Conciousness returned slowly. She lay under something furry, something
that felt like she was laying next to a fire. Someone had pulled off
her jacket and her boots, and covered her in fur.
Opening her eyes, she squinted against the light bombarding them. There
was a single lightbulb hanging in the compartment she was sleeping
in.
*This looks like a storage compartment.* she thought, stretching
lazily. The fure outfit and the snow lion fur covering was wretched
excess. Fanning herself with one hand, she reached for her boots.
Pulling them on, she shoved the fur aside, and flipped the opening
switch.
The compartment sprang open, revealing the underground storage
for Trabia Garden. *Of course, it would survive the missiles.* Selphie
nodded to herself, remembering the aboveground storage compartments
that the students had been using as bedrooms when she had visited
with Squall and the others.
"Headmaster?" A short blonde boy in the uniform of Trabia Garden
scrambled to his feet.. "Alaina asked me to wait here until you
woke up."
"Call me Selphie." the brown-haired girl replied, raking her fingers
through the shoulder-length brown hair. "Where's Alaina?" She smiled
encouragingly at the boy.
"Upstairs. She's been bouncing off the walls since you arrived." the
boy replied.
"Thanks!" Selphie smiled at the boy. "Tell whoever you come across that
we're having a meeting in the biggest storage room, kay?"
"Yes, Ms. Selphie!" the boy replied. He hurried off to inform the other
students.
"Just call me Selphie!" she called after him. "Oh well." she commented
to herself.
Fifteen minutes later, the survivors of the missiles were gathered in
the empty storage room. Most of them were obviously chilly in their
uniforms. Selphie smiled at the people she knew, and moved to stand
in front of them. "Headmaster Cid of Balamb Garden has named me the
new Headmaster for Trabia Garden. He gave me funds for supplies, and
sent me here in the Ragnarok. We haven't been given any other SeeDs,
due to the problems with Galbadia and the Galbadia Garden
reconstruction."
There was a stirring in her audience, and a redhead who wore the
uniform of a senior cadet stood up. "Where are the funds?"
"Spent." Selphie replied. "I purchased all the supplies before I
came here. The cargo you and your fellow cadets unloaded was the
result of that spending."
Muttering sprang up, and the girl said "We have few weapons and
fewer people who know how to use them. The faculty are either
fled, dead, or hoplessly useless. Trabia Garden as it is now
is unrepairable." She looked around at the other cadets. "In
other words, Trabia Garden is dead."
"Trabia Garden is not dead!" Alaina, who was sitting on the other
side of the room, rocketed up. "Not as long as we survive!"
"There are no SeeDs. There are no teachers. We can't even graduate
our own students." the other girl retorted.
"Hold on. What's your name?" Selphie asked, looking at the girl.
"Moira." replied the girl.
"Moira, Trabia Garden is not dead. This shell we live in right
now is dead. It's good only as a shelter, and even that
usefullness is expiring." Selphie said. "But we can rebuild
somewhere else in Trabia."
"With no funds? With no way of generating income?" Moira put her
hands on her hips. "Boy, I've got to see this."
"Show some respect for the Headmistress." Alaina glared at
Moira.
"We have a chance." Selphie raised her hand, and the room went
silent. "Once the blizzard stops, I'm taking a choboco, and
going to Shumi."
***
Wrapped in snow lion fur, Selphie could hardly move as the chocobo she
rode moved swiftly over the snow-covered landscape. She was warm and
reasonably comfortable, but almost totally immobile. Fortunately,
the chocobo knew where they were going.
The blizzard had left miles and miles of pristine snow that seemed
to stretch out in all directions. Selphie watched warily for monsters,
knowing as she did that it was very unlikely that any creature
short of a hasted ruby dragon would be able to catch up with the
racing chocobo.
Soon enough, the snow gave way to the ocean. Selphie found herself
bracing as the chocobo raced down onto the snow covered beach and
onto the water. But her reaction was for nothing, as the chocobo
somehow ran faster, jumping over the water like it wasn't even
there.
An hour later, the chocobo reached the path that led to the dome.
Dismounting, Selphie led the chocobo behind her by the reins
down the heat-jet path and into the dome.
The three robed Shumi who guarded the Ultima draw point let her
past without comment, black eyes watching her with curiosity as
she passed.
Entering the large room near the elevator leading down to Shumi,
Selphie put the chocobo in one of the stables reserved for
guests. Stripping off the furs, she stuffed them in one of the
sealed boxes. She slammed the lid, and held her hand over the
translucent panel on the lid. It glowed, and locked.
Turning away, Selphie scurried out of the room, and into the
elevator. The doors slid shut, and she sat down on one of the
padded seats. As the lift descended, she ran her fingers
through her hair.
Shumi were a race that had once roamed the planet with
humans, acting as teachers and scholars. They had hailed to
no emperor, bowed to no government. Their only leader was
accepted unanimously by the clans.
When Deling had taken office, he had issued an order to the
Shumi to intigrate and share their knowledge with Galbadia.
Predictably, the Shumi had refused. In retaliation, the
Galbadian army had hunted down whatever Shumi they could
find, and killed them. At that point, Deling issued an
ultimatum: Either the Shumi would surrender all they knew
to Galbadia, or he would hunt them all down and kill them.
The Shumi had fled to Trabia. At that time, there had been
a small offshoot of Balamb Garden struggling to survive.
In exchange for keeping quiet about the Shumi, Trabia
entered a contract with the Shumi to construct Shumi
Village. All gems and found in the excavation were
given to Trabia Garden. Once Shumi Village was complete,
the gems and metals went towards finishing the small Garden
and a new Garden in Galbadia.
So Trabia continued the tradition of sending cadets to
Balamb for the exam, and SeeDs never saw the inside of
Trabia Garden again.
Selphie intended to change that.
The elevator came to a stop, and the door hissed open.
Standing up, Selphie walked out into the artificial
sunlight.
Shumi village was bright and cheery, at least to Selphie's
eyes. The walls and ceiling of the immense cavern were
covered with illusions of a slightly forested landscape.
The brown domes looked perfectly natural among all the
greenery.
She took her time wandering down the dirt path, admiring
the flowers and trees as she passed. Eventually, she
wound up in front of the Elder's hut.
The Moomba let her pass, purring contentedly at her.
She smiled at it. Moombas seemed to be able to cheer
anybody up merely by their presence.
The Elder was alone inside of the hut, and he wore a
grave expression. "Greetings, Selphie of Trabia.
Welcome to Shumi Village."
"Greetings, Honored Elder. Thank you for allowing me
to enter your village." Selphie replied, sticking to
the rigid protocol she'd been taught by the teachers
at Trabia.
"Very proper young lady." the Elder said. "But you
needn't follow the protocol your teachers no doubt
made you learn as a child." He gestured at a chair
opposite him. "Please, sit."
Selphie sat down, crossing her legs. "Anyway... I came
here to see if we could make a deal or something."
"A deal?" the Elder repeated. "What sort of deal?"
"A trading deal." Selphie replied. "We could extend
your caves, or do repair work, or give you half the
goods we get from dealing with monsters..."
The Elder thought that over. "We have a different
deal for you." he said. "In exchange for helping
to rebuild your caverns, you must consent to study
here under Scholar."
"Huh? That's a wierd deal, but... Okay." Selphie
replied. She couldn't see anything odd about it,
though. "Why, though."
"Because Shumi love to teach." replied Elder. "And
it has been far too long since we have had a student."
"When do my lessons begin?"
"Today." Elder replied. "Scholar is in the hut closest
to the guest hut." He stood, and Selphie followed suit.
"May you gain much knowledge, youngling."
"Thank you, Elder.
that felt like she was laying next to a fire. Someone had pulled off
her jacket and her boots, and covered her in fur.
Opening her eyes, she squinted against the light bombarding them. There
was a single lightbulb hanging in the compartment she was sleeping
in.
*This looks like a storage compartment.* she thought, stretching
lazily. The fure outfit and the snow lion fur covering was wretched
excess. Fanning herself with one hand, she reached for her boots.
Pulling them on, she shoved the fur aside, and flipped the opening
switch.
The compartment sprang open, revealing the underground storage
for Trabia Garden. *Of course, it would survive the missiles.* Selphie
nodded to herself, remembering the aboveground storage compartments
that the students had been using as bedrooms when she had visited
with Squall and the others.
"Headmaster?" A short blonde boy in the uniform of Trabia Garden
scrambled to his feet.. "Alaina asked me to wait here until you
woke up."
"Call me Selphie." the brown-haired girl replied, raking her fingers
through the shoulder-length brown hair. "Where's Alaina?" She smiled
encouragingly at the boy.
"Upstairs. She's been bouncing off the walls since you arrived." the
boy replied.
"Thanks!" Selphie smiled at the boy. "Tell whoever you come across that
we're having a meeting in the biggest storage room, kay?"
"Yes, Ms. Selphie!" the boy replied. He hurried off to inform the other
students.
"Just call me Selphie!" she called after him. "Oh well." she commented
to herself.
Fifteen minutes later, the survivors of the missiles were gathered in
the empty storage room. Most of them were obviously chilly in their
uniforms. Selphie smiled at the people she knew, and moved to stand
in front of them. "Headmaster Cid of Balamb Garden has named me the
new Headmaster for Trabia Garden. He gave me funds for supplies, and
sent me here in the Ragnarok. We haven't been given any other SeeDs,
due to the problems with Galbadia and the Galbadia Garden
reconstruction."
There was a stirring in her audience, and a redhead who wore the
uniform of a senior cadet stood up. "Where are the funds?"
"Spent." Selphie replied. "I purchased all the supplies before I
came here. The cargo you and your fellow cadets unloaded was the
result of that spending."
Muttering sprang up, and the girl said "We have few weapons and
fewer people who know how to use them. The faculty are either
fled, dead, or hoplessly useless. Trabia Garden as it is now
is unrepairable." She looked around at the other cadets. "In
other words, Trabia Garden is dead."
"Trabia Garden is not dead!" Alaina, who was sitting on the other
side of the room, rocketed up. "Not as long as we survive!"
"There are no SeeDs. There are no teachers. We can't even graduate
our own students." the other girl retorted.
"Hold on. What's your name?" Selphie asked, looking at the girl.
"Moira." replied the girl.
"Moira, Trabia Garden is not dead. This shell we live in right
now is dead. It's good only as a shelter, and even that
usefullness is expiring." Selphie said. "But we can rebuild
somewhere else in Trabia."
"With no funds? With no way of generating income?" Moira put her
hands on her hips. "Boy, I've got to see this."
"Show some respect for the Headmistress." Alaina glared at
Moira.
"We have a chance." Selphie raised her hand, and the room went
silent. "Once the blizzard stops, I'm taking a choboco, and
going to Shumi."
***
Wrapped in snow lion fur, Selphie could hardly move as the chocobo she
rode moved swiftly over the snow-covered landscape. She was warm and
reasonably comfortable, but almost totally immobile. Fortunately,
the chocobo knew where they were going.
The blizzard had left miles and miles of pristine snow that seemed
to stretch out in all directions. Selphie watched warily for monsters,
knowing as she did that it was very unlikely that any creature
short of a hasted ruby dragon would be able to catch up with the
racing chocobo.
Soon enough, the snow gave way to the ocean. Selphie found herself
bracing as the chocobo raced down onto the snow covered beach and
onto the water. But her reaction was for nothing, as the chocobo
somehow ran faster, jumping over the water like it wasn't even
there.
An hour later, the chocobo reached the path that led to the dome.
Dismounting, Selphie led the chocobo behind her by the reins
down the heat-jet path and into the dome.
The three robed Shumi who guarded the Ultima draw point let her
past without comment, black eyes watching her with curiosity as
she passed.
Entering the large room near the elevator leading down to Shumi,
Selphie put the chocobo in one of the stables reserved for
guests. Stripping off the furs, she stuffed them in one of the
sealed boxes. She slammed the lid, and held her hand over the
translucent panel on the lid. It glowed, and locked.
Turning away, Selphie scurried out of the room, and into the
elevator. The doors slid shut, and she sat down on one of the
padded seats. As the lift descended, she ran her fingers
through her hair.
Shumi were a race that had once roamed the planet with
humans, acting as teachers and scholars. They had hailed to
no emperor, bowed to no government. Their only leader was
accepted unanimously by the clans.
When Deling had taken office, he had issued an order to the
Shumi to intigrate and share their knowledge with Galbadia.
Predictably, the Shumi had refused. In retaliation, the
Galbadian army had hunted down whatever Shumi they could
find, and killed them. At that point, Deling issued an
ultimatum: Either the Shumi would surrender all they knew
to Galbadia, or he would hunt them all down and kill them.
The Shumi had fled to Trabia. At that time, there had been
a small offshoot of Balamb Garden struggling to survive.
In exchange for keeping quiet about the Shumi, Trabia
entered a contract with the Shumi to construct Shumi
Village. All gems and found in the excavation were
given to Trabia Garden. Once Shumi Village was complete,
the gems and metals went towards finishing the small Garden
and a new Garden in Galbadia.
So Trabia continued the tradition of sending cadets to
Balamb for the exam, and SeeDs never saw the inside of
Trabia Garden again.
Selphie intended to change that.
The elevator came to a stop, and the door hissed open.
Standing up, Selphie walked out into the artificial
sunlight.
Shumi village was bright and cheery, at least to Selphie's
eyes. The walls and ceiling of the immense cavern were
covered with illusions of a slightly forested landscape.
The brown domes looked perfectly natural among all the
greenery.
She took her time wandering down the dirt path, admiring
the flowers and trees as she passed. Eventually, she
wound up in front of the Elder's hut.
The Moomba let her pass, purring contentedly at her.
She smiled at it. Moombas seemed to be able to cheer
anybody up merely by their presence.
The Elder was alone inside of the hut, and he wore a
grave expression. "Greetings, Selphie of Trabia.
Welcome to Shumi Village."
"Greetings, Honored Elder. Thank you for allowing me
to enter your village." Selphie replied, sticking to
the rigid protocol she'd been taught by the teachers
at Trabia.
"Very proper young lady." the Elder said. "But you
needn't follow the protocol your teachers no doubt
made you learn as a child." He gestured at a chair
opposite him. "Please, sit."
Selphie sat down, crossing her legs. "Anyway... I came
here to see if we could make a deal or something."
"A deal?" the Elder repeated. "What sort of deal?"
"A trading deal." Selphie replied. "We could extend
your caves, or do repair work, or give you half the
goods we get from dealing with monsters..."
The Elder thought that over. "We have a different
deal for you." he said. "In exchange for helping
to rebuild your caverns, you must consent to study
here under Scholar."
"Huh? That's a wierd deal, but... Okay." Selphie
replied. She couldn't see anything odd about it,
though. "Why, though."
"Because Shumi love to teach." replied Elder. "And
it has been far too long since we have had a student."
"When do my lessons begin?"
"Today." Elder replied. "Scholar is in the hut closest
to the guest hut." He stood, and Selphie followed suit.
"May you gain much knowledge, youngling."
"Thank you, Elder.