Re-Creating Hell
Story Guide & Authors Notes
By PasifiKStar
*All Standard Disclaimers Apply: I do not own Final Fantasy or it's characters.
This page isn't part of the story, but rather a guide for understand the entire background between the underworld I am using. Each race will be described in as much detail as I possibly can and draw from examples using the characters. (Now that I think about it, I should've put this up earlier, huh? -_-;;) I will also list all the OTHER Final Fantasy characters that I have used in this story just because there were a lot. Did you know all of them? ^_^ And at the very bottom, are my thank yous to all the really wonderful reviewers who took time to tell me what they think.
The Underworld is typically a world unseen by the public. In modern day slang, it can mean the world of organized crime, such as the mob and drug dealing. In ancient times, the underworld was the after life or hell. However, it also has supernatural connotations. One of which is the underworld of vampires and other creatures of the night. That is the underworld I am setting the story in. While there are humans who have a larger population, these creatures live amongst them in their day to day lives. They are not revealed to the general public because they are different and that would cause panic amongst the humans. The underworld focus here also happens at night as vampires cannot go out during the day because of the sunlight.
The Races of the underworld are vampires (Squall, Laguna, Ellone, Kiros, Ward), lycanthrops [werewolves] (Irvine, Raijin, Cid, Edea, Seifer and Selphie are half), shape shifters (Zell, Fujin, Xu, Nida, Quistis is half), and sorcerers (Rinoa, General Caraway, Seifer and Selphie are half witch, Quistis is half magic user). They are races and not 'species' because biologically species cannot interbreed and have reproductive children. All the underworld races can intermingle and the result is a hybrid, like Quistis, Seifer, and Selphie. You are born what you are and the only way you can change is if a vampire turned you. Because sorcerers have the same ties to heaven as vampires, they are not easily turned. Their blood rejects each other because Hyne wanted to limit their powers. A pure blooded sorcerer that was turned would have a dangerous amount of power.
Vampires - I took bits and pieces from vampire folk lore. The biggest piece was that they could not go out into the direct sunlight because it would burn them to death. I also made it so they can take a lot of physical damage and still manage to heal themselves provided that their hearts were ripped out or their heads removed. As in most folk lore, I portrayed them as highly sophisticated and sensual (to the best of my ability). They are able to retract their fangs and turn other non-vampires into vampires, however if their bloods reject each other, the person they are trying to turn will die. Bloodlust is mentioned and is basically when vampires lose themselves in a moment of thurst for blood and lose control of themselves in their seach for it. They drink human blood, but in this story, most of the blood has been pre-processed and packaged for their convienence. And I didn't want them having to attack humans every now and then. That would've taken up a least a dozen pages...Also, I had it seem barbaric and looked down upon by vampiric society to avoid it. I just had their eyes glow red when they were angry or emotionally charged up for effect.
Lycan(throps) - The word comes from it's Greek origins. Lycos = wolf, anthro = man. The term lycanthropy is basically when a man becomes wolf. Scientifically, it is when a man believes he is becoming a werewolf after being bit by an actual wolf. The word lycanthrop was too long, so I cut the name to just plain lycan. (It was used in the Underworld movie, too.) This race has the ability to transform into human and werewolf bodies, but typically prefers human bodies for their mobility and acceptances in the normal world. I use the term werewolf to describe the actual anthromorphic wolf look to separate it from the human look. Basically, their bones, muscles, and skin change and their bodies become covered with fur. Rather than have their human clothes ripped off, which would've been weird considering that I'd have them change back afterwards and I didn't want them to run around naked, their clothes just 'magically' disappear and reappear. The moon is their major food source, although they tend to eat A LOT. They do eat humans once in a while, but only the full blooded lycans do. They have a tradition called 'feasting' where full blooded lycans basically rip apart a living human and eat them alive. That is looked down upon generally, but still happens. They can go out during the day and night, but prefer the night. NOTE: There are also were-CATS, but they tend to remain in their were-cat form and don't socialize with the rest of the underworld.
Sorcerers - They came down from heaven after the vampires because they wanted more power from Hyne. They were punished and sent to earth. One of the originals was Princess Sara. Sorcerers are the largest race as they cover shamans, witches, sorcerers, as well as summoners, white, black, and red magic users. It is often the sorcerer blood that is diluted in hybrids that have a sorcerer parent. Human blood really dilutes magic blood and magic blood rejects vampire blood. There are also those who are 'gifted' and don't have to be born a sorcerer to use magic. Edea is a magic user and she's a lycan. Quistis is half magic user, but her blood is weak. She's gifted in that she has slight telepathic abilities.
Shape-Shifters - Like the lycans, they are an immortal race of the earth. Meaning that they were not kicked out of heaven like the Vampires and Sorcerers. Shape-shifters are immortal, however are like humans and sorcerers and can be fatally wounded and killed. They cannot take a lot of physical damage before dying. Their special power is to change into another anthromorphic form at will. Meaning they can change to look like another humanoid creature or even a lycan in werewolf form. They carry no blood or lycan scent and their blood mingles easily with the other races. When they transform, their body first turns into a silver liquid and they loose their features before forming new ones over them. The fast they transform, the less silver liquid is seen.
The Clans - There are many clans within each race. During the majority of the story, those clan members that the teams had to report to were the leaders of each clan. For example, Rinoa was from the Caraway clan and Squall was from the Loire clan. Both are very strong, powerful, and large clans. Smaller clans exist but don't play a role in the actual story. Each clan has book that chronicles their clan's history. Rinoa, being the last sorceress of the Heartilly bloodline, is the holder of her mother's clan's history. Those who have hybrid children that are part human are still kept within the clan, but the child is never brought in due to issues that might arise in the future. They are still often treated and loved as family, but never formally inducted into the clan. The more powerful the clan, the higher they are in the underworld social ladder. The Caraway and Loire clans are part of upper society.
Turning - The term used for when a vampire 'turns' a non-vampire into a vampire. The non-vampire must be alive when the turning happens. First, the vampire drinks their blood. Then heals the wound to prevent loss of blood. After wards, the non-vampire must drink the vampire's blood. In Rinoa's case, she was passed out, so Squall slit his wrist and put blood in her mouth and then forced her to swallow it. The blood fuses with the non-vampire's blood and turns them into a vampire once it hit's their heart. However, if the non-vampire has magic blood, there is always a threat that the turning will fail and as a result, the non-vampire will die. In the story, most who are turned, or attempted to be turned, are the mates of vampires. The only two full blooded sorcerers who ever survived a full turning was Princess Sara and Rinoa.
Okay, now for the fun part. Many of you noticed that rather than use my own characters (except Hunter and RJ at the very end) for small parts in this story, I used other Final Fantasy Characters. Below is the list of characters I used. Did you spot all of them the first time? Note: Anything beyond here will contain spoilers if you haven't read the story.
Vincent Valentine (Final Fantasy VII) - Rinoa's kidnapper and minion of Adel; was killed by Squall. Race: Vampire.
Tifa Lockeheart (Final Fantasy VII) - Squall's cousin and owner of Loveless, the bar his mother owned when
and ran when she was alive. Race: Vampire.
Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII) - Son of the Strife Clan's leader whose team replaced that of Squall's. He
later lead the vampires' attack on the Island Closest to Hell. Race: Vampire
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII) - Adel's main minion and skilled sword master. He was an ancient vampire
with amazing skills no modern vampire possessed. He was killed using the combined techniques of Seifer, Selphie,
Quistis, Irvine, and Zell at the very end. Race: Ancient Vampire.
Yuna Leska (Final Fantasy X, X2) - Daughter of Braska, she attended Rinoa, Selphie, and Quistis' magic finishing
school and is an accomplished summoner. She also was the sorceress in the team that replaced Rinoa's and later advicated
for their return to the mission. Race: Sorceress.
Tidus (Final Fantasy X, X2 [he was there...kind of...]) - First he was the waiter at the Bistro were
Selphie and Irvine had their first date, then he quit and worked at Alexandria's as a waiter. Later he was seen as
a bartender at the Memorial party at the end of teh story. Race: Unknown.
Rikku (Final Fantasy X, X2) - She was the seating hostess at Alexandria's and was last seen trying to hook
Tidus up with her cousin, Yuna. Race: Lycan-Sorcerer.
Lulu (Final Fantasy X, X2 [briefly, she couldn't fight while pregnant with Wakka's kid]) - She was part
of the team that replaced Squall and Rinoa's. Race: Sorcerer-Vampire.
Wakka (Final Fantasy X, X2) - He was the Caraway limo driver and later became the Almasy limo driver. Race: Unknown.
Kimarhi (Final Fantasy X) - He was a were-cat and part of the team that replaced Squall and Rinoa. Race: Werecat
Seymour Guado (Final Fantasy X) - He was the clan leader of the rival Guado vampire clan. He was the one
that assemed the team that replaced Squall and Rinoa's. Race: Vampire.
Barret (Final Fantasy VII) - He was the bartender on the forth level of Al Bhed, servicing the vampires. He
was threatened at the end and quit his job. Race: Vampire.
Yuffie Kisaragi (Final Fantasy VII) - She was part of the team that replaced Squall and Rinoa's. Race: Vampire.
Cid Highwind (Final Fantasy VII) - He was driver of the ship for Cloud and Yuna's team. Race: Human?
Garnet "Dagger" (Final Fantasy IX) - She was the vampire who lead Rinoa down to the first level of Al Bhed to
dance. Race: Vampire.
Zidane (Final Fantasy IX) - He was the day time employee of Al Bhed who let Irvine, Selphie, and Zell in to
look around. Race: Lycan
Kuja (Final Fantasy IX) - He was the vampire informant who gave Squall false information and was seconds later
burned to death by Sephiroth. Race: Vampire.
Beatrix (Final Fantasy IX) - I think Beatrix is her name...she's the one who was with Dagger at the club.
Race: Vampire.
Aeris Gainsborough (Final Fantasy VII) - Her name was never mentioned, but Irvine once commented about dating
a girl who worked at a flower shop. Guess who. Race: Unknown.
Paine (Final Fantasy X2) - She was the pianist at Alexandria's and the pianist at the Memorial party at the
end. Race: Unknown.
Shuin (Final Fantasy X2) - Tidus' friend and coworker at Alexandria's. Race: Vampire?
Len (Final Fantasy X2) - The singer at Loveless and at the Memorial party; also Shuin's girlfriend. Race: Vampire
Terra (Final Fantasy VI) - She was Julia's best friend who she worked with at the hotel. Race: Sorceress
Locke (Final Fantasy VI) - He was the bartender at the hotel where Julia and Terra worked. Race: Sorcerer
Princess Sara (Final Fantasy I) - She was Adel and Ultimecia's mother, the first sorceress turned, and also
the sorceress who helped seal Hell's Gates and was Leon's mate. Race: Sorceress
Leon (Final Fantasy II) - He was the vampire who made Sara his mate and helped seal Hell's Gates. He was
Adel and Utlimecia's father. Race: Vampire.
Gus (Final Fantasy II) - He was the lycan who shed his blood to seal Hell's Gates the first time. Race: Lycan.
Firion (Final Fantasy II) - He was the shape shifter who shed his blood to seal Hell's Gates the first time.
Race: Shape shifter.
Maria (Final Fantasy II) - She was Leon's sister, Squall's ancestor, who named her clan Leonheart, after her
brother. She was the one who was entrusted with the ring. Race: Vampire.
Cecil (Final Fantasy IV) - The human who over saw the sealing of Hell's Gates. Race: Human
Auron (Final Fantasy X) - A professor at the girls' finishing school who came to speak to Rinoa after her
father died. Race: Sorcerer
Braska (Final Fantasy X) - Yuna's father and department chair of summoning at the girls' finishing school.
High clan member. Race: Sorcerer
Vivi (Final Fantasy IX) - Friend of Hunter's. Race: Sorcerer
Eiko (Final Fantasy IX) - Friend of Hunter's. Race: Sorcerer
First off, I'd like to thank everyone who read this story. It was my first one on FF.net and I'm really happy that it turned out okay. A BIG thanks and lots of hugs to those who reviewed. Imput really helped. To answer a question: I have thought about writing professionally before, but I'm too lazy. I want to get my Ph.D in anthropology, actually, which is my major. And to Yori Kiri, I hope this section helped! You were totally right - I should've posted something like this earlier! ^_^ If you have any more questions, just send me a note, okay?
I'm glad you liked the humor in the story. I hope it didn't seem to forced because I tend to actually say things like that during the worst moments. Reading it over, I sometimes wonder what I was on... Anyway, to LadySephiroth, Almicene, bembem, Serene Ice Mage, Hiasha, Rizza426, the truth, the wise, FF9 Zidane, Sassy, fire maiden, and EVERYONE who read this, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
I don't know when I'll be writing and on what, but I hope you'll read whatever stuff spews from my mind next. Until then, buh-bai!