Chapter One

Five Years Later

"Ieyui… nobomeno… renmiri… yojuyogo…"

The Hymn of the Fayth echoed through the halls of the Temple of Luca. A bass hum, it resonated through the stone floors of the temple. The Hymn merged with all the other noises in the shrine, forming a low cacophony that set a backdrop for all the other activities that were going on. People were praying to the statues of the High Summoners for deliverance from Sin, praying to Yevon for whatever they felt they needed.

Curiously absent from the temple were any summoners, however there was a reason for that. Several decades before, the Fayth of the Luca Temple had been stolen, and not recovered. As a result, no summoners came there anymore, and it was purely a shrine for prayer now, as well as education of the city's youth.

"This is a statue of High Summoner Taradine, who brought about the Calm five years ago." Explained a priestess, leading a group of children to what looked to be the newest sculpture in the shrine. A man in a black Crusader's uniform was knelt in front of the statue, hands in the prayer gesture. "She, with her guardians, obtained the Final Aeon and rid the people of Spira of Sin, if only for a while. Now, can anyone tell me where battles with Sin are traditionally fought?"

Hiite, a young boy with bleach-blonde hair, raised his hand and answered. "The Calm Lands!"

The priestess, who was leading the children through their weekly classes about Yevon, nodded and smiled. "That is correct, Hiite. Very good!" She looked at the class, and asked. "And does anyone know where a summoner obtains the Final Aeon?"

Hiite's hand shot up.

The priestess laughed good-naturedly, her brown eyes twinkling. "Now, now, Hiite, you've answered almost every question today. Why don't we see if someone else can answer this one? Kecci, do you know where a summoner obtains the Final Aeon?"

Kecci nodded and spoke in his quiet voice. "They get it in the ruins of Zanarkand." Kecci Hayado was a ten-year old boy who was small for his age. He was dark-skinned, and had close-cut black hair to match. His eyes were dark brown, so dark that they almost seemed to have no pupils. If one stared at Kecci's eyes for too long, they would find themselves inevitably drawn into the infinite depth of the blackness.

"Right! The Zanarkand ruins! Very good, Kecci!"

However, Kecci wasn't listening to her. He was looking at the statue of High Summoner Taradine. She was a very pretty woman, he thought. Taradine had long, flowing hair that reached down to below her waist, and was in three intertwining strands… She stood tall, straight-backed, a look of pride on her face. Even in the stone carving, Kecci could see the intensity, the fire, in her gaze. Kecci felt himself being drawn to her eyes, the passion within them. She reminded him of someone else he knew.

A quick beat of footsteps on the stone floor of the Temple of Luca disrupted Kecci's reverie, as well as the class. The priestess looked up from explaining about the Calm Lands to see Neirana Sutir sprint into the temple, disheveled and out of breath. Neirana skidded to a stop in front of the group, narrowly missing knocking the man in the black Crusader's uniform over, and panted out an apology. "Sorry… I'm… late… had to… run… from the… blitzball… stadium."

The warm tone of the priestess shifted to a cold, admonishing one. "Miss Sutir! This is a TEMPLE, not a racing track! And you should know better than to go watch a blitzball match on a day when you have classes! Shame on you!" As Neirana tried to work up a feeble reply, the priestess cut her off. "I don't care IF the Beasts were playing the Goers, and if they ARE your favorite team! You have a responsibility to be here on time!"

Neirana looked down at the floor and toed the ground, speaking in a humbled tone. "I'm sorry, ma'am. It won't happen again."

"Good! See that it doesn't!" That said, the priestess returned to her teaching.

Kecci fought back a snicker and moved to his best friend. "Still rooting for a losing team, huh?"

Shooting a glare at him, Neirana retorted. "Hey, the Beasts are winning the league this year! You just watch! Their new goalie is awesome!" Neirana's tan skin was covered in a sheen of sweat from running all the way from the blitzball stadium, and her sun-bleached hair was disheveled, strewn all over her face. She was ten years old, like her best friend Kecci, and was very pretty for her age. She had green eyes that changed color to a more yellowish tone in the middle, yet when she was mad or filled with emotion, they would become a brilliant emerald. Her hair, although normally a light brown, was blonde from all the time she spent in the sun, watching blitzball, her favorite sport. Unlike Kecci, who found the lore of the summoners and Sin absolutely fascinating, Neirana preferred the fast pace and action of blitzball.

Kecci laughed. "Yeah, right." His laughter caused the priestess to give him an angry look, and he shut up, as the class moved on in the temple, leaving the man in black praying at the statue of High Summoner Taradine.

* * *

"Man, why do we have to go to that stupid class?" Complained Neirana, her pant legs rolled up and her feet dangling in the ocean. "I mean, being a summoner is cool and everything, but why do we have to learn about where the battle with Sin is fought, or who the first High Summoner was?"

Kecci was lying on his back beside her, also dangling his tips of his toes in the crystal sea. "I think that being a summoner is more than just 'cool', 'Rana… it's a very big responsibility! By defeating Sin, you make the entire land of Spira happy! And we have to learn about it because the more we understand our culture, the more we want to protect it, I think."

Closing her eyes, Neirana lay back down beside her best friend. "But it's still so boring…"

The two friends stayed like that, completely relaxed, for several minutes, neither saying a word, just basking in the sunlight, absorbing its warmth, until Neirana spoke up. "Hey, Kecci?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to become a summoner?"

"Of course I do! I think that bringing peace to Spira would be great! What about you?"

"Well, what I really want to do is play blitzball for the Beasts… but I guess being a summoner would be okay."

Laughing, Kecci sat up. "You and the Beasts… why don't you try rooting for a REAL team, like the Fangs? They've taken the cup for three years straight, and they're gonna do it again this year!"

Neirana sat up beside him, glaring with emerald eyes. "You take that back! Just because you like those big freakish Ronso, and because you're jealous that I'm a better blitzer than you, doesn't mean that you have to go insulting my team!"

"Well, the Beasts are bad, you can't deny it!" Kecci stuck his tongue out at her, and then when she jumped at him, took off running, laughing all the way.

Neirana was close on his heels. "Why, you…" Although she was by far the better athlete, and could almost always outrun him, she was tired from her sprint to the temple earlier in the day, and Kecci kept his lead on her. The two ran all the way up to the Highroad before Neirana's greater endurance finally got the better of the smaller boy, and she tackled him. The two friends wrestled on the ground before the blonde girl came out on top, straddling Kecci and pinning him. "Gotcha! Now take it back!"

Kecci grinned up at her. "Nope! Not taking it back!" He kicked up, loosening her hold on him, and the two rolled towards the edge of an embankment, and down it, until they landed at the bottom, right next to a river. Once more, Neirana was on top.

"Last chance, Kecci!" Neirana laughed. "Take it back, or else—hey, look! Pyreflies!" she immediately got off the boy, and ran over to the river, over which were floating a group of the little glowing balls known only as pyreflies. "You almost NEVER see them around here!"

Within seconds, her best friend was at her side, kneeling over the river and watching the intricate trails that the pyreflies left as they floated through the air. "They're so pretty!" Kecci breathed. Without thinking, he held out a hand to them.

"Kecci, what are you doing?" Asked Neirana, puzzled. "Why are you holding out your… huh?" She trailed off, stunned. The pyreflies were hovering over Kecci's hand, dancing, moving in a circular pattern. Their glow could be seen reflected in the boy's infinitely dark eyes, as they danced, sparkling. "How are you doing that?" Neirana finally asked, amazed.

Kecci's face was filled with wonder as he witnessed the pyreflies dancing for him, moving at his command. "I… I don't know! You try it, 'Rana!"

Neirana extended a hand to the pyreflies, yet try as she might, she couldn't make them dance as Kecci was doing. She concentrated; sweat pouring down her face, as she tried to get the little globes of light to move at her command… yet she could not. "I… I can't do it." She said at last, dejected. "I can't…"

"It's easy, 'Rana!" Kecci looked almost astonished. "You kinda just tell them what to do… and they do it! Why can't you do it?"

Neirana felt her cheeks growing red, and she became very self-conscious. "I just… can't, okay? I guess I don't have the skills to do it…" She stood up and began to walk away from the river and the pyreflies, feeling very embarrassed. 'Why can't I do it?' Neirana thought to herself, ashamed. 'What's wrong with me?'

So lost was she in her thoughts that she didn't hear the growl from beside her. Neirana's only warning was the flash of brown fur before the Mi'ihen Fang slammed into her from her left, knocking her to the ground. At first, she was confused, unsure what was happening. But then the pain kicked in, as the wolf's claws dug into her skin. The Fang was standing on top of her, licking its lips, looking at its prey. Neirana screamed out, trying to throw it off, to escape its horrible breath, its hungry gaze, but to no avail. And then the wolf leaned down and bit her on her shoulder, sending silver agonies through her body.

" 'Rana!" Shouted Kecci. The moment he had heard her scream, he had rushed away from the river, several pyreflies trailing behind him. He climbed up the embankment they had fallen down and then yelled at the wolf. "Get off of her, right now!"

Hungrily, the Mi'ihen Fang looked up, and saw more potential prey. It licked its lips, certain it would feast well tonight. Yet that distraction was all Neirana needed. She kicked up into the wolf's stomach, sending it sprawling with a yelp. She stood up, bleeding from several cuts and bites, and staggered over to Kecci, hoping the two of them would be more intimidating to the wolf than either of them alone.

Not to be denied its meal, the wolf climbed to its feet, looking angry. It rushed towards the two children, mouth opened in a vicious snarl—and was stopped as if by an invisible wall.

The pyreflies behind Kecci, which now numbered several dozen, were dancing in front of the two best friends, forming a barrier that the wolf was unable to cross. Kecci's eyes were closed and his hands were extended, as the pyreflies moved at his will.

Stunned by this, the wolf nevertheless tried to push through the wall, and despite Kecci's best efforts, was slowly succeeding.

Neirana knew that Kecci couldn't hold out long, and ignoring the pain in her shoulder and on her body, snatched up a large stick from the ground and brandished it like a sword as the Mi'ihen Fang broke through the barrier of pyreflies. "Stay away, you stupid fiend!" Neirana shouted as she swung the stick like a weapon, poking the wolf as it got close, keeping it at a distance.

The wolf snarled angrily, and as Neirana swung at it again and again, hitting it more often than not, the fiend became infuriated. Finally, as Neirana swung once more, the wolf seized the stick in its jaws and yanked it from the girl's hands, leaving them defenseless. The two children shrunk back from the angry fiend, all their defenses gone, when a quiet voice came from behind them.

"I'll take care of this…" A tall man in a black Crusader's uniform, with black hair pulled back in a long ponytail, and wielding a large sword, stepped between the children and the Mi'ihen Fang. Angry about this new development, the wolf leapt at the interloper, only to be sliced in half with one blow. The two halves of the fiend vanished in a spray of pyreflies.

Neirana and Kecci were clinging to each other, trembling, unsure of what had just happened. The man in black turned to them, strapping his sword to his back. He had piercing silver eyes, and his boyish face was made more serious by an 'X'-shaped scar on his forehead, over his right eye. "Well, well… looks like you two had a close call." He said in a quiet, throaty, tenor. "You shouldn't be wandering out on the Highroad by yourselves, fiends are everywhere." The two children were still too stunned to answer, they merely nodded. "Well, I guess I'd better get you two home… you might want to see a doctor about those cuts, Miss Sutir."

As he led them back down into the city and to her father's smithery, it never occurred to Neirana to ask the man in black how he knew her name…  

* * *

"Neirana Sutir, how could you DO such a foolish thing?" shouted Masa Sutir, Neirana's father. "Don't you know how unbelievably foolhardy it is to wander around on the Highroad without an adult? You could have been killed!"

The two of them were in the family's dining room. Neirana was sitting at the large oak table, while her father was standing up at her side, hands planted on the table firmly, berating her. The young girl found herself looking behind her father at the staircase that led up to her bedroom, wishing that she could just go up there and fall asleep. "I'm sorry, Daddy… I guess that Kecci and I just weren't thinking."

Her father's face softened, and he sat down beside her. "It's all right, honey. I guess it's just that… your mother and I are so worried about you getting hurt. We wouldn't want anything to ever happen to you. And so, when we found out that you had been attacked by a fiend on the Highroad, it made us very worried."

As he said this, Neirana's mother came from the door to the kitchen to the left of the table, carrying a damp rag and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Neirana winced in pain as her mother poured some of the alcohol on the rag, and pressed it to the bite on her shoulder. "Ow! That stings, Mom!"

"I'm sorry, 'Rana, but you know, it could be infected. We need to clean it thoroughly, and you know that alcohol is the best way to do that." Her mother, Mune Sutir said in her soft, kindly voice, as she lifted up the young girl's shirt and pressed the rag against the claw slashes, sending sharp stinging sensations throughout Neirana's body. She bit her lip and tried to ignore the pain.

Masa stood up and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder. The two of them couldn't be more different. Masa Sutir was a tall man, lanky, with neatly trimmed blonde hair. He had soft dark brown eyes that were nothing special to look at, but that radiated warmth and kindness. Also, he was widely renowned as being one of Spira's greatest swordsmiths. He ran his one-man smithery from out of their house's basement.

In contrast, Mune Sutir was short, and plump, with a kind, jovial air about her. Her long red hair was done in a braid that fell over her left shoulder, and she had striking green eyes. She kept on applying the alcohol-dampened rag to the various cuts on Neirana's face and body. "Promise us you'll never go on the Highroad again without an adult, 'Rana, please?"

Neirana bit her lip, trying to ignore the sting of the alcohol. "I… ow! I promise." Said the girl, once more wishing she was up in her bedroom, asleep.

"It's a good thing that Tyron showed up when he did." Said her father, standing up. "Otherwise you and poor Kecci would have been done for."

The girl looked at her father, as she remembered the man in the black uniform. "Tyron? Who's he?" A vague memory stirred within her, of a piercing silver stare… yet try as she might, Neirana was unable to place it.

Mune laughed softly. "Always inquisitive, aren't you, 'Rana?" She shook her head and put the rag down on the table, standing up with her husband. "Tyron Sul is an old friend of your father and I… he's a wandering adventurer, never stays in the same place for more than a week. He's been all over Spira, and he certainly knows more about lore and legends than anyone we've ever known."

"About fifteen years ago," continued her father. "Tyron came to me and asked me to forge a special blade for him. I owed him a great deal, so I accepted. I've been working on that sword ever since. It's not easy being a famous swordsmith, you know." Masa chuckled. "But I think you've had enough excitement for one day… it's time for you to go to bed."

He picked Neirana up and carried her up the stairs, into the familiarity of her bedroom. Posters of the Kilika Beasts adorned the sky-blue walls, and one had even been autographed by the entire team at the tournament the previous year. Neirana treasured that poster more than any of the others, and it had a special place right above the head of her bed.

Her father put her down, and she went to her dresser and changed into her pajamas, still feeling the sting from the alcohol on the cuts, although it had lessened by now. Neirana climbed into her bed—with Kilika Beasts bedsheets, naturally—and her father tucked her in, and kissed her forehead. "Good night, dear." He said, and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Neirana closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep, but thoughts kept running through her mind. "Why could Kecci make those pyreflies dance…?" she asked herself, whispering softly. "What skills does he have that I don't?" Neirana felt her face grow red as the memory of her embarrassment came back to her. "And who is that Tyron guy… and why do I remember him?" It was a long while before sleep claimed her.