Chapter 17 - Arrival of Royalty

I ducked and weaved under all of Jaria's attacks, although not with ease or comfort. I now knew that I was certainly as strong as her, if not slightly stronger. We had been going for four hours now without even a break to slow our training down, and I felt great. Day was breaking over the horizon and as the sun came up I thumped Jaria to the ground for the last time. As I looked out over the horizon I could see a pretty big force of fighters approaching our town. Some were flying, some were walking, and I didn't know if they were friendly or otherwise. But I sure as hell wasn't going to let them get any closer to the village without having an idea. I burst into a flaming aura of energy and flew at full speed towards the group, getting closer and closer, preparing myself for battle.

I stayed in the air and halted when I was within earshot of the warriors. They looked strong, and they had some sort of strange crest emblazoned upon their uniforms. One man at the front stood forward as the group halted, and I spoke to him in a forceful manner.

"What is your business in our village?" I shouted as my energy subsided a little. I had a feeling now that those whom I was dealing with was on our side. The man at the front stood forward and raised his right hand.

"We come in peace. I am the King Kilbane of Cyrain and these are my forces."

I smiled. This was great news. Kilbane's forces numbered around 150-200 men, and we would need all the help we could get if we were going to bring down Kefka.

"Thanks for coming your majesty." I replied, with what almost sounded like a regal tone in my voice. It felt very strange. "My name is Rylian Heartsan."

King Kilbane nodded at me.

"I know who you are, I guessed when I first saw you. I'm impressed I have to admit. Not many men have the power that you do. But now is not the time to discuss such matters. We must get back to the village and prepare for the assault."

I nodded and led them forward. We surely had a chance now.didn't we?



"Our chances are slim at best Rylian.the way we stand now." Kilbane confided in me. I was completely taken aback. We were in the village now, and the briefing for our mission was just about to start.

"What?!" I shouted, almost drawing attention to myself. The King took me aside and looked at me straight.

"This wasn't the desirable way to fight Kefka you know. We were hoping for a lot more time.but it's simply not an option now. We have to fight head on. The problem with that is, I don't know if we can defeat him. We're strong it's true, but compared to Kefka we're like flies."

I looked down at the ground. The strange thing was, I wasn't feeling dejected.

"We'll beat him.don't worry about it your majesty."

Kilbane looked at me with a quiet form of respect. I found it fulfilling to be looked at in such a way by such a man. Kilbane was certainly an impressive leader. A battle-worn leader, his incredible physical build complemented his skills and intelligence. I liked this guy a lot; he was everything I had never known a leader of people to be.everything I wanted to be, if I'm honest at this point.

Suddenly there was a rumbling of voices throughout the crowd of warriors in the hall where we resided. Kilbane and myself took our seats at the front of the room, looking straight at the faces who were all about to go into battle against an unimaginable force. I now realised what this meant to so many people. The homeless, sick and poverty stricken inhabitants of this land, these were their representatives, and I wasn't ready to let them down. Suddenly, Jaria got to her feet and stood in front of the crowd. Everyone quietened down. This was it.

"Everyone, I know how anxious you all are to get out there and do what you do best, so I will be brief. By now you have been handed your missions."

This was true. I had been assigned to the elitist core of the group that included besides myself Kilbane, Jaria, Leon (Kilbane's top solider, whom I hadn't met as yet), Jessie, Karon and Tomona. A pretty tough line up in my opinion. But then, as I had been told, even our combined strength was way lower than Kefka's. It would take skill and tactics to beat him out in a fight.

"To recap," Jaria continued, "The defensive force will stay here in the village and prepare for the possibility of the main force being destroyed as they move out. This main force will work as a safeguard and also as a distraction for once the main battle between our main force and Kefka's army begins, the elitists will quickly fly away from the battle towards Kefka's own empire. We know for a fact that Kefka's empire defence is made up of an elite group of fighters, not an army. By our estimation, there will be around four or five men to take down before we reach Kefka himself. However, these men are all incredibly powerful, and it will take everything we have to defeat even them. This is not to say we cannot win. We have an amazing array of fighters, probably the best fighting force on the planet besides our enemy. We certainly can win."

At this, I stood up and looked at the men and women who were ready for battle, and they twisted their view to me. Jaria also looked around, and I could feel the eyes of over two hundred bearing down upon my back.

"Rylian? Is there something you want to say?" Jaria asked me kindly. I nodded and took the stand, as Jaria stood behind me.

"All I want to say is that. I won't let any of you down. I'll fight to the bitter end with you all. I may not be an inhabitant of this village, or even this world but I know when people need help and I'm ready to do my part. I promise you.I will defeat Kefka."

And then it all kicked off.