Warrior Soul
Part I: Chosen one
By Tanthalas Fierolobo
"You will always be our leader."
- Inscription beneath Squall
Leonhart's statue, Balamb Garden.
CHAPTER SEVEN: Betrayed oaths. The Rebirth.
Forced Alliances.
30. Shadows will follow
Rinoa
was really scared. Someone, or something
was following her, but she couldn't see what, only able to hear its deep
breathing. She was walking through the streets of Deling by night, her heels
knocking loudly in the silent darkness of the deserted city. The breathing was
approaching, and she fastened the pace. Suddenly she heard a long, horrible
howl beside her, and, in complete panic, began to run as fast as she could,
trying to escape from the beast that persecuted her. She turned the fatidic
corner, but this time there was no dark form to bump into. Instead, there was a
enormous precipice, an endless pit so dark in the bottom that it was even
difficult to look at the darkness. And, on the other side of the abyss, the
shadow, that spoke with a voice she had once known so well, she had once loved
so much… "Don't be afraid, Rinoa."
The shadow somehow, despite the distance, whispered in her ear. "I'm here, you can reach me if you trust
me". His voice was like a healing elixir to her scared heart; she only
wanted to be with him, hold him and be held by him, experience that feeling of
safeness that had left her so long ago… the dark form extended his arm, and a
wooden bridge, tied with ropes to some posts, appeared between them crossing
the terrifying precipice. Without thinking anymore, feeling that the
approaching beast was almost behind her, she began to run towards the shadow,
and then she would embrace it, and then nothing would matter anymore… When she
was at the middle of the bridge, the dark form suddenly pulled out a sword made
of darkness and, without any contemplations, without any word, severed the
ropes that sustained the wooden passage. Rinoa's eyes opened wide, as tears of
desperation and fear flooded her eyes and filled her cheeks. "No! Why!?
No!!" She cried as she felt herself losing balance, and falling, falling,
endlessly falling… but the falling came to an end. She hit the bottom with a
"*thump*" like a tossed rock, and pain invaded her senses… but she was still
alive to feel something was around her… and then the beast that had been
persecuting her appeared before her now covered with blood eyes. Panic
overwhelmed her body as the demon raised one of its claws. "No! Please don't!" she cried out in terror as it, ignoring her
pleads, brought its claw down. "No…"
Suddenly all went black. The pain was insufferable as the claws and fangs of
the creature tore skin, flesh and bone, in a endless symphony of agony that
would never stop…
*beep*
… *beep* … *beep* … *beep* …
The beeping sound of the alarm clock
suddenly dragged Rinoa from the horrible nightmare. She immediately opened her
dark brown eyes, that flung myriads of little golden sparks, and sat in shock,
breathing rapidly, heavily, all her body covered in sweat… like she had done
before. This time she realised what had happened sooner.
- Shit… - The curse escaped between her lips, as she put a hand on her forehead and lay again on her comfortable bed. She still could feel the torture, in her mind and in her body equally… this was beginning to worry her a lot. – I must do something with this… it's driving me mad... – She muttered to the empty air, with a grimace in her face as she revived in her head the dreadful visions. She remembered why the alarm clock had awakened her and stood up, throwing out of her conscience those things that didn't let her think clearly. She always slept completely naked, so she had not to take anything off as she headed to the bathroom to have a shower, to clean her body of that horrid sweat that made her feel so uncomfortable, relax and free her mind from sinister thoughts. When she was inside the tub, hot water wetting her gorgeous frame as she carefully washed her long, dark hair, she heard how someone knocked at the door.
- Rinoa! Are you there? It's time to get up, I'm coming in! – A voice came from outside. The Sorceress recognised Kristyne's voice, and smiled. Despite she didn't want to admit she was happy for having a close, trustful friend at her side in that moment. Rinoa spoke loud so she would hear her.
- Come in, I'm having a shower!
- Okay! – Kristyne replied, who had already stepped in the room. She glanced around, analysing the room as she always did. Contrary to public opinion, which believed that a Sorceress' room would be the personification of sumptuousness and glamour, Rinoa had a very Spartan decoration, without any expensive furniture or ostentatious useless pictures in the wall, sacrificing looks for pragmatism. She had chosen as a place to live one of the guests rooms, the smallest one (and still she had a lot of space), and reorganised it to fit her necessities; indeed, she almost only had there what was necessary for her, and not more. Her dependencies consisted in a big main room that held all what she needed to live and a not less large bathroom. The main room, with a floor covered with an amethyst fitted carpet that silenced her steps, had her bed in the east side of the room, which was simple but extremely comfortable, and a night table beside it; a big wardrobe at a side of the bed on the south wall, where all her outfits were held, along with her now old, covered-in-dust Blaster Edge, and the collar of her long dead pet Angelo, that had died around eight years ago; a large, full body mirror attached to the north wall, and close to it a little table to put her things; all the west wall was covered with a huge bookcase filled with all sorts of books that went from encyclopaedias to novels and philosophic texts from the most famous writers, her Diary, and many other things. It also held her Book of Sorcery, written in the Arcane language by Rinoa herself, that contained all the annotations and lessons about Sorceress' Magic she had received or created by her own through the years; a very restful chair in the middle of the room where she sat to read, or think; and finally a large desk where she wrote, to the left of the mirror. The space left in the north wall had an enormous windowpane, that filled the room with light during the day, and was big enough to let her see the moon and the stars from the bed at night. Everything was of dark red, brown or mauve tones, making the room look warm, and cosy. Kristyne always felt that she entered in her parents' home when she went to her room; it was almost identical to their living room, saving the bed. It made her feel… 'at home', for some minutes at least. She spoke to her, talking loudly so she would hear. – I just came to tell something to you… it will only take a minute.
She heard the water of the shower stopping, and the soft noise of the woman going out of the tub.
- Very well then. – She calmly said, opening the bathroom door, only a brown towel covering her, her wet, messy hair falling over her shoulders and down her back, little drops of water raining over the carpeted floor. – Just a minute. – She said, as she raised her arms and let the towel fall, not caring if her body was being watched. She recited some words as her eyes glowed with its characteristic golden tones, and a warm breeze embraced her, the magic zephyr slowly drying her hair and body. Kristyne said nothing and patiently waited for her to finish; she had seen her naked countless times (like when she had to clean her when she was passing her horrible illness in bed twelve years ago, or in the intense meditation rituals they had once a year*) and this time it wasn't going to be different. When the Sorceress was completely dry, she walked towards her wardrobe. – What's in your mind, Danielle. – She casually asked as she opened one of the large doors of the wooden closet. She felt in a much better mood now that she was clean, physically and mentally, and Kristyne's presence there just contributed to keep that good mood. Noticing as always that the Sorceress had called her by her first name, something no one did except her and her now dead parents, she leaned on the wall and proceeded to say what had led her there, as she watched how Rinoa chose her attire. This was one of those times where the Sorceress behaved like a woman, and not like a powerful and responsible entity out of the understanding of mere mortals.
- I only wanted to tell you that… I've been thinking a lot… and… well… - She didn't know how to say it. It was difficult approaching to her.
- What is it, Danielle, come on, spit it. – Rinoa said as she took a vaporous white dress, went in front of the mirror and put it over her body to see how it fitted. Kristyne sighed and told herself that the sooner she got it out of her mind the better she would feel afterwards.
- It's that I finally understand your… feelings towards the figure of Squall Leonhart, Rinoa, and that I certainly sympathise with you… but despite now I know all the truth, I find myself unable to hate him in the way you do… I know what he did, and the suffering you had to stand and all… but he… he is someone whose spirit I've admired, and always wanted to become something like him… but I also wanted to say that I'll always stand at your side, Rinoa… and I mean always, no matter what might happen…
The sorceress stopped looking at her projected image on the mirror and looked directly to her, not annoyed or disgusted or disappointed, but with a smile in her lips.
- Did you really think that I'd like you to abhorrence him the way I do? Everyone has dreams and heroes, Child, and I'm not going to spoil you from yours! Think whatever you want and feel the way you want towards others, Danielle; the only thing that I will do is advice or counsel you, but not more. You are completely free to do what you want. – At that moment the SeeD was feeling a great relief.
- I only thought that you might be… disappointed with me… - She warily stated.
- Oh, there's no way I can feel that, Danielle my friend. You have proven to be trustful and judicious in many times. – "How adorable…" the Sorceress thought, as like what Kristyne had said were the words of her daughter apologizing for something without importance. Still, what she had last said made her think. – But… mmm… what did you mean with "no matter what might happen"? – She said, asking a question whose answer she already knew.
- You know what I mean, Sorceress Heartilly. – Kristyne stated.
- I… see. - The casual ambient had completely vanished. Rinoa talked now completely seriously. – How long have you been thinking this, Child.
- Enough to be completely sure.
- Then I must tell you that that won't happen, understand? Never. I'll never let it go that way; before that could be, I will kill myself, you hear me? So don't be wasting your time thinking about such things. – She finished, not expecting an answer.
- Okay, Rinoa… it was something I had to bring out of me, that's all… but I swear that if the world turns against you for any reason… I won't be part of the world. I'll stand by your side. - The Sorceress knew that, despite Kristyne would not mention it again, her determination of being at her side no matter what would happen had not been weakened by her words; that annoyed her in part… but on the other hand she felt happy that she would have a friend always, whatever destiny had reserved to them. Her warm smile returned to her face.
- Come on, help me choose some appropriate clothes… it will be an outfit that millions of people will see, Danielle.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Author's note: The "Being One with Nature
rituals"… once per year, Rinoa performs a 'purification of the flesh', that is
a very complex ceremony that must be executed in a 'wild' place, and where she
needs another human being that must be close to her. Rinoa chose Kristyne for
it, and she agreed gladly; in it, they transcend the material plane to become a
whole with the things that surround them. One of the countless requirements of
it is that they can't have anything on, because it would interfere in the
magical energies unleashed. The complete description of this ritual, that takes
more than twenty hours to get finished and is so complicated that can't be
detailed entirely here, can be found in "The Book of Sorcery", in Sorceress
Rinoa Heartilly's personal library.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
31. Wild
Zell had finally left after being
there trying to have at least a little chat with Squall… all his efforts in
vain. After having demoralised Zell to the point that he gave up trying to
"contact" him and left, Squall could study where he was without being
disturbed. The guest room, where he had been led to, was the one of the
finest places of Garden, with all kind of expensive luxuries and furniture,
exquisite tapestries on the walls and the most refined carpets on the floor...
it had three rooms (bedroom, bath and living room) and it had an access to
quite a large balcony where the sight of the shore of Galbadian continent was
displayed, Dollet able to be seen in the far distance to the north. He already
hated being there. He felt overwhelmed by all those things that surrounded him,
even the smell made him feel uncomfortable; without staying there any longer,
he hurried to the balcony to take some pure salt air from the ocean. It was
horrible for him thinking that he would have to get used again to that room, to
those walls surrounding him, to a bed… to civilization. Walls didn't
exist in his world; his ceiling were the stars, or the exuberant branches of
trees, or the hard rock of a cave. His bed had always been some blankets on the
floor, sometimes don't even that. Thinking about this, he decided he would
not get used to it again; he took off his backpack, that still was on his
back, and picked from it his sleeping bag. Extending it on the floor of the
balcony, he sat on it, and simply looked at the ocean and the shore, thinking…
thinking, meditating, slowly falling in a state of semi-conscience, remembering
passed times to escape from that place, at least for some precious time…
~~The
night had fallen and the most of nature slept… still, he continued walking,
with the stubborn determination of finishing what had brought him there; it
would come to an end that night, and no other. He continued walking through the
forest, located somewhere in the deeps of Trabia, with a very explicit
objective in his mind to achieve; the hours passed, without changes, only his
steps being heard in the deepness of the forest along with the sound of the
creatures of the night and the sound of wind passing through the leaves of
trees. Finally, he arrived to what appeared to be a house in a tree; a huge house, in a even huger tree.
"are you sure it's here?" he mentally asked. "Completely." Came the voice in
response; it was not a voice at all in the strict sense of the word… it was
something like an emotional language, emitting very specific, advanced emotions
to him, notions that were much more expressive than words, that were
automatically translated to Common language in Squall's mind. "Then let's put
an end to this. Finally I will find the
answers to questions that he made me ask." The man hollowly stated, this
time aloud. "They are powerful. More than you. You will not be able to beat
them even with Our assistance." He sardonically smiled. "I won't resort to
violence. I know it would be a suicide. It's only… a courtesy visit. I've been
wandering, looking for him for too long to back off now." The 'voice' finished
with an advice: "Ask your questions then, but have in mind that They will ask
you too… and not in the common way. Be careful, and respectful, and you will
have your answers."
Squall nodded and silently, slowly approached the tree-house. He began to go up the numerous wooden steps that ascended in a spiral around the trunk of the tree, reaching a huge door made of oak wood. He extended his arm, and pulled it, the door instantly opening almost without effort. He was surprised to see an entire jungle inside the place; an exuberant forest inside the forest. The moonlight managed to filter through the ceiling, a gigantic crystal dome, its pale blue light illuminating all the magnificent area. It was strange, because the place, despite it already looked extremely big from outside, seemed to be much larger from the inside. He walked forward, through the grass-covered ground, green surrounding him everywhere; he could distinguish a brighter spot, with a strange form that he could not see properly yet, at the end of the wild path. He walked towards it…
~~
Squall heard how someone was knocking at the door, dragging him back to the present world. Frowning, he glanced at the sky, and realised that surprisingly almost two hours had passed. He stood up, went to the door and opened it. It was Quistis, who held a large bag in one of her hands. He noticed that she had changed her attire, now wearing not an exuberant ceremonial dress, or some or her usual comfortable work clothes, but something she had not worn for quite a long time now: her combat outfit, that which she had used almost twelve years ago fighting Ultimecia… well, not exactly that one: there are no clothes, no matter how good they are, that resist twelve years of constant use; it was an exact replica of the old one that had been specially designed for her by one of the best tailors in Deling. It had four years now, but looked almost new: the brownish-red jacket without sleeves, her bellybutton revealed; her long, dark brown skin gloves, covering her skin up to the shoulder; the skirt, of the same tone of the top, fastened to her waist with her dark leather belt; her boots, those brown leather boots that covered her legs up to the knees; her whip, the "Save the Queen" she had worked so hard to obtain, in her right hip; and finally, her hair, gold as sun, tied in that characteristic way that made her ever-growing fans sigh with admiration when they saw her. It was an splendid sight that which was displayed before Squall's eyes, such a wonderful woman in the bloom of her life, but he didn't care at all. He could see beyond that, he saw the faint lines in her face that began to appear, born of countless worries and distresses; he saw growing tiredness in those azure eyes that stared at him with such intensity; he saw a dying flower that desperately fought for some light and water to survive. But what he didn't know was that she considered him that water, that air that she would breath so deeply if she just could. But he wouldn't have cared at all. Over everything, he saw in her the symbol of his imprisonment in an intangible jail, that trespassed walls and doors and involved him with its ethereal claw and didn't let him even breathe. With a warm, bright smile, she talked.
-
I have some things for you. It's time for them to return to its owner's hand. –
She stepped inside the luxurious room and closed the door behind her, not
waiting to be invited for she knew Squall would never do such thing.
-
What do you mean. – The man asked, raising an eyebrow.
Without
a word, Quistis simply sat in one of the numerous seats of the room, opened the
bag and took something out of it. It was a long, narrow case, like those which
were used to hold swords. It was of a metallic black, and had a very special
symbol stamped in silver on it; the head of a mystic animal, that Squall had
once called a "lion": Griever. She slowly handed the case to him, who looked at
her warily, narrowing his eyes. Finally, he took it from her hands and,
unlocking the silver clasps, the man opened it and looked at what it held
inside. It was something he hadn't seen in too much time, and definitely the
only thing that he had barely missed from his times of SeeD… his personal
upgraded gunblade, the Lion Heart. It was of a pale blue, constructed with a
material that resembled ice, but much more hard, slightly translucent. Its
blade irradiated an ethereal cerulean aura, like it had life latent inside it,
and was incredibly, deathly sharp. And beside its bullets, was other thing that
he had almost missed, sometimes absently caressing the finger where it should
have been all those years: Griever, his ring. As he analysed them, Quistis
spoke.
- I've kept it all these years,
Squall, for I knew in my heart you'd handle it again. – Squall then looked at
her, an unreadable expression in his face.
- I promised long ago to not hold
any weapon again, Instructor. – He hollowly said, beginning to close the case.
The woman's lips became a thin line.
- Your return to the public eye must
be as charismatic as possible, Squall. They'll prefer to see the old Squall
Leonhart, that who saved their lives, and not the… mmm… "New" one. You don't
really have to use it, if you don't want… just hold it, that's all. – The
ex-SeeD stared at her eyes as he considered what to do. "It doesn't really
matter. Now that I am here, let's do it to the end. I can forget this again… if
I manage to survive." He sadly, bitterly thought. He took the ornate handle of
the weapon, which fitted his hand perfectly, and held it vertically in front of
him, giving the case back to Quistis.
-
I have betrayed all the promises I did to myself, Quistis. Let the
betrayal be complete. – With that, he grabbed his ponytail with his left hand
and put the razor sharp blade of Lion Heart under it, the not-edged side
resting on the nape of his neck. Without any other word, he easily cut it, the
hair falling in a copper shower to the ground. – Let's give your SeeDs what
they want, Commander.
He
took Griever from the box and put it in his finger.
Quistis
smiled.
32. The Coalition
**Extract
from "War Chronicles", written by numerous authors, assembled in one and
edited by the renowned authoress and poet Lillian Vennec. The book describes
numerous passages and events of what later would be called "The Estharian
Invasion", each written by different journalists in separated articles.
This masterpiece that illustrates the times of war like no other can, can be
found in the Estharian Library, Metropolis of Esthar. This extract is a very
reduced version, only stated the unknown events for the reader, of the part
named "The arise of the Coalition", Chapter two part three of "War
Chronicles"**
Original fragment written by Delon
Cole, for the "Deling Today" journal; edited by Lillian Venec to fit in the
line of history.
- Tuesday the 23rd, August, 7431
p.H.
12:14 in the morning. -
[…] In
an attempt to prevent the nation of Esthar from eradicating the rest of nations
in the world, all other factions over Kholos, from the empire of Galbadia to
the most little villages like Winhill […] participated in an assembly that
would decide the future of millions of human lives. The council was being held
in the city of Deling, capital of Galbadia and therefore the most appropriate
place to host the meeting. The writer of this article, Delon Cole, […] was
located in the main room of the Deling Embassy, waiting for the meeting to
begin. There was no public, but it would be retransmitted all over the world,
even for Esthar, measure that had been specially requested by the SeeD
organisation; And were specially the spokesmen of that faction, expressly the
Balamb Garden leaders, the only ones that had not arrived. The room was full of
expectation, all the delegates of every place in Galbadia Continent and
independent places such as Timber, or Fisherman's Horizon expecting the news
that the SeeDs and general Caraway had to give. Because it was an assembly that
the leader of Galbadia had convened, after receiving a communicate from Esthar,
and later one from Balamb Garden. The nature of this communicate had been kept
in secret to that moment, where it would be revealed and furthermore discussed.
[...]
12:27 in the morning. -
The Balamb ambassadors had arrived already. They were three: Commander
Quistis Trepe […], Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly […], and someone that had not been
identified, covering his face and body with a brown cloak. Everything was
prepared then, all the delegates occupying their respective stands in the huge
circular room. The leader of the Galbadian nation, General Price N. Caraway,
who acted as the moderator of the meeting as well, began the ceremony […]. After
the tedious protocol was over, the true reunion started. Caraway began, filling
all the assistants in about what was happening, the reason for that meeting
[…].
13:15 in the afternoon. -
Everyone was shocked, without exception, as they knew what was going on. Incredulous at first, it had been necessary to call people to calm several times, until the ambassadors of each place assumed that it was completely true and real what Caraway had said: that Esthar was going to do war against them, and apparently for reasons for which the SeeD organisation, and the Galbadian radicals, were responsible. After calming the voices of anger against the apparent culprits, asking for patience so they would know all the story, the moderator gave the word to the Balamb Garden delegates, who would ratify, detail and add vital information to Caraway's speech, so all the thread would be uncovered […]
14:06
in the afternoon. -
The
tape with Odine's voice had finally stopped, and the Commander of Balamb Garden
Quistis Trepe continued adding some information such as the description of the
message they had received from Esthar, and ending with how it was obvious that
all was a façade built by the beings known as the 'Uktumi'. She hadn't spared
any detail in her heated, at times full of emotion speech, beginning with how
the missiles fell over Trabia Garden, the death of the renowned SeeD Selphie
Tilmitt, their conversation with President Laguna Loire, their expedition to
the hidden Laboratory, and a large etcetera. […] When she reached the part
where they had just received the Esthar "Fake peace offer" as she called it,
and said that The Sorceress Heartilly and her had gone to her office to discuss
it, she made a long pause, breathing deeply before continuing. Next are described
her textual words, transcribed exactly as she pronounced them, for those were
words that deserved to be recorded in history: "In that discussion, we came to
the conclusion that only one thing could help us overcome this crisis. We
decided to finally break our vow of not revealing it, for we needed him more
than in any other circumstance. We decided, to throw some light onto the most
jealousy kept secret of SeeD, that is known by very few people in the entire
world, all of them part of our organisation. We decided to seek Squall Leonhart
and bring him 'back to life'… in a figured sense of course… for he has never
been dead. And that's what I'm about to do, because this, ladies and gentlemen,
leaders and delegates of the non-estharian faction, is what we needed to
survive." As her words faded in the meeting room, the speechless assistants to
the council saw how the cloaked figure, that had done nothing to the moment,
slowly gave a step forward and pulled back his hood. Before the shocked stares
from everyone in the room, that identified the face instantly, he loudly,
clearly stated four simple words: "I am Squall Leonhart." Every single person
in the room was stunned, from the guards that secured the place to the very
General Price Caraway. After this pause of effect, he went on talking, carving
his words into the assistants' minds. "And I have come, to fight against Esthar
for humanity's sake." It was unbelievable for everyone there, and everyone in
their houses who were watching this through TV, that Squall Leonhart was
talking to them. Obviously, this deserved an explanation […]
14:14
in the afternoon. -
Quistis
Trepe had explained everything, finally uncovering the truth long hidden to the
world, for obvious reasons. Before continuing with the facts, a summary is
needed to the better understanding of the situation: She started saying again
that Squall Leonhart did not die in the fight against Ultimecia. He had been
lost for a while, staying to finally kill Ultimecia while the others went back
to their own time. It was a valiant action that he accomplished risking even
more his life, in an attempt to at least save the others'. But he had returned,
some hours after everyone did. Commander Trepe explained that he had been
offered every honour they could imagine, and that they had offered him the
highest rank in the corporation, or anything he might want of them… what he
said to them, in the textual words was "I want to leave and die to the world."
It is not known what Squall Leonhart suffered in his space-time odyssey to
desire that, but SeeD gave him what he wanted, for he had saved their
existence. Squall Leonhart left Balamb Garden in the shadows, exactly one night
after the Ultimecia Battle, day 18, month 12, year 7419 p.H., but leaving with
the promise that, if they needed him again, they only had to find him. And at
the same time, the next day word was spread that he was dead, killing him to
the eyes of the world as he desired. In that way, Squall had been wandering all
around the world, hidden to humanity, living a lone life in the wilds, never
settling down.* And now, they had need of him, so he was found, and returned as
promised. In that moment, when she finished her speech, everyone was silent,
assimilating what they had just heard. And then, someone from the media that
could not hold it any longer shouted, raising his fist, a bright smile and eyes
full of hope, maybe even fanaticism: "Long live Squall Leonhart!!" In less than
a few seconds, the room was a storm of cheers, everyone, even General Caraway,
producing a roar of clapping, cheering, and yelling that went in a crescendo,
each one of them directed to the same point, a only person that stood solemnly,
pursing his lips.
The expression of the other Balamb delegates were both smiles: a bright triumphant one in the Commander's face, a scornful one in the Sorceress'.
End of fragment. After this, the
alliances were easily formed. Despite wary at first, the different autonomies
understood what was necessary. With the apparition of Squall Leonhart, the
passionate intervention of Rinoa Heartilly (describing that they needed to be
together if they wanted to survive and many other arguments), some speeches
from the respective delegates from the different places, all of this made the
meeting be a complete success.
The Coalition had been formed.
End of chapter seven.
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*Author's
note: as you might have guessed already, Quistis lied in that meeting
too. She had invented a nice, credible story to cover the truth so they would
not be ashamed of revealing it… ahh ntch ntch, nasty Quistis…