Final Fantasy is copyright Squaresoft.

Aurelia hurried into the white mages' guild, dropping her books along the way, wearing a very worn pair of dingy white robes. She was fourteen now, with stronger arms and legs for helping with the farm, a lighter and kindlier attitude for her white mage training, and a ready laugh for her friends.

Seven years ago she had found a crystal in a cave. Seven years ago two brothers came from across the ocean to Cornelia, seeking to live with their uncle, Davis. Both boys became fast friends with she and Elfaine, but now Aurelia realized she had little time for the boys' adventures. There just weren't enough hours in the day for her to get everything done. When her mother died three years ago, her father became disconsolate.

Aurelia was now responsible for the cooking and cleaning, as well as working in the field with her elder brothers. They never turned away Elfaine and Martin when they offered their help, so long as they did not expect pay out of it, and this allowed Aurelia to speak with the boys whenever she wasn't in the house. Elfaine was curious, however. While she knew he was at least as old as she, he looked as if he was ten or twelve. He was strong, though, and very educated, possessing an intellect far beyond his appearance.

Martin, however, was nearly eighteen, and the very picture of masculinity. His wavy red hair looked windswept practically all the time, his tall, tough frame seemed bigger from the muscles he was developing with his warrior training and helping with Aurelia's farm. He was a head taller than Aurelia, but fairly towered over Elfaine and even his own brother, Spencer.

Aurelia suspected that they were actually half-brothers, as Spencer could not be more different from his sibling. She had never fully seen his face, as his wide-brimmed hat always supernaturally shaded it. He was quite thin, a fact emphasized by his preference of tight, black shirts and black pants. He looked like a shadow when he walked around town, a silver chain carelessly hanging from his left pants pocket. He was only a year older than Aurelia, and in the black mages' guild. He hadn't learnt a spell yet, or else he would have blue-toned robes around him as well. Spencer's eyes glowed yellow from underneath his hat; his long, stringy black hair trailed out from behind the hat, usually uncombed and terribly tangled.

But it was Martin she was developing feelings towards. For while Spencer was mysterious, he was far too dark, depressing, and bitingly sarcastic. By contrast, Martin was jovial, easy-going, and light-hearted. He had an optimistic attitude and a generous nature, something even Elfaine lacked.

Martin shook his fist and let it fly.

"Careful, Martin, you'll break the ground with the force you're throwing those things."

Twelve. Boxes. Why did it always have to be boxes?

Elfaine picked up the dice and shook them rhythmically. "I'm tellin' you; it takes a gentle touch for you to win. By the way, that's thirty gil you owe me now."

"Yeah, yeah, just roll." Martin replied, frustrated.

The boys were sitting beneath a walnut tree in one of the fields, Martin and Elfaine rolling a pair of dice in the dust as Spencer sat a little farther away, studying one of his books intently underneath his wide-brimmed hat.

"Hey Spence! Come join us!" Elfaine called eagerly, shaking the dice in the older boy's direction. The twenty-five-year-old elf was just about to enter puberty, he knew this, and was not at all thrilled. So he spent his time playing cards and dice and anything else he could get his hands on with his friends and even some old men at the inn. So far he'd swindled away two hundred gil, because as soon as he had figured out the game, he'd figure out a way to cheat.

"I will not." Spencer replied coldly.

"Aw, come on!" Elfaine whined as Martin grumbled at him to hurry up.

"I will not engage in another one of your rigged games." Spencer said matter-of-factly.

"Rigged! Since when have I rigged a dice game?" Elfaine exclaimed, noting the murderous look in Martin's eyes.

"Since last Thursday, when you loaded those you are holding now. If throw them gently, they roll sevens. If you throw them hard, as my dear brother has a tendency to do, they'll land on pretty much anything else. Nice craftsmanship, but hardly an honest thing to do." Spencer replied, continuing to read his book nonchalantly.

"So that's why I've been losing this whole time!" Martin exclaimed, picking Elfaine up by his shirt as he stood and drawing the twelve-year-old up to his own full six foot three inch height.

"Heh, now wait a minute, Martin, I never said we were playing for keeps!" Elfaine said nervously, hanging from his shirt and already starting to slip out of it.

Spencer muttered something about how familiar that sounded as Aurelia strode out of the forest and towards the trio.

"Well, that's it! I can't take it anymore!" She snapped, throwing her book bag across the clearing and hitting the tree, ignoring the obviously murderous intent of Martin, Spencer's sudden fidgeting, and Elfaine's perilous position. She stalked over and sat down next to where Martin had been sitting moments before.

After several moments, Elfaine slipped out of Martin's grip, losing his shirt in the process, and sat down in front of Aurelia. "Can't take what anymore, Ari?"

"Father and his laziness, school and their pompousness, my stupid brothers and their... Their stupidness!" Aurelia exclaimed exasperatedly. "There just aren't enough hours in the day to take care of it all!"

Martin sat down next to Aurelia and put one arm around her shoulders to comfort her, while Spencer obviously bristled, still trying to maintain the illusion that not only was he not listening, but he was studying.

"It'll be alright. Elfaine and I will just have to help more, right, Elfaine?" Martin looked up at the younger boy, who made a face at Martin, but voiced his agreement. Aurelia giggled as she wiped away the few tears she had managed in this small amount of time.

"Oh thank you, Martin. I don't know what Father and I would do without you and Elfaine." Aurelia smiled and hugged the copper-haired older boy, as she often did. Spencer coughed and nearly choked in the background.

"Oh yes, that's exactly what you need around the house. A wimpy little twelve-year-old and a pair of biceps with pudding for brains." Spencer whispered to himself. Elfaine's pointed ears twitched in his direction, but the older boy seemed to take no notice.

"I'll be right back, Ari. Just need to have a word with angst-cake over here." Elfaine said as he got up, thumbing in Spencer's general direction. Dusk was settling, and the fireflies were coming out of the tall grass. The elf grabbed the much skinnier boy around the neck, dragging him a few feet until the novice black mage stumbled to his feet and continued along with the younger boy.

"Well, that was certainly odd," Aurelia remarked innocently.

Martin was less accommodating. "I suppose so." They sat in the quiet of the evening for a moment, listening to the chirping of the crickets.

"So, would you, uh-" Martin began, trying to think how to phrase what he was about to say.

"Yes?" Aurelia nudged him along, smoothing out her white mage robes. She looked up at him adoringly, making him even more nervous.

He glanced down at her, then up at the stars again, fingering the silver chain around his neck. "Would you, y'know, um, like to go to, uh, the ocean with me, um, tomorrow?"

"Oh, that'd be great, Martin! Let's bring Elfaine and Spence, too!"

"Actually, I was thinking we could go, y'know, just the two of us." Martin managed, blushing nearly as red as his hair.

"What, you mean, like a, a date?" Aurelia blushed wildly. And she had thought he didn't like her!

"Um, only if you want..." He was waffling, and he knew it.

"Yeah, I, um, suppose, if you don't mind." She was being noncommittal.

"No, not at all!" Martin positively beamed at her, or was that the light coming from inside his shirt?

"Martin, what's that?" She asked, pointed at his chest.

He hurriedly gulped and tried to cover the object. The light shone through his fingers and he glanced down at her robes. In about the same place, there was a steady, rhythmically pulsing glow. Aurelia pulled out a crystal nearly identical to his own. She looked up at the sky and saw dark smoke rising from the north. She put it quite succinctly. "Something's wrong."

"Who's wimpy now?" Elfaine whispered harshly, inches away from Spencer's pointed nose. He could practically smell the human's fear as he held him fast to a tree.

"Look, I only said that because I thought no one was listening!" Spencer exclaimed nervously.

"Well watch it, because I hear everything!" Elfaine said angrily, ears twitching.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." Spencer said, expecting the younger boy to let him down. When he didn't, Spencer relented. "Um, I don't suppose you could let me down?"

"What? Oh yeah, sure." Elfaine said, walking away from Spencer somewhat and sitting down in the low grass.

"What's wrong?" Spencer asked. He knew Elfaine never acted like this without reason.

"What's your thing with Ari?" Elfaine shot back, glaring at the shadowy boy.

"What? No, there's no thing. Nothing at all." Spencer said nervously, wondering how Elfaine could have noticed. He had thought that he was being rather secretive about it.

"Then there's nothing wrong." Elfaine replied, and returned to brooding.

"Do-do you have a thing-" Spencer began.

"No." Elfaine snapped. "She's older than me, remember?" He sounded very sarcastic.

"You know, I've been thinking about that. How come you're so much younger than the rest of us? When we met you and Martin were practically the same age."

"Yeah, well... Look; don't tell Aurelia, I don't think she'd really understand, but... I'm an elf. We age about half as fast as humans do." Elfaine explained sadly.

"So that makes you," Spencer did a quick calculation in his head, then his eyes went wide. "Twenty-four?!"

Elfaine nodded. "Close. Twenty-five. I was eleven when Aurelia was born." He sighed. "I've got the intelligence unclouded by hormones of a twenty-five-year-old, and once I hit thirty, I'll be your age." He sighed again. "Completely riddled with hormones and angst, probably just like you."

Spencer snorted. "But your intelligence-"

"Won't make a difference." Elfaine finished for him. "Just because you're smart doesn't make you not go crazy for a girl. You, of all people, should know that." Elfaine gave him a hard stare that make Spencer highly uncomfortable.

"Don't think you're so high and mighty just because you go to the black mage's guild and study all day and night. You're no better than any other man when it comes to emotions, especially at hiding them. I know that whenever she shows affection towards anyone but you, you choke and cough and try to get her attention. Listen, that's not the way to do it. You've got to master her attention, and believe me, with your dear brother around, that isn't easy." Elfaine took a deep breath. "You want her to notice you? Ask her to the beach sometime. Or to a festival. Or something. Spencer, you're sickening when you're lovelorn." The elf smiled sympathetically.

Spencer mumbled something incoherently and fidgeted with the crystal in his pocket. It became warmer than usual, then hot. He wrenched it out of his pocket, where it sat in his hand, glowing brightly. He noted that Elfaine had removed an identical one from his pocket and was putting it on.

"Something's wrong." Elfaine said succinctly, watching the northern sky fill with smoke.

"You got that right." Spencer replied, rising to his feet.

The bridge was a chaotic, fiery mass of wood and metal. The four had made their way to the edge of the forest to see the disaster and help if needed. Martin and Aurelia hung close together in the brush, while Elfaine was out on a limb, and Spencer had climbed halfway up the same tree, and sat on a low branch.

There, at the mouth of the flames, stood Sir Garland, raising his sword and a torch menacingly with a crazed look in his eyes. He advanced on the guards and cleaved them with one swing of his huge sword, splattering the ground with blood and flesh. Garland's eyes were red with rage as he stormed off into the forest, heading towards Cornelia.

Elfaine frowned darkly and swung down from the tree, landing just beyond Martin and Aurelia. Martin had hid Aurelia's face from the deaths of the guards, but had watched, transfixed, as Garland slew those four men. He and Aurelia looked up as Elfaine strode through the bushes and out to where the men lay.

"What does he think he's doing?!" Aurelia whispered anxiously, looking this way and that for the knight's return.

Martin stood carefully, obviously not wanting to be out in the open. "Elfaine, get back here!" He whispered loudly. "He could come back!"

"Garland wouldn't bother. Once one place is done, he won't bother coming back. Very final, that guy." Elfaine said distantly, looking around like a fisherman casting a net. He took in everything, trying to discern any specks of information.

"What about the bridge?" Aurelia said, standing up next to Martin. From behind, Spencer scowled.

"Destroyed." Elfaine said simply, crouching down and examining a bit of dirt closer.

Spencer dropped down from the tree and swaggered onto the scene, walking right past Aurelia. "Probably wanted to cut off communications and supply lines. He'll burn the docks next." The novice black mage walked onto the scene and examined the patch of ground Elfaine was staring at, commenting under his breath about what was there.

Their crystals flared again and there was an earth-shattering rumble. They looked towards the southwest, but could only see the lights of the city.

"There's no way he could get there that fast. He's probably just killing people in the city now." Spencer said matter-of-factly.

"What? But someone has to stop him!" Aurelia cried.

Martin put his arm around her, while Spencer's yellow eye twitched. "Sir Garland is more powerful than the King's entire army." He shook his head. "There's no way we could stop him."

Aurelia looked shocked. She looked to the other two, who merely shrugged.

"Well someone's going to have to stop him from killing us. I'd rather die defending Cornelia than die by his hand!" And she stomped off in the direction of the city before any of the others could do anything.

Martin fingered the unsharpened sword that rested in its sheath. "Hey, Martin!" Elfaine called, getting his attention. "Catch!" And he tossed a long slender object at him.

He caught it easily, and found it was a guard's sword. "What? But I can't-"

"Can't what? Go defend her from getting hurt or worse? Go on ahead. Spencer and I'll catch up." Elfaine said, patting the shadowy figure's shoulder.

He didn't need to be told twice. Martin took off at top speed to the city, dropping his unsharpened blade as he went.

"Why did you do that?" Spencer asked incredulously. He was still crouched down, fingering the ash from the knight's footprints.

"Because he and Aurelia can buy us time. If I'm right, Garland will go right for the White Mages' conclave, slaughtering all of them. If Aurelia and Martin can distract him, we can get behind and you can cast that little spell you've been learning."

"I told you already, I haven't been able to do it yet, just a little static." Spencer said nervously, standing and wiping the ash off his hands. "Besides, even if I could, what would that accomplish?"

"All we need is to be able to drive him away while Cornelia recoups. Once we prevent him from hitting the docks and the White Mages' guild, he'll flee and we'll have time to gather the military power we'll need." Elfaine explained, taking another sword from the deceased and scorched guard.

"I don't like how much this depends on me." Spencer said, following the elf into the forest.

"Believe me, Spence, I don't like it much, either."

Sir Garland was nearly twice Martin's height. Aurelia was frustrated. Not only could she not get the man's attention, but there wasn't anything resembling a weapon in sight. She spotted several stones and chucked one at his head. It ricocheted off his helmet and broke a shop window. But, at least it got his attention. She grabbed a few more and started hitting his helm. He turned towards her and laughed deeply.

"You are a waste of my blade, dearie." He said in a deep voice that shook the air between them. She managed to hit somewhere inside his helmet.

"Why are you doing this!?" She yelled, trying desperately to ignore the dead bodies in the street.

"Hate me, dear. I do so love the taste of *hate!*" He swung his sword to her left, intending to cleave her in half as he had the guards. She ducked, but knew it wouldn't be low enough. She was going to--

CLANG! The sound of steel on steel rang through the city. Garland's giant sword was stopped by Martin and his guard's sword. Tendrils of flame licked Martin's blade before Garland drew back again. There was a chink in his sword where Garland's half-hearted attempt to slay Aurelia had struck.

"So, a hero comes to stop me?" Garland chuckled again and swung at the two of them faster than--

"Just do it, Spence! I know you can!" Elfaine egged the human on, jumping up and down excitedly. "Ooh, I'm surprised that didn't break the blade!"

"Shut up, I'm trying to concentrate!" Spencer snapped.

"Oh no, he's swinging for Aurelia again!" Elfaine cried in a very frightened voice.

"What?" Spencer looked up.

The clouds descended and everyone's hair stood on end.

And then it happened.

A lightning bolt crackled through Garland's armor, popping a few buckles and disorienting him somewhat. He shook his head and ran, clambering over the city wall and off into the distance. With each step he took the ground shook, and his sword knocked over several buildings and some others were set fire.

Elfaine let out a whoop and slapped the balcony. "Wow! Just look at him go! That was amazing, Spencer! The way you--" The elf looked to where Spencer had been standing just moments ago. He was now crumpled on the ground, his hat barely shading his face. Elfaine knelt and caught glimpses of a scar along the left side of his jaw. He slapped the shaded face lightly, ignoring the slight wetness of sweat. When he did not wake, Elfaine checked his pocket for the crystal he now knew Spencer carried. The glow was faint, much fainter than his own. Elfaine frowned and attempted to pick up the larger body.

Aurelia instantly fainted into Martin's arms, his sword clattered to the ground. The assorted bystanders wandered out from behind buildings, looking out from alleyways and behind dustbins.

"Outta the way! One side, keep it movin'!" called a familiar voice, making his way through the gathering crowd. Elfaine appeared, shouldering the limp Spencer. Martin had fallen to one knee and laid Aurelia against one knee, then accepted his half-brother's frail form on the other. Elfaine was panting, trying to catch his breath.

"I suppose they're all right. Let's see if we can get them to the white mages' guild." Martin managed, dumbstruck.

"Yeah, Aurelia's just fainted. Him, though, I don't know..." Elfaine said between breaths.

"Why? What do you mean?" Martin looked up at the younger boy.

"Well, when he summoned that bolt I was really rooting for him, but he--"

"He what?" Martin interjected.

"The lightning bolt that went through Garland. He-" Elfaine tried to continue, but Martin overruled him.

"You made him do magic? You know he's not trained!" Martin roared, looking at Elfaine and then at his younger half-brother.

"I know, but he's been studying really hard, and I just thought--" Elfaine said, now mildly nervous as his eyes darted from one side of the crowd to the other.

Martin shifted his two unconscious friends off of his legs and onto the ground, drawing himself up to his towering six feet three inches. "You thought magic would solve all of your problems? Well you were wrong. He's near death now, I'm sure of it. Last time he did magic he nearly died! Do you have any idea the kind of energy that takes out of a person? Do you? You don't, you little thief! My brother might die now! Do you want his blood on your hands?"

"Look, he never said anything about it draining his energy--" Elfaine started, backing away. The ellipse around the four youths grew larger as well.

"I know you, Elf-boy. I've got your number. You're already a cheat and a swindler, and you're only ten. Now get out of my eyes or I'll make yours glow red with blood."

Aurelia woke the next morning in one of the hospital beds the white mage's had for long-term patients. She looked around her and spotted one of her teachers sitting beside Spencer. A curtain obscured his face, but she spotted several scars on his pale hand lying on the white sheets.

She set the covers gently aside and swung her feet around, knocking against an object on the floor. Aurelia looked down and had to blink. Lying on a sleeping mat was Martin, snoring quietly. Carefully stepping over him, Aurelia made her way to Spencer's bedside. Her teacher looked up and motioned for her to be quiet.

Aurelia giggled, realizing that this was most definitely not one of her teachers. It was possibly one of the more amusing sights she had ever seen, Elfaine wearing a white mage's robe and carrying one of their rosaries. Spencer's large hat was draped just over his eyes, completely shading his face yet again. Aurelia made a move to lift it slightly, but Elfaine gestured for her to desist.

She quietly drew up a chair and waited for the two half-brothers to awaken, not asking for an explanation. At least, not just yet. Aurelia felt that she had just enough of the truth to be happy. At least for now.

Her crystal glowed underneath her nightshirt, pulsing in unison with both her heart and the other three crystals, beating a rhythm that was not fast enough. At least, not yet.