The Frogmen of the Apocalypse: Gongaga
By TacomaSquall
Chapter 4
Tara spoke. As she spoke, my mind raced back to the events she related, in a voice that dripped with grief.
"Many generations ago, humanity was not the dominant life-form on the Planet. At that time, while mankind began to discover the rudiments of civilization, another race thrived, in harmony with the entire world. They were the Cetra." As she spoke, Tara's voice gained strength and vitality.
"The Cetra themselves were a fairly complex folk. They were capable of great feats of magic, and were profound thinkers. Unlike the humans of this day and age, however, they used little in the way of technology. The Cetra believed that it was necessary to live in accord with the world around them, acknowledging the power and majesty of the Planet, They felt that one should not change the world, but should instead guide their surroundings into forms that both met the purpose needed, and fulfilled nature's design. Few cities were built by the Cetra for this reason."
"Their greatest city lay in the North, near the snows of the North Glacier. There, surrounded by an enchanted forest, the Cetra gathered their greatest wonders of magic and philosophy. The Cetra had grown to understand the spirit of the Planet, and the great Cycle of Life, and spent years plumbing its secrets. They discovered the power of crystallized Mako, known as Materia. During this wilder age, they bound the greatest of the beings who had been changed by the influence of Mako into the great Summon Materia."
"Far to the south, near what we now call Mideel, the Cetra had the center of their worship of the Planet. They called it the Temple of Life. I have since come to understand that humans call it now, the Temple of the Ancients. Within the Temple of the Ancients, the Cetra found two naturally occurring crystals of Materia, molded in the bosom of the Planet. One of these crystals was as pearly white as the most flawless pearl from the sea, while the other was a gem as black as the darkest night. These Materia had power bound within them that dwarfed any other Materia in existence. The Cetra named the Materia, respectively, Holy and Meteor." The elder Sahugin paused, and I saw a tear in her eye. Recalling this was painful for her!
"I was an acolyte of the Temple of Life, and was responsible for the guardianship of the two Materia. We had learned that Holy was a conduit for power that could only be used to preserve the life of the Planet, but Meteor was tied to a celestial object, and that using Meteor would call that object to us." Hieros shifted for a brief second, and I looked over at him. He looked like this was a story he knew by heart. "I was supposed to try and learn how the tie that bound Meteor to the distant celestial body worked. It was during the second year of my research into the nature of the powerful enchantment residing in Meteor that Jenova arrived."
"Jenova stated she was a traveler and a seeker after knowledge. We accepted her into our people, and she astounded us with her knowledge of magic. She was fascinated by Materia, as all of her magical abilities were innate, and quickly mastered the use of the standard magical Materia. Pressing for the opportunity to study more and more powerful Materia, she learned of the Summon Materia, and spent years in study of them. In the meantime, we grew no closer in our understanding of Meteor or Holy." Tara grinned suddenly at me, breaking from her narrative. "ShinRa is following a path that the Cetra walked down many years ago, and that Jenova also mastered. So much for the vaunted inventiveness of humanity."
She grew more serious, and continued. "Eventually, Jenova learned of the Lifestream, and of the Temple of Life. She came to our enclave, and joined us in our devotions. She seemed the most ardent of worshippers for some time, and grew to become my friend. One day, she found me, exasperated after spending an entire night in fruitless study of Meteor, and I told her of my studies. She offered her assistance, and I accepted." She sighed, as if remembering a long-gone friend.
"We spent a few weeks studying the Black Materia until, one evening, I was called to speak with the High Priestess about Holy. We were in the middle of an experiment, so Jenova offered to continue the experiment, while I left. I started to my meeting, and then realized I had forgotten Holy in the lab."
"I returned to see Jenova holding Meteor in her left hand, her head thrown back in exultation. A black light emanated from the Materia, and her body changed from the form she had worn around us to one that was dark and twisted and somewhat techno-organic. I shrank back from her, in fear. She saw me, and laughed in my face." A tear rolled down her wrinkled face as she remembered these events from a life so long gone that only she knew the tale.
"I called the power of the Earth to bind her in chains of stone, but she evaded my magic. She called upon the power of the great elemental beast, Kjata, who trampled me. I fell to the ground, barely conscious. Jenova towered over me, and drew her arm back to strike me with a hand now tipped with razor-sharp talons."
"Her claw started to move forward, but was grabbed by a mailed fist. As I watched in amazement, the greatest of the Mako-twisted, Arthur and his Knights of the Round, blasted Jenova with their power. Jenova staggered, dropping the Black Materia, and was forced across the lab. The High Priestess entered, with her most trusted Priest alongside her."
"Jenova quailed in the face of such stern opposition, and before the Knights could strike again, vanished. I seem to remember the Priest bending over me before I also lost consciousness."
"My wounds kept me confined to my room, so I did not see the events that happened. I missed Garen's (the Priest who helped High Priestess Ifaine save my life) attempt to unlock the power of Holy, and his failure. I felt the shock of Meteor's arrival, but did not glimpse the Cetra's desperate attempt to heal the wound done to the Planet by sacrificing their lives. I never saw Jenova again, or saw her imprisonment within the chill ice of the North Glacier." There was a mixture of regret, relief, and anger in her voice.
"When I had fully recovered, I was called to the presence of Ifaine. To my surprise, Garen was there as well, and he was bound!" Tara's voice cracked and she paused for a moment, sobbing quietly.
I looked at Patter. His eyes were wide, and his attention was riveted on the elder in front of us. On my other side, Hieros rose, and he reached out to the Sahugin elder. "Eldest, you have not been well, and I know how much this story takes from you…"
Her voice became shrill. "She MUST know, Hieros. I have waited over two thousand years to tell her my story."
Something she had said earlier came back to me. She said that I would become part of their story. I stood up. "Tara, you do me a great honor by telling me your story, but I don't understand why you are telling me. I am just a fifteen-year-old kid."
She smiled at me. "In time, my child, you will understand." She turned back to Hieros. "I am fine. You need to save your energy and care for those who need your shepherding. I do not need your guidance or protection. When Death comes for me, I will take his hand gladly." Hieros looked about to argue, but Tara pre-empted any argument by looking him in the eyes, her gaze boring into his, compelling compliance.
Tara continued her tale.
"Garen and I were being punished for our betrayal of the Planet. I had given Meteor into Jenova'' hands. Garen had failed to unlock the power of Holy, because he sought to compel the power contained within. He did not understand that the power of Holy could never be forced into play, but only prayed for."
"Ifaine had a unique punishment for us." Her voice became bleak. "Because Cetra do not kill other Cetra, we were not to be executed. Instead, we were to be cursed. It was our curse that we would be transformed into Frogs, and that the Frogs would forever be a lesser race, unworthy of the company of the Cetra, until such time as we had redeemed ourselves for our failure in the face of the Planet's need."
"Correspondingly, we would no longer bear the names that we once bore as Cetra. Garen would be known as Grennek, and I, once known as Astarte, would only be known as Tara. The people we were would no longer be in the annals of the Cetra. We no longer existed."
"After Grennek and I were transformed, we discovered the fact that we had no ability to reproduce as the other creatures of nature did. We went to Ifaine, and she revealed to us the nature of the Frog Song."
"Over time, our numbers grew, as we began to transform those who were lost and helpless into Frogs. We found that the Song worked on both Cetra and human, and discovered that time's ravages did not touch us like it did the Cetra." Her eyes twinkled. "Ironically, this meant that we would outlive everyone who fought against Jenova."
"About a hundred years after we were cursed, Ifaine called me to attend her at the Temple of Life. She was dying."
"I went to the Temple, and she told me of her plan to make sure that no one ever meddled with the Black Materia again. After her death, the Cetra would abandon the Temple. He Temple would be sealed, so that anyone seeking to move the Black Materia would be crushed within the Temple. She wanted some of the Frogs to help protect the Temple. I agreed."
"I will never forget the night Ifaine died. It was two days after she had revealed to me her plans for the Temple. I was summoned to her presence, after dark. When I arrived, she was drenched in sweat and was clearly feverish. As she saw me enter, she smiled at me and greeted me." As Tara spoke, I could see the scene she described.
* * * * *
"Welcome, my daughter." The woman who spoke was bony and frail, and was shivering uncontrollably as she lay on a sleeping platform. She smiled in a death's-head grimace at the beautiful, forest-green, smooth-skinned Frog (Tara) who walked into her chamber.
"Mother." There was a knot of emotion in Tara's voice.
"I wish that I had not lost you so long ago, my child." The aged Cetra coughed in a paroxysm of pain. When she stopped, she wiped her mouth with a cloth. It came away, reddened with blood.
"Mother, you did what you had to do. We had failed the Planet, and Jenova almost destroyed everything." Tara hopped forward and reached out to the Cetra priestess.
At that moment, Ifaine screamed in agony. In mid-scream, her voice changed and become deeper and harsher. It spoke, and its words were etched forever in my memory.
"Apocalypse is coming,
The dark one has fallen but is not destroyed.
The traveler shall live again.
Her child shall call destruction
Defenders shall come
Challenged to sacrifice,
Firstborn and lastborn must together fight.
Guardians must fail in their cause,
And the defenders be betrayed
To save the world.
Apocalypse is calling.
Be wary, child of the Apocalypse.
Your people shall find salvation
Or damnation.
When Meteor comes.
When the last Cetra dies,
When the lastborn journeys beyond the skies,
When the painter who paints from the soul's canvas arrives,
When the twisted return, greater than before –
In an age of the lastborn,
In an age of twilight and fire,
Apocalypse comes.
Frogman of the Apocalypse –
If you are worthy,
The Apocalypse shall be your people's salvation.
If you are not,
Then all are doomed."
Ifaine arched her back in terrible pain, as the voice ended its words. She collapsed on the platform, and Tara pulled her close in her arms. Ifaine looked in her daughter's eyes, and she, ever-so-faintly, smiled. "Astarte, your daughter is in hiding with humans in Wutai. She may need your help…"
"Mother, I promise that I will come, or send someone to help my children or their children if they need help."
Ifaine never heard Tara's promise. Her eyes stared, unseeing, at the Frog.
Tara held her Cetra mother close, and rocked. As she rocked back and forth, she keened out her grief and loss.
* * * * *
I blinked in sudden surprise. I realized, as I saw the Frog and the Cetra priestess, one living, and the other dead, that I could see the scene. By some magic, we saw what happened on that day so long ago.
Tara had stopped her story. "Yes, Maiji Carpenter. What magic I have left is part of my storytelling. I can make others see the events I relate, when I have the strength." She chuckled. "Of course, Hieros seldom permits me to use my magic any more, because he believes me to be old and frail."
Hieros protested, "You are old and frail, Eldest!"
Patter laughed. "Master, I have never before seen someone so old and frail, but yet alive, in my life! If permitted, I am sure Tara would be out having a little bit of fun with your charges from earlier." He looked at the elder Sahugin, and added, "However, we all treasure you, Eldest, and would rather protect you from everything if we could."
"Even Yager treasures you, I am sure!" I added, with a laugh. The others joined in after a moment, even serious Hieros.
Tara smiled, as we stopped laughing. "Maiji, you have a gift. I would be honored if you would allow me to watch you use that gift, and help you develop it. You are potentially the greatest artist of our time."
I couldn't believe what she was saying. "Me? I just draw some sketches…"
"Your drawing and painting are central to your gift. Have you ever felt that you weren't getting something right when you were drawing a subject?"
How did she know? That was why I was almost always dissatisfied with my drawings! Wordlessly, I nodded.
Tara's eyes glittered in the faint light of her chamber. "That is because you are drawing what your eyes see. I can teach you to draw with the eyes of your soul."
To be continued …