The Light Warriors had been walking on the way to Garland's temple for only a mile or two when they spotted a rustling in the bushes. Cadoc went forward to see what it was, but no sooner than he did, five angry imps pounced out of the bushes and charged at the party. The warriors quickly prepared for their first battle.
One imp pounced at Cadoc and tried to stab him with its small pointed knife. Cadoc easily knocked it back three feet with one hit from the nunchucks. At the same time, another imp tried to stab Cadoc in the back, but Michael took the initiative and slashed his weak opponent across the chest, mortally wounding the imp. Michael then just stood there gazing at his defeated opponent, amazed at what he had just done.
The other three imps charged at Logan and Aiko. Logan had never been in a fight in her life, so she gripped her hammer tightly with both hands and started making wild swings at the imps, hoping for the best. One actually connected with an imp, knocking it over. She closed her eyes, tried not to think about what she was doing, and finished it off with a blow to the head. Aiko raised his hands, yelled "Fire!" and a small flame consumed one imp, causing fatal burns to the evil thing. The last standing imp tried to drive a knife through the distracted Michael's torso, but his armor absorbed the blow and Michael ran his rapier into the imp's heart.
The four victors surveyed the battlefield and the bodies of the enemies. They were dead. And it suddenly dawned on them: being a warrior isn't about honor and glory and parades. It's about killing. They had just killed these five imps. It wasn't murder, because they did it in self-defense, but still they had taken the lives of five other beings. How could a human not feel terrible about doing such a thing? The imps had no reason to attack them, but somehow that didn't make them feel any better. Shaking, the four searched their defeated foes' corpses for gold or anything they could use.
The next two days traveling to Garland's temple was convincing reason enough to quit if they weren't chosen warriors. The terrain was either dense forests, soggy swamps, or open grasslands where imps could easily spot them. (The party must have sent over thirty imps to their grave during the journey to Garland, and each time it seemed to get easier.) Logan learned how to use the hammer well enough to where she could usually hit a target. Aiko was getting pretty good with magic, but was also practicing with his dagger so he could fight after he exhausted all his magical energy casting spells. Finally, after so much walking and fighting, they spotted the Garland's hideout. The temple was indeed old, and it looked like it was to ready to collapse if you looked at it the wrong way. Still, this place gave the Light Warriors a bad feeling that they tried to shake off as they entered.
The first thing the four saw when they entered the temple was a path lined with columns leading up to a door, which they of course went in. When the Light Warriors entered, they stood in a dark room lit only by a black orb giving off an eerie purple glow. Also in the room were several unusual stone statues and five bats flapping around. More importantly, a beautiful young woman in regal clothes lay curled up on the floor in the back of the room while a tall knight in dark metal armor stood in front of the doorway. The princess and her kidnapper had been found. When Garland saw the party enter, he walked slowly toward them in his heavy armor, then yelled at them: "No one touches my princess!"
Garland paused for a second. "So you are the Light Warriors?" Garland pulled his silver sword out of its sheath. "Impertinent fools. I, Garland, will knock all you down!"
Then Garland leapt into the air and lifted his sword to try to "knock them down." The group quickly scattered, and Garland hit nothing. Michael and Cadoc charged Garland together in an attempt to overpower him. Cadoc swung his nunchucks, but they didn't seem to do very much against Garland's steel armor. Michael's sword seemed to do little more damage, the force of the blows being absorbed by the metal plating. Annoyed, Garland swung his blade and cut Cadoc badly across the shoulder.
The two mages saw it was time for them to enter the fray. Logan quickly cast Cure on Cadoc, taking the sharp pain out of his shoulder and sealing off the blood flow. Aiko took another course of action and cast Fire on Garland. The heat of the flames caused Garland's armor to start to glow red. Garland tossed off his long flowing black cape ,which was beginning to catch fire from the heat, and charged at Aiko, the one who did this to him. Then, a small thunderbolt from Aiko's hands hit Garland square in the chest. Garland was stunned by the electric shock. Taking advantage of this, Michael and Cadoc resumed their assault on the dark knight with their weapons. Their hits seemed to hurt him now, passing easily through the weakened armor, and they managed to knock him onto the ground. Nearly helpless, Garland swung his sword wildly at his attackers, missing every time, as the warriors tried to beat the life out of him. Finally, Garland stopped struggling.
"Do you surrender?"
"Ne...nev...er..."
Garland used his last ounce of strength to pull out a dagger he had hidden and try to slit his own throat, but did nothing more than cause blood to flow. Michael picked up Garland's sword and hefted it into the air.
"No!" Logan yelled, and grabbed Michael's arm.
"Stop it, Logan! He's the enemy!"
"We can't just kill him! He's helpless!"
"Look at him, Logan. He's as good as dead anyway. If we leave him alive, we'll just draw out his suffering. Wouldn't it be better if he died quickly, right now, than have him suffer a few more hours in pain?"
Logan sighed. This was what it came down to. Killing a helpless opponent or leaving him to suffer in pain. Logan saw that Michael's cruel brand of mercy was really the only way. She let go of Michael's arm. "Go ahead. Do what you must."
Michael, not wanting to do this any more than Logan wanted him to, used every bit of his willpower to force himself to drive the sword into Garland's heart. All signs of life that still remained disappeared. Garland, the evil knight, was dead.
The group walked over to Princess Sara to see if she was unharmed. She appeared okay, and it looked as if she just snapped out of some type of magical trance. She looked up through her blurry eyes and saw a young, blond-haired man who was definitely not Garland.
"Who...who are you? What are you doing here? Where's Garland?"
Cadoc responded, "It's okay, Sara. Garland is dead." He pointed to the pile of armor that lay in the floor. "We're here to rescue you. We're going to take you home to the castle.
Sara got to her feet clumsily. She was overwhelmed with joy and didn't know what to do. Tears started flowing, and she practically leapt into Cadoc's arms, hugging him as tight as she possibly could. "Thank you."
"Come, Princess. Let's go back to the castle."
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"I mastered the dark sword... But, it was to defend and not to rob."
- Cecil, FFIV
One imp pounced at Cadoc and tried to stab him with its small pointed knife. Cadoc easily knocked it back three feet with one hit from the nunchucks. At the same time, another imp tried to stab Cadoc in the back, but Michael took the initiative and slashed his weak opponent across the chest, mortally wounding the imp. Michael then just stood there gazing at his defeated opponent, amazed at what he had just done.
The other three imps charged at Logan and Aiko. Logan had never been in a fight in her life, so she gripped her hammer tightly with both hands and started making wild swings at the imps, hoping for the best. One actually connected with an imp, knocking it over. She closed her eyes, tried not to think about what she was doing, and finished it off with a blow to the head. Aiko raised his hands, yelled "Fire!" and a small flame consumed one imp, causing fatal burns to the evil thing. The last standing imp tried to drive a knife through the distracted Michael's torso, but his armor absorbed the blow and Michael ran his rapier into the imp's heart.
The four victors surveyed the battlefield and the bodies of the enemies. They were dead. And it suddenly dawned on them: being a warrior isn't about honor and glory and parades. It's about killing. They had just killed these five imps. It wasn't murder, because they did it in self-defense, but still they had taken the lives of five other beings. How could a human not feel terrible about doing such a thing? The imps had no reason to attack them, but somehow that didn't make them feel any better. Shaking, the four searched their defeated foes' corpses for gold or anything they could use.
The next two days traveling to Garland's temple was convincing reason enough to quit if they weren't chosen warriors. The terrain was either dense forests, soggy swamps, or open grasslands where imps could easily spot them. (The party must have sent over thirty imps to their grave during the journey to Garland, and each time it seemed to get easier.) Logan learned how to use the hammer well enough to where she could usually hit a target. Aiko was getting pretty good with magic, but was also practicing with his dagger so he could fight after he exhausted all his magical energy casting spells. Finally, after so much walking and fighting, they spotted the Garland's hideout. The temple was indeed old, and it looked like it was to ready to collapse if you looked at it the wrong way. Still, this place gave the Light Warriors a bad feeling that they tried to shake off as they entered.
The first thing the four saw when they entered the temple was a path lined with columns leading up to a door, which they of course went in. When the Light Warriors entered, they stood in a dark room lit only by a black orb giving off an eerie purple glow. Also in the room were several unusual stone statues and five bats flapping around. More importantly, a beautiful young woman in regal clothes lay curled up on the floor in the back of the room while a tall knight in dark metal armor stood in front of the doorway. The princess and her kidnapper had been found. When Garland saw the party enter, he walked slowly toward them in his heavy armor, then yelled at them: "No one touches my princess!"
Garland paused for a second. "So you are the Light Warriors?" Garland pulled his silver sword out of its sheath. "Impertinent fools. I, Garland, will knock all you down!"
Then Garland leapt into the air and lifted his sword to try to "knock them down." The group quickly scattered, and Garland hit nothing. Michael and Cadoc charged Garland together in an attempt to overpower him. Cadoc swung his nunchucks, but they didn't seem to do very much against Garland's steel armor. Michael's sword seemed to do little more damage, the force of the blows being absorbed by the metal plating. Annoyed, Garland swung his blade and cut Cadoc badly across the shoulder.
The two mages saw it was time for them to enter the fray. Logan quickly cast Cure on Cadoc, taking the sharp pain out of his shoulder and sealing off the blood flow. Aiko took another course of action and cast Fire on Garland. The heat of the flames caused Garland's armor to start to glow red. Garland tossed off his long flowing black cape ,which was beginning to catch fire from the heat, and charged at Aiko, the one who did this to him. Then, a small thunderbolt from Aiko's hands hit Garland square in the chest. Garland was stunned by the electric shock. Taking advantage of this, Michael and Cadoc resumed their assault on the dark knight with their weapons. Their hits seemed to hurt him now, passing easily through the weakened armor, and they managed to knock him onto the ground. Nearly helpless, Garland swung his sword wildly at his attackers, missing every time, as the warriors tried to beat the life out of him. Finally, Garland stopped struggling.
"Do you surrender?"
"Ne...nev...er..."
Garland used his last ounce of strength to pull out a dagger he had hidden and try to slit his own throat, but did nothing more than cause blood to flow. Michael picked up Garland's sword and hefted it into the air.
"No!" Logan yelled, and grabbed Michael's arm.
"Stop it, Logan! He's the enemy!"
"We can't just kill him! He's helpless!"
"Look at him, Logan. He's as good as dead anyway. If we leave him alive, we'll just draw out his suffering. Wouldn't it be better if he died quickly, right now, than have him suffer a few more hours in pain?"
Logan sighed. This was what it came down to. Killing a helpless opponent or leaving him to suffer in pain. Logan saw that Michael's cruel brand of mercy was really the only way. She let go of Michael's arm. "Go ahead. Do what you must."
Michael, not wanting to do this any more than Logan wanted him to, used every bit of his willpower to force himself to drive the sword into Garland's heart. All signs of life that still remained disappeared. Garland, the evil knight, was dead.
The group walked over to Princess Sara to see if she was unharmed. She appeared okay, and it looked as if she just snapped out of some type of magical trance. She looked up through her blurry eyes and saw a young, blond-haired man who was definitely not Garland.
"Who...who are you? What are you doing here? Where's Garland?"
Cadoc responded, "It's okay, Sara. Garland is dead." He pointed to the pile of armor that lay in the floor. "We're here to rescue you. We're going to take you home to the castle.
Sara got to her feet clumsily. She was overwhelmed with joy and didn't know what to do. Tears started flowing, and she practically leapt into Cadoc's arms, hugging him as tight as she possibly could. "Thank you."
"Come, Princess. Let's go back to the castle."
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"I mastered the dark sword... But, it was to defend and not to rob."
- Cecil, FFIV