Thanks loads to Silent Cacophony and Kogoro!!! To be honest, I didn't think that anyone would review so quickly.. (-) Thank you so much again!!! Like, this is the first fic I have ever published… and well, THANK YOU again.

I wrote this chapter before I read your reviews so I'm sorry but I wasn't yet able to shorten the paragraphs… but I'll do my best in the next chapters. Anyway I hope you guys like this one…

CHAPTER 1

The ports on the main island of the Hadura archipelago were eerily silent for the hour. The sun was already up, yet, its light shone only on lonely wooden decks void of their usual hustle and bustle. What would have normally been a busy port was abandoned. The usually noisy atmosphere that hung about the main island docks was non-existent that early morning. It seemed as though the boisterous fishermen were taking their time in returning to port that day. As a matter of fact, what few boats were there were without occupants, with the exception of one.

A lone man stood in front of what looked like a sea-worthy craft that has had its share of the notorious rough waves surrounding the archipelago. Its once bright blue paint was now dull from the sea air and beginning to chip-off of the boat's metal hull. But the ship's name stood right out from the soft blue background, it read: "SS Bolster" in simple, stark white letters. The man is this vessel's captain and owner. His name is Jaro Bolster. He was not native to this archipelago, in fact he was born in Bevelle, the seat of the teachings of Yevon. But Jaro is not a religious man, he preferred practicality to morality. That was why he was hired. Unlike his fellows, he did not care who rode on his boat just as long as they were willing to pay for his services.

'Oh… what could be taking them so long?' he asked himself silently as he brushed away his brown, wind-blown hair from his tanned face. 'I wish they'd get here sooner.' He complained to himself. No sooner did he think this and then three tall, slender figures could be seen approaching the lonely dock. 'I hope it's them,' he mused. 'I can't stand waiting.' He thought grudgingly.

As the three figures neared he began to make out more details of each individual. From where he stood he could clearly tell that the one in front of the group was a woman. She was slightly shorter than the others were, but tall none the less; Jaro swore she could be as tall as he was. Her bright blond hair was held back from her seemingly tanned face, he couldn't tell whether she kept it up or down because of the distance. She wore a simple lavender dress that reached the ground and trailed behind her, he could see no more details than that. But even from this far, he could tell that she was very pretty.

The one that followed was a tall young man, with short, dark blonde hair. He too seemed to possess tanned skin. He wore a loose, dark blue jerkin that reached just below his knee, it was open all the way, revealing black pants, knee high boots and a white shirt. A thick, black cord ran the entire length of his torso diagonally going all the way back. He presumed that it held a sheath and sword. From experience of ferrying summoners and their guardians from island to island for nearly ten years, he could tell that this man was well built and extremely strong, and that his female companion was not to be trifled with.

The last of the group made a sheer contrast with his companions. He was a slender young man with long, dark black hair, which flew as the sea breeze blew through it and pale skin. His clothes were not what he expected from a summoner. Unlike the pervious summoners he had met, this one dressed less flamboyantly. He wore a simple black garment that reminded Jaro of the warrior monks that he had encountered on his pervious travels. By the way this summoner walked, he could tell that he could handle himself pretty well and survive easily enough with or without his aeons or guardians.

Jaro took a breath and called out, "Hey! Are you the summoner?" Neither of them replied, instead they hurried down the pier to wear the Bolster was anchored. The blonde-haired man arrived first, "Yes. We are the party of the summoner-in-training," he said hurriedly. Jaro's assessment of the youth was correct. He carried a sword on his back and it looked like he could handle it with deadly accuracy.

"I am Lydia." Continued the young woman as she arrived, bowing respectfully to Jaro. She was very pretty and about as tall as the ferryman thought. But he was surprised to see that her eyes were almost the exact color of her dress, perhaps they were just a little darker.

"This is Ilised," she introduced, gesturing to the young blonde, blue-eyed man who easily towered over the two of them by about four inches. Ilised then bowed graciously. "And this is Landien, the summoner-in-training and my brother." She added cheerfully as the young male summoner made his way to the group. This also surprised the seaman, he honestly did not expect that these two people were siblings.

"I hope you did not wait too long for us." He said apologetically as he bowed to the boatman in greeting. "Nah!" he replied as young man stood straight, looking up a bit in order to meet the dark-haired youth's pale gray eyes, he could tell that this quasi-summoner had a lot of potential from the fierce determination and dedication he could see in those gray depths. He greatly resembled his sister, they had the same cheekbones and nose. "Not too long." he added politely with a knowing smile. This middle-aged seaman knew from the very bottom of his soul that the young summoner-to-be standing in front of him would be destined to do great things, even perhaps bring the long-awaited Calm to Spira.

As Jaro began to set sail, Lydia approached him in the bridge. "Yes, Miss. Wait can I do to help 'ya with?" he asked. "Umm…nothing," she began nervously. "It's just that…" her voice trailed off and she began to turn. "Now spill it out." Declared the sea captain, curious of what the young lady wanted to say. "Thank you." She hurriedly blurted. "For what?" Jaro asked. The lady guardian seemed surprised by this and smiled meekly, "It's just that, no one else wanted to ferry us because… we're… you know." Said Lydia, looking down at the floor, her cheeks flushed from either embarrassment or frustration, Jaro couldn't tell. "It don't matter to me who or what you are," he assured hopefully. "All that matters is that you pay me," he joked, making the guardian giggle despite herself. "And that your sincerity to help all of Spira is true." He added.

"Thank you, again. I really appreciate it." Said Lydia gratefully as she exited the cabin. The young lady was glad from the kind ferryman's words. She could only hope that there would be others who would think of them the same way… would think of them without prejudice.

…

As Jaro dropped the anchor of the SS Bolster into Besaid seas, he thought to himself, ' If I hadn't looked into their eyes I could have thought they were just like me. But there's just no mistaking those swirls…'