Final Fantasy: Scarlet Eyes
Chapter 11: Watcher.
Crimson tapped his claw against the harsh steel of his throne. The shadows danced behind the pale moonlight, they swirled around the throne room and highlighted the red in his eyes. Watching this, Morgana leant out from behind her hiding place from behind the drapes. For the past free days she had watched him go about himself. His day consisted mainly of torturing random slaves that and the misfortune of walking past him when his mood was dire. That and the infernal tapping that drove Morgana mad. For hours on end, tap, tap, tap, he seemed to know that he was being observed and the clicking of claw to metal would drive out his watcher but she persevered. She glided from the curtains to the doors and turned making it look like she was just entering the hall. After completing her stride towards him, she knelt before Crimson and rose again.
"Something to report." He hissed glumly, holding his head up with his free arm.
Tap.
"No my lord, nothing, its just…"
Tap.
"It's just what Morgana?" He growled.
Tap.
"The dragons tell me the lunar cannon nears completion, and I am still unaware of its capabilities."
Tap.
"I see."
He rose.
"Now Morgana I see that I've kept you in the dark long enough." He spoke low and in whispers. "Come, let me show you the making of us."
The two figure left the room and traversed the hallways of the fortress passing the watchful eyes of the servants who scampered and shuffled to remove themselves from Lord Crimson's sight. With a jealous admiration she watched the smaller dragons who were in conversations part to let them stride past them. Watching his steady body she longed for his control, his power. The Hyne herself couldn't keep this Afeeta contained, she wondered what power he had yet to reveal to everyone.
Thy reached the end of long hallway to a dark, grey stoned room. There was a broad circular table in the middle of the cylindrical room. Crimson approached this while Morgana stood back and observed his actions. He pressed down hard on the table and a small section, just high enough for him to pass through, opened up in the room. A strange aura filled Morgana's mind, the energy the emanated from this place was unusual to her, it carried no distinction, not good nor evil, simply there. Through the opening was a narrow stair way, blue light was thrown onto the walls but the source was unknown to her. He lead her down these stairs that coiled and corkscrewed round as is reptilian in nature. As the two descended, the light slowly intensified, subtly at first, until Morgana strained to keep her eyes open as the light impaired her sight and made her stagger about the stairs. She glanced over to Crimson, who strode fast and steady the pale light being absorbed by his black mask.
Feeling the ground bellow her level out, Morgana's walk being steadier. Her remaining vision told Morgana that this room was long and broad, rectangular in shape. She sensed something in the centre of the room, the source of the light. Crimson overtook her and went deep into the light, for a moment there was nothing, then the blue the covered the room dimmed until Morgana could see clearly the demon holding a small sphere in his claw. It was only about the size of an orange but she cold feel the energy that came from it.
"This is the stone of the Estherian Talamasca." He boomed proudly.
"The order of Hyne's Sorceresses." She gasped. "I thought it was lost in the first great magic war, how did you come about it?" She said glaring at him with intrigue.
The Talamasca where the Hyne's White magic guardians, pure sorceresses. They were her presence on Earth and kept the peace, until Adel and the first sorceress war. Before being defeated by Laguna Loire and his allies, Adel searched for the stone and tracked it to the Talamasca's sanctuary in the sky. The stone was taken and the Order was slaughtered. It was said that Adel transported the stone to the farthest outstretch of the nether realm where even the Hyne could not reach it. The stone itself contain a forgotten magic called 'Transdution', according to sorceress archives the effect of transdution magic has never been observed.
"The stone came to me," He began. "When I was trapped in that hell the Hyne threw me into."
"I don't understand. Surely the stone wasn't just lying there for you to pick up."
He let out a hoarse laugh that bounded about the room. He lurched forward as if to whisper into Morgana's ear. As he lent Morgana could see, for the first time, several spines that protruded from his back, their form could be seen from the indend they left on his cloak. His face close to hers now.
"In the nether realm," He began. "There are several plains of existence, when the Hyne cast me down there, I was placed in the plain of flame. It consisted of fire and ash, the very ground blistered my skin. They stone was on a podium at the end of this plain. It was surrounded by astral guardians. I am sure you are familiar with them."
Morgana nodded. The astral guardians (Or spectral warriors as they where more commonly known.), where the Lords Hades' minions, after relieving him of Guardian Force status the Hyne commissioned him as the underworld's keeper. She had no idea however that he and Crimson had ever been on the same plain before.
"I am, Lord Crimson." She said, her voice low with interest. "And what next?"
"With my powers still dwindling I could not defeat the guardians, so I waited." His gaze seemed distant to Morgana, as if he was somewhere else. "Once enough of my strength had returned I took the stone and used a portion of its power to tear a rift between plains to allow me back to this existence.
Morgana tried to absorb and understand the things she had been told. The convience of the placement of the stone confused her. And what of Lord Hades, surely master of the demon underworld would not allow such a precious object to leave his realm? However this wasn't important, the stone was ere and in Crimson's grasp, Morgana's hopes of the SeeD's defeating him so she could draw his magic seemed less likely now.
"And where does the stone fit into the design of the Lunar Cannon?" Her inquisitive mind verbalised.
"Ah, now that is something very special."
***
Tyranis left the Trepe house last from the group, the topic of G.Fs still fresh in his mind. Araina was the only one in the group who did not posses a guardian, during the conversations they had Tyranis could detect the simmering frustration within her. In all the time Tyranis had known her, he would have never pegged Araina as the jealous type, although it could have helped that Scarlet brought Araina's lack of guardianship at every available opportunity.
Shiva, Carbuncle, Leviathan and Quezcotyl; these were the four guardians captured by the Tyranis, Sonya and Scarlet. Scarlet and Sonya had told him how their guardians had conversed with them several times since acquiring them. Neither of his guardians had communicated with him throughout his life, he wondered if they were even still inside him.
Walking along the promenade, he watched the moon cast its reflection across the ocean. Deep across the water two red dots, barely visible, rested on the point between water and sky. Straining his eyes, Tyranis tried to see where they came from, but his sight could not reach them. He continued walking, his parents were having their friends round, it wasn't often he got to see aunt Selphie and Uncle Irvine. He enjoyed the company of his parent's friends, even Instructor Trepe, when outside of school, was fun to be around, but he sensed there would be no jokes and stories at this meeting. Red, in the corner of his sight.
He turned round again, those to dots were directly across from him, he looked behind him, when he had last looked at them he was way down the road, how far away were those things? To his surprise he found them moving towards him. The dots flickered across the waves leaving a spray of water at either side of their path. As they came closer the dots began to have form behind them: long and red, claws and fangs, scales and spikes. Tyranis' blood froze, there was a crimson raptor flying toward him.
Its wings flapped so close to the water but never graced it with their touch, the water spray was from the sheer speed at which the monster flew. Tyranis had his shear trigger Gunblade drawn and ready, he would slay this as he done the other. His confidence soared until the scarlet eyes caught him. Held in their gaze his blade fell to the floor with a clang. With his eyes locked on the raptor's, Tyranis was in a trance. The raptor landed beside his paralysed body and scoped him up with his steel-like claws then took of into the sky. Before the trance took full effect and Tyranis feel fully asleep, he heard a faint grumbling around him. These moans seemed to form words inside his head.
You who were the slayer will now be slain. You who have feasted on the victory of the kill, will now be feasted upon.
The lowest of the clouds danced and played around Tyranis' head, his hair blew about his face, he was silent and without stir, as the huge dragon carried him across the ocean and into the sky.
Scarlet had walked Sonya back to her dorm, after a brief chat Scarlet left her friend and started the walk home. It took her across the promenade, the moon was high at its zenith and the sky was clear, without a cloud to blemish the purity of the blue. Suddenly, she stumbled over something metallic, after regaining composure she turned to look at the object. Instantly recognising the blade as Tyranis', she picked it up and looked around, no one to be seen. Again checking the ground she saw a few speckles of blood dotted about the cobbled path.
She panicked and ran back to the house to get Squall. Po entering the house she heard muttering voices of adults, normally she would have hung around the porch to eavesdrop, but there was no time. As she darted into the, the blade clutched in her arms, the group of people looked round in dismay.
"Scarlet," Rinoa began. "Where's Tyranis?" she said staring at the blade scarlet held.
"He's gone. There was blood."