their time of mourning had just begun. We quickly reach the bottom of the stairs and headed towards the Temple Approach. I turned to see all of the holy servants kneel on the stairs where we had just been standing.
"How do you propose we reach Archades," Ashe turned to look at Balthier, "Archadia's borders will be well guarded for fear of Rozarrian invasion. We dare not approach by air." Oh, yay. I get to use my legs for the next couple of days. "And their navy will see that the coast is watched as well… No, we go afoot." Balthier added. "We'll cross into Archadia in the Salikawood. We can reach the wood any number of ways, but the easiest is to head north from Nalbina." My mental map set the course as Balthier talked. "There is a Hunter's Camp just beyond the Salikawood," Fran said, "The camp sits within Archadia's borders, so Imperial patrols there should be sparse." Balthier smiled. "Getting there should be half the fun. Let's be sure we go prepared." I crossed my arms, "I suppose this means we better get a move on, then. We've got a lot of land to cover and not all that much time to do it in."