Gnothi Se Auton
-Act I-
The Trine Prophecy
A Final Fantasy IV Story
By SpacemanSpiff
Chapter XVI
The Family We Share
Scene 4 – Castle Baron, Infirmary
The shadowed figure knelt before the stalagmite jutting up from the cavern floor, blue flames floating overhead like ghosts wandering through purgatory, waiting for judgement. Their silent dance cast cold light throughout the belly of the mountain, playing with the shadows of its features on the walls, reflected in the pools of still water that occasionally rippled with a drip from the stalactites.
Resting atop the stone pillar before the figure robed in black was a large glass sphere, empty and void. Suddenly, the glass sphere began to glow a pale, eerie red, like the last breath of embers before falling to ashes. The man cloaked in shadow finally stood, pulling back his hood to reveal the white skin of his bald head, the dendritic web of ichorous veins wrapped around it. His lifeless eyes peered into the orb expectantly, a slight grin beginning to form on his cold, blue lips. His spell had finally been activated.
A vision began to take shape within the glass as the sanguine glow brightened around the circumference of the sphere. When the aura finally reached its peak, the scene within the orb became clear, and he saw a curtain of holy light surrounding him. Three shadowed faces suddenly appeared in his view, two males and one female. Shin-Ra wasted no time getting to work, and he reached up with both hands to lift the glass sphere from its perch, at which point he assumed complete control of the subject, seeing and hearing everything that Agleson did.
"Is he alive, Your Highness?" Shin-Ra heard one of the male nurses ask the female white mage, whose ornate attire suggested she was of especially high rank. The nurse's address indicated that she was in fact the Queen of this particular kingdom. He recalled that Queen Rosa was a friend of the summoner during the war, and he felt a rush of eager anticipation at being so lucky to land in her lap.
"Pulse is steady, as is his breathing," the Queen replied. "But the corruption has fully taken hold of him. We should keep him quaran—"
Shin-Ra watched as he commanded Agleson's hand to take hold of Rosa's throat, squeezing with enough force to make her struggle but ensure she would not die. He then commanded Agleson to sit up as the two male nurses rushed to free her. One of the nurses attempted to restrain Agleson, while the other began to run to the other side of the bed to try and pry Rosa from his grip. Shin-Ra was quick to put them down, swiftly moving Agleson's hand to the belly of the nurse that was unsuccessfully trying to push him back down onto the bed. In a split second, the hand morphed into a solid black spike, piercing the nurse's abdomen and erupting from his back, shattering his spine in the process. The spike retracted just as quickly, becoming a hand once more, and the nurse was dead before he hit the floor.
Shin-Ra then commanded Agleson to extend a finger from his free hand, pointing it directly at the other nurse running around the bed. His finger turned black and stretched inhumanly until it writhed like a tentacle before lashing out at the nurse. At the moment the tentacle contacted human flesh, there was a flash of light and a crack like a whip. The nurse was killed instantly as he fell to the floor, his vacant stare glaring up at nothing, as though his soul had been vanquished from its mortal shell.
When the tentacle retracted, it became a finger once more, and Agleson stood up, still holding tight to Rosa's throat, lifting her off the ground slightly as he did. She began to flail against his restraint, but it was obvious that his strength was far beyond hers, and there was little hope of escape. The mages that maintained the spirit barrier cried for help as their Queen was helpless against her assailant.
"Where…is…the summoner?" Shin-Ra asked through his new vessel, the deep resonating voice mixed with Agleson's charming tone producing a terrifying sound. Rosa continued to struggle, gasping for breath, until finally she went limp in his grasp. Despite her loss of consciousness, she was not entirely useless to him. Her loyal subjects would likely do anything to save her. Shin-Ra lifted his free hand as it transformed into a dark blade, preparing to deliver a mortal blow.
"Your Queen shall perish if you do not bring me the summoner," he demanded, glaring at each of the mages beyond the curtain of light, waiting impatiently for some kind of answer. He motioned threateningly, as though he would drop his dark blade through the lifeless body in his hand, but before he could bring the blade down upon her, he was thrown back by a ball of light that came from outside the barrier. The shockwave from the attack caused him to drop Rosa to the floor as he flipped backward over the bed, landing hard on the stone.
Shin-Ra could hear the rush of footsteps as he commanded Agleson to stand, slowly rising from the blow. Once he was back on his feet, he saw two mages carrying Rosa through the curtain. He quickly leapt on top of the bed and lunged for them, but came up short as he hit the spirit barrier, dropping like a rock to the floor once more. He stood up again, snarling with a powerful growl, the mages maintaining the barrier standing strong despite the fear they were undoubtedly feeling. Agleson paced the barrier, glaring at each mage with his lifeless black eyes, testing the barrier for weaknesses and gaps that he could exploit. He found none.
"Release me!" he bellowed at them, the echoing rumble of his monstrous voice like an aural earthquake. "Release me, and I shall end your suffering!"
The mages carrying Rosa had disappeared from the room. The six mages maintaining the barrier remained to contain the foul spirit before them. Behind them the scribe still stood, pencil and parchment in hand, watching carefully. She was noticeably shorter and stouter than the mages, likely of dwarven descent. When Agleson's eyes—Shin-Ra's eyes—met hers, his lips curled into a wicked grin as she gave him a nod.
