Start Date: February 18, 2022
Windwillow
Final Fantasy IV
Chapter Three
The kingdom of Baron rules the world's skies, yet eyes the holy crystals that dot the land. Cecil Harvey, Captain of Baron's mighty Red Wings, has been stripped of his command. After departing for the Village of Mist with his friend Kain Highwind, he discovers that his mission was to obliterate that village and all its summoners.
Only one child survived the cataclysm, young Rydia of Mist. Cecil gave shelter to her and now travels with her to retrieve a Sand Pearl from the Antlions of Damcyan, with which to cure his ailing lover Rosa Joanna Farrell of Desert Fever.
On the way to Damcyan they meet an old scholar named Tellah, long renowned for his magical brilliance. While they reach the outskirts of the country, the Baronian Red Wings have laid siege to Damcyan. The three now hurry there to find, not just Tellah's daughter Anna and her bardic lover, but the location of Damcyan's Fire Crystal.
Failure may mean the loss of Anna, the kingdom, and the fall of a second crystal into Baron's clutches.
Scene One
The devastation was total. Very little of Castle Damcyan was left standing, and even fewer survivors. Half-dead soldiers littered the grounds, and unlucky civilians (the few that survived) huddled in a corner, shaking.
Cecil, Rydia, and Tellah rushed through the castle and up into the throne room. There, they found the corpses of the king and queen, those of many soldiers, and a half-dead woman being tended to by a handsome young man dressed in robes.
"ANNA!"
Tellah rushed by the side of the dying woman, cradling her, before slapping the other youth.
"Cur! Bastard!"
The youth cringed, and tried to run. Tellah instead rammed him and began to hit him.
"You... spoony bard! I hate you! I hate you! I'll kill..."
"Wait, Father..." came a soft voice. All eyes turned to the dying woman. Tellah rushed by her side and gripped her hand tight.
"Edward, he tried to... protect me..."
The bard shook his head.
"All that matters is I failed... I..."
Tellah hugged Anna.
"No, no...! You can't leave me! That damned bard!"
Anna shook her head.
"I... I love him, Father. Even in... death... I beg your understanding..."
Tellah paused.
"Death?! Anna, I'll cast a curative magick! I..."
Anna smiled weakly.
"I'm past that point."
Cecil kneeled by the trio.
"Tell me. What happened here?!"
Edward sighed.
"Their leader is a man named Golbez, a wicked sorceror. He demanded the crystal, took it, and slew my parents... I'm so WORTHLESS!"
Rydia cocked her head.
"Parents? You're royalty?!"
The bard nodded.
"I am Edward Chris von Muir, the crown prince."
"Titles mean nothing," growled Tellah. "You killed my daughter!"
With little strength, Anna slapped her father. She smiled weakly.
"Accept him, Father. That is my... final wish..."
Anna went limp. Both Edward and Tellah grasped her body, hugging it, feeling the warmth drain from it. Tellah paused, and turned to Edward with a glare. He closed his eyes.
"I... absolve you of my rage."
Cecil lowered his head.
"Golbez..."
As he rose (or staggered) Tellah dragged Edward up by his shoulder. He bowed his head.
"Whover this Golbez bastard is, I'll make him pay," he hissed.
Cecil put his hand on Tellah's shoulder.
"Please, Lord Sage. Do not be blinded in anger..."
Tellah shrugged off Cecil's hand. He swiveled and began to leave.
"I swear... Even if I must unseal Meteor, I will KILL HIM!"
After he left, Cecil turned to Edward and narrowed his eyes.
"I wish I could stop to pay respects, but I've business here. The theft of the Fire Crystal must be addressed, but, I beg pardon, I seek a Sand Pearl. My love is ill and needs it badly. I will defeat Golbez in due time, but my greatest loyalty is to the love of my life. Can you help me?"
Edward cocked his head.
"Desert Fever? Yes, I can lead you to that thing. But the crystal, I... I just wish to be left in peace..."
Rydia sighed.
"I mean, your parents just got killed, I can relate, but... The crystals are big time news here. We have to stop Golbez before anyone else dies!"
Edward lowered his head.
"I can do nothing... It's better not to even try..."
Cecil punched Edward, knocking him back.
"Get a hold of yourself, dammit! Your parents are murdered, your kingdom reduced to ruins, and you would leave the crystal in Baron's hands?! Dammit, man, there isn't TIME to grieve!"
Edward glared.
"And healing your lover means more than my grief? Look at your own priorities."
Cecil paused, and lowered his head.
"You... make a good point. But, her white magic may prove invaluable in our fight. Beyond my own feelings, helping her would bolster our strength. Please, take me to the Sand Pearl. I'll gladly beg if you want."
Edward sighed.
"We can take a hovercraft to the Antlion's Den. If we set out now, we'll reach it in a couple of hours."
Cecil nodded.
"Then we must leave at once. But... Please, I'll give you your time here to say goodbye. My own love... After this tragedy, I guess I can't pry you from this place now. Rest, and we can leave whenever you're ready."
Rising, Cecil placed a hand to Edward's shoulder.
"Take your time. I've no right to rush you."
As Cecil and Rydia exited, Edward looked around the room, first at his parents, and then at Anna. With tears in his eyes he fell to his knees.
"It's... too much...!"
He screamed so coarsely that he could feel his throat bleed.
Scene Two
It took Edward a few hours to gather himself. After burying the deceased, the three of them set off in Edward's hovercraft east to the Antlon's Nest. After several hours of travel they arrived at a large cavern carved out of a large mountain.
"It's past here..." said Edward, stepping into the cavern's maw. "I believe it's only a few rooms in..."
Rydia glanced back and forth.
"I can smell the monsters from here. We aren't even in yet!"
Edward nodded.
"You said you're a white mage, right? The creature known as a basilisk can turn men to stone, so a good Esuna spell will be vital. I've brought a few gold needles just in case... But I... don't know if I want to go in with you..."
Cecil shook his head.
"You're our guide. Without you, the operation fails by default."
Edward sighed.
"I've not much of a stomach for..."
Cecil shoved him back sharply, out of the way of a redcap goblin's dagger. As he struck and killed it, Cecil pointed at the darkened cavern.
"If I have to pull you in here, I will."
Edward nodded weakly. He'd given up. They continued on into a larger cavern complex, with plateaus and ridges seemingly dug into the walls with claws. Rooted cliffs crisscrossed the entire area, and as they entered a larger room Rydia quickly charged a spell.
"Flans!" she shouted. Before them were a pack of gelatinous blobs, multi-colored with acid seeping from their maws.
Cecil drew his sword and charged.
"Stop!" Rydia shrieked. Cecil's blade connected, but only managed to flub the sword into the amorphous mass. He tried to drag the weapon back, but it was firmly caught in the jell.
"... the hell?!"
As he managed to retrieve the sword, the creature's acid-lined maw leered above his neck. A giant blast of ice froze and shattered the beast, flecks of frost streaking across Cecil's nose. He turned to see Rydia breathing heavily.
"Flans are immune to normal attacks," explained Rydia. "Magic is the only way to harm them."
Cecil paused, but nodded. They continued on into a new area with pillboxes of stone littering the cavern. From them a horde of redcaps emerged, daggers drawn. Immediately Rydia blasted them with lightning, and Cecil hacked his way through the herd. Edward, meanwhile, hesitated.
-I... I'm scared!- he thought. "I just can't-"
Mostly by sheer reflex he duve out of the way of a goblin, falling to the ground as he did. He kicked the monster in the face with his foot and quickly retrieved his lute from his pack. With a haunting melody, he began to play.
Rydia halted mid-blast.
"You're playing music NOW?!"
She was saved from a redcap by Cecil, who deftly slew it. He paused, and lowered his head.
"So this is bardic music?" he mused. "A pleasant tune, indeed!"
Rydia darted her head back and forth, finding the goblins begin to stagger and fall to their knees, sleeping. Edward continued to play with beads of sweat dropping from his brow. Cecil took the opportunity to charge his sword with darkness.
"Bardic music soothes souls and tames monsters!" Cecil yelled. "Don't move. I don't want to strike you as well..."
A dull pressure began to form, a gravity well condensing into Cecil's sword. He swung it sharply, and a series of black shockwaves erupted from the blade. Each sought out and incinerated the remaining redcaps.
"Amazing!" exclaimed Edward. "Why didn't you just..."
Cecil fell to one knee, exhausted. He began to breathe heavily, nearly burning up inside his armor.
"Dark knights channel the miasma of hell. While it brings great power, it also drains my stamina heavily... I can't move for a while."
He dropped to his back.
"Rydia, erect a barrier. I'll be back up in just a couple of minutes..."
As Rydia nodded and began to secure the area, Edward stared in shock. He'd never been in real combat before, and the experience petrified him. Yet Cecil didn't waste a movement, and even young Rydia dispatched the goblins like she'd been doing it for years.
It all made Edward feel more and more useless. Slowly, he adjusted his belt, a soft clinking sound reverberating as he began to relax and settle in.
Scene Three
After Cecil finished resting, the party continued on. Through a series of narrow passages they struggled to brave the darkness before them. Eventually they reached a larger area, with redcap pillboxes strewn across the landscape.
Cecil quickly drew his sword.
"Be on guard!" he yelled, settling into a defensive stance. The three warriors hesitated, but found no goblins attacking them. Edward sighed in relief, and rose to stand only to come face to face with a monstrous, black-skinned insect - the stone beast, basilisk.
Before he could react, the creature's gaze turned him to stone. But his scream alerted Cecil and Rydia, and they rushed into action. Rydia hurried up to the petrified prince and laid her hands on him. A soft light glowed, and the stone became flesh once again.
As the petrification reversed, Cecil struck the basilisk repeatedly, each time hacking off a limb until its corpse fell back with a thud. He turned to Edward and sighed.
"Are you alright, Edward?"
The bard nodded slowly.
"Thank you both so much! I was... well... petrified."
Rydia smiled.
"My Esuna cured you up quick. You're okay now."
Cecil turned, but thought better of sheathing his sword. His eyes narrowed at the chamber ahead.
"This looks to be the final chamber. If the Sand Pearl's here, it must be in this room."
They entered and saw a large sandpit draining into the center of the room. There, they saw a soft glimmer at the bottom of the pit.
"That's a Sand Pearl," said Edward. "We need only take it and-"
"EDWARD!"
Cecil dragged Edward back by the skin of his tunic as a monstrous form emerged. It looked like some sort of insect-animal hybrid, with the torso of a lion and the head of a bizarre beetle. Acid dropped from its fangs, as it roared.
Rydia charged a spell.
"That's...!"
The antlion swung its claw towards her, but Cecil parried and threw it back into the pit. It quickly recovered and began to claw its way back up. Cecil coated himself in darkness and placed himself between his friends and the antlion.
Rydia launched a wave of ice, but the antlion shattered it with a single swipe. With no wasted movement it lunged, its claw clashing with Cecil's sword. Again and again it struck, and Cecil found himself falling back.
He inwardly cursed. The beast was stronger than he'd expected. Cecil used all his strength and shoved it back. As it righted itself he lifted his sword and ran his hand along it. Darkness and arcane runes coated the sword, and moved to his entire body. With a roar he swung, and a black hurricane erupted.
The wave of darkness engulfed the antlion and threw it back, but it recovered by digging its claw into the sand. As Cecil cried out in pain and fell to his knee, the antlion leered. Its acidic fangs hovered just above the dark knight's head.
"CECIL!" Rydia shouted frantically. "NO!"
The fangs never reached its target, and the antlion fell back dead, with a large dagger pierced through its head from maw to brain. Rydia looked around in shock, finding Edward with both hands outstretched after having thrown his blade. Edward became pale and vomited.
Rydia rushed to Cecil and laid her hands on the knight's shoulders, warm holy energy rushing from them into the battered body of her friend. Slowly Cecil rose, and sheathed his sword. As he stepped past the antlion's carcass he gripped a small, shimmering jewl from the back of its throat and tore it open into his hand.
Cecil stared at the Sand Pearl, breathing heavily. His eyes turned to Rydia and Edward. Rydia had already begun to heal the bard's wounds, but in a stupor he hacked up again and stared wide-eyed at the antlion's corpse.
"This is impossible!" he breathed. "Antlions have never been hostile to humans before!"
Staring at the Sand Pearl, Cecil shook his head.
"The world really has gone mad..."
Scene Four
Her dreams had been frantic and blurred, desperate hopes and fragile sanity clawing its way through a dark empiness. As she reached into the light, a familiar face greeted her.
"Rosa..."
Rosa came awake, finding herself surrounded by Cecil, Rydia, and Edward. She blinked and looked around, finding the face of her lover staring back. Eyes gleaming, she and Cecil locked lips passionately.
"Cecil!" she breathed. "Thank God you're safe!"
Cecil smiled.
"Same sentiments to you. What the hell are you doing here?"
As Rosa gathered her wits, Rydia giggled.
"Silly. You two are both just silly."
The three burst into laughter, but Rosa caught the eye of a solemn Edward.
"Who is this?"
Cecil sighed.
"This is... getting more and more complicated. I'll speak, and you can speak back. We have a lot to talk about..."
Scene Five
The discussion was long. After hearing of Damcyan's tragedy, Rosa quietly lowered her head. She turned to Edward and extended her hand. Edward sobbed, and took her hand in his, breaking down entirely.
"I set out right after you did," Rosa explained. "Cid took me here by airship, and I intended to wait for you here. But one thing led to another, I passed out, and here we find ourselves. I fear for Cid's safety, given what you've told me..."
Cecil shook his head.
"He's a tough old bat. Throw an army at him and he'll still find a way through it."
Rosa laughed.
"Yes, but... What do we do now?"
Cecil sighed.
"Baron now holds the crystals of water and fire. They're soon to turn towards Fabul's Wind Crystal and Troia's Earth Crystal. We must reach the crystals first, and protect them. We've need of powerful allies if we're to oppose Baron."
Rosa nodded.
"What of Fabul? Their nation is close by. If we go there and speak with the King, we could coordinate a counterattack. All we need to do is melt the ice on Mt. Hobs..."
Rydia startled, and lowered her head. Cecil looked at her and sighed.
"That can wait. We all need to rest for a night."
He rose and turned to the old couple.
"You've my eternal thanks," he said with a bow. "When all this mess is over, I owe you folks a drink."
The old man laughed.
"Speak no more of it."
Cecil turned and looked at his companions. Rydia and Edward were both clearly shaken. He sighed.
"I'll speak with the innkeeper. We'll rest for the night there."
Scene Six
Edward slowly exited the inn, stepping aimlessly around the town. He soon found himself at the village fountain, and began to play his lute.
"So much..." he murmured. "I've lost... so much..."
His eyes teared up.
"God, Anna! If only you were here to quiet my fears..."
A soft touch caressed his neck. He turned and found a water hag looming behind him. With a yell he skittered out of the way and drew his dagger. The beast slowly lumbered towards him, hands outstretched.
"No, no! Don't hurt me!"
Then came a soft voice, familiar and soothing.
"Edward..."
The bard turned to find his fallen lover in spectral form, standing behind him. He rose to his feet and tried to embrace her.
"Oh, Anna! I..."
His hands touched naught but air, the soft skin of his lost love rippling through his own like a parting of water. He'd passed straight through her ghostly body. He startled, and looked at Anna with fear in his eyes.
"Anna..."
Anna shook her head and smiled.
"It's alright, Edward. It's alright..."
Edward shook his head.
"Of course it isn't! Mother and father and you..."
Anna stared at Edward tearfully.
"Your friends need you to fight, Edward. They need your help."
Edward paused.
"Y-you mean, I should fight with Cecil...?"
Anna nodded.
"You're stronger than you think you are. I believe in you..."
Edward shook his head.
"Anna, I..."
Anna smiled, and pointed behind him at the water hag. Edward swiveled and severed its head, and as it fell to the ground he could feel a soft breeze behind him. He turned to find nothing, and though he began to cry, a silent resolve began to form.
Scene Seven
At dawn the group departed for Mt. Hobs. It took a day and a half of travel, and after having rested in a magic circle created by Rosa, the party entered the foot of the mountain. Its majestic peaks beckoned, but were masked behind a huge wall of ice. Rosa turned to Cecil.
"All we need is for Rydia to..."
Her eye caught Rydia's before it dropped, and it came to her. Her village was destroyed in a maelstrom of flame. Creating another might traumatize her even deeper. Rosa sighed.
"There must be another way around."
Rydia shook her head.
"No, I... I can do it."
She walked past Rosa and stood at the foot of the column of ice. With a sigh, she extended her hands. Many thoughts flooded her mind: her mother's body, her home wreathed in flames. But there was something greater to be done.
A small ember formed between her fingers, and she hurled it. The tiny flame grew into a wildfire that melted the ice within seconds. She smiled, turned to Cecil, and giggled. He grinned softly.
"Thank you once again, Rydia. My debt grows by the day..."