"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the
arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great
devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, knows the triumph
of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while
daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid
souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt,
"Citizen in a Republic", April 23, 1910
Prologue
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"My face fell into the soil that was not but a moment ago beneath my feet as my eyes clamped shut in pain.
It hurt.
A short moment passed and I opened them, struggling to make out any image through my blurred vision. 'I will most likely go blind.' I thought to myself as flashes of color made their way through my dilated and bloody pupils. I remember trying to make some sense of anything that was happening around me, but no answer came to mind. Not far from where I was laying then, I could see Nida's rotting corpse collecting dust and flies. He was one of the first to fall and his stench was foul. He was the lucky one.
My vision was getting worse, but I could make out the faint image of a small silver object in the dust not far from my face. I already knew what it was without having to pick it up, though I did anyway. Griever, my 'beloved' ring had betrayed me… had left me. I recall thinking 'I must have hit the ground rather hard' as the ring had been thrown from my finger. Strangely, I didn't care but I gripped the ring more firmly in my hand. It didn't take long then for my vision to blur to complete darkness. For the next few minutes that I remained conscious, I could hear those familiar lullabies of combat that had always been a source of comfort. I thought I was going to be sick, and then I was.
Volucris loosed his corrosive cry once more, and I fell asleep."
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~One Month Earlier~"My eyes flew open in surprise as Zell shook my left shoulder violently. I was about to shove him away from me, but I didn't. It was my own fault for falling asleep in the library again. His sigh was loud enough to have woken me up alone, my hand running down my face as I could feel a light headache coming on." 'Yo, man. You're gonna die if you push yourself like this every night.' "Not that I particularly cared, but he did have a point. Lowering my hand, I looked down at the book that my head had been resting on. A small trail of drool was trickling down the side and a few of the words were blurring. I felt ridiculous. Zell leaned over my shoulder and smirked slightly. 'You obsess over that stuff too much Squall. It isn't like you're required to know every last detail. I mean, you're not a student anymore.' He said as he closed the book and set it a few desks down, out of my reach. Not that I was irritated, but I liked that book. 'C'mon,' he began 'you need to get to bed.' Standing slowly, I scratched the back of my head and started walking towards the library entrance. I could hear Zell smirking again, somewhat distant behind me. ' "GF Compatibility, a comprehensive guide to Junctions". That's 'some' light reading, Squall.'
A few minutes later I found myself falling face first onto my bed, tired and now somewhat irritated that I had been forced to actually walk. Not that I was ever lazy, but Hyne did my head hurt. I felt an arm slip around my waist slowly and I let out a tired groan. I hadn't even bothered to change out of my clothing, but that didn't prevent me from slipping under the covers to pull Rinoa's sleeping body next to mine. I remember thinking 'I hope the belts don't hurt her. 'I took a deep breath and closed my eyes again, ready for at least a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Tomorrow was recruitment day, and I needed some rest to prepare for the morning's storm. It was going to be hell, just as every year before but with one difference.
This year, I'd been recruited as a temp-instructor. Some lucky newbie was going to have to deal with my cranky attitude the next day. Kudos to him if he doesn't drop out in a week, I figured. I shook the thoughts out of my mind and rested my head gently against Rinoa's, falling asleep almost instantly.