"I'm the wench's SISTER?!" Celos wasn't happy with her newfound information. "Oh, HELL no."
Daleth remained serious. "You aren't her sister. You are a very, very distant relative, two families spread apart by hundreds of years of lineage. You are barely related."
Celos stuck her tongue out and gave a disgusted look. "That doesn't change the fact that I AM related to her! What's next, I'll find out I'm Marzinquan's mother?!"
Daleth opened his mouth to speak. "Actually-"
Celos didn't let him finish. "NOPE! Don't wanna hear it! Just, next time, now matter how much I beg, leave me in the dark, ok?"
Daleth finally grinned and laughed. "Just like Taelos." he caught himself, and looked at Celos.
Celos looked at him questioningly. "What...did you just say? How did you know Taelos?"
Daleth seemed unsure of himself for a moment, then his eyes refocused back out of their glazed look and he shivered as if something ran across his back. There was a light wisp of air, Daleth gave a moan, and fell to the floor clutching his head. Celos rushed over.
"Daleth, how do you know Taelos?" She was shaking him.
Daleth continued to clutch his forehead but didn't look back at Celos. "My friggen head...who the hell is Taelos?"
Celos gave him an angry look. "You just said 'Just like Taelos', so how the hell do you know him?"
"What are you talking about? We were asked me about what I meant about your being special!"
"Dammit Daleth, I'm not in the mood for games!"
"Celos, have you gone completely insane? I'm not playing games!"
A large crashing boom interrupted their argument. A giant tremor shook the cave so badly that Celos was knocked over and the room barely managed to keep from collapsing. Soon, roaring crashes filled Celos' ears so much that she was forced to clench her teeth and cover her ears just to keep from going insane. Walls of dust covered the pile of rocks in front of her, and the room was suddenly filled with a large heating light before everything settled down and Celos and Daleth recollected themselves. When Celos finally looked up, she saw that the rocks, which were previously blocking the tunnel, now had settled so that there was an opening for Daleth and Celos to get through. Without a single word or a gesture, the two of them quickly scrambled over the rocks onto the other side.
Kidria lay with her head turned to the right on her front with a light bit of blood trickling down her forehead. Beyond her lay Taea, unconscious and seemingly uninjured, but breathing heavily. Next to her laid a black, smoking, shimmering sword, which was pulsating and throbbing as if it contained something. For a moment, all Celos and Daleth could do was stare before they rushed to Kidria's and Taea's sides, respectively. Daleth noticed that Taea was unharmed, but Celos found Kidria in the worst of ways.
Kidria was covered in her own blood, her arm was pierced and Celos could see bone sticking out from the wound. Her jaw hung lack and there was a large gash above her left eyebrow. She was bruised in several place, and her pulse was very close to being nonexistent.
Celos nearly screamed. "Jesus, she's almost dead, and she's been impaled in the arm. We need to get to her to the nearest town. Jueno's the closest, but its vacant and been destroyed...Daleth, she's going to die! There's no where we can take her!"
Daleth did not turn from Taea's side and remained silent, but Celos was hysterical. "Daleth! Kidria is dying! God, someone help!"
Celos heard a shuffling of feet behind her, and turned to see a Taru standing in the doorway. Celos could not recognize its features, but she knew its voice when it spoke.
"We must hurry. Much is afoot in the world, and I must get Kidria to Bastok." The Taru waddled over to Kidria's body, and with a surprising bit of strength, picked up Kidria in her arms. The Taru mumbled a few words, and the Celos noticed that everyone was beginning to glow. With a final gesture by the said Taru, the room disappeared and Celos was picked up in a swirl of motion and whisked away in a flurry of wind.
Kidria woke up to find a large head right above her face. Her eyes grew wide in a panic, but a comforting hand calmed her upon her arm, and her focus finally realized Celos' face. Soon afterwards her energy left her once more and she fell asleep.
For a few hours she drifted out of consciousness, pondering Taelos' words and what they meant. What part of a key was she? What did he mean about not being fully powered as Celos? Kidria remained in a flurry of questioning thoughts and riddles, and even in her sleep she was disturbed by visions of massacres around the world, a burning Sandoria, and headless bodies lying in piles. She eventually woke with a start clutching her chest, covered in sweat, and panting heavily to see that she was in a nightgown and in a dark room at night. The window outside revealed a dark, starless night, looking down upon a cold, silent town lit by torches. All the buildings, even the taverns which were usually full of singing bards, were quiet, and it chilled the memory of Kidria's visions.
For a moment, she sat there, examining her patched up wounds and her stitches. The door out of her room was made of wood, and the space beneath it was filled with torchlight, and Kidria could not stand the silence. She hopped out of her bed and snuck over to the door and peeked through the keyhole to see a room warmed by a fire in the hearth and the air with voices.
She first recognized Halystaru's voice, a female Taru Kidria had met only a few months before. She was better known by the others, but Kidria had known her long enough to recognize her odd way of talking.
"It was luck, really. I was merely traveling through the area when I saw the massacre in Jueno. The sole living person was Takmir, whom I promptly took to Bastok, and then, being the Whitemage I am, came back and searched the remaining area for survivors. While prancing through Rolanberry fields, I saw a blasting column of light erupt from the Crawler's Nest, which I promptly ran over to. I found you guys there."
The room was quiet for a moment before Kidria heard Celos' voice. "You mentioned other things happening in the world. What about him?" Kidria noticed through the keyhole that Celos was pointing at someone. "Where did he come in?"
A third voice spoke, but Kidria did not immediately place it. "The truth is, I don't know. It was like I was called down to Jueno. I saw the massacre and ran back towards Sandoria to report what had happened. Soon after what occurred there, I scouted around the nation on chocobo and took stock of what areas were attacked. Soon after, I ran to Bastok and found you guys here."
Kidria suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Wait...that's Fupac!" She covered her mouth in self-protest, and hoped no one heard her. If anyone did, they made no apparent sign, and Daleth spoke this time. "What did you find?"
Fupac spoke again. "Seryaa is wrecking havoc on the dunes. Many are dead, and since Sandoria is busy at the moment, Bastok sent its men to fight. They are still on their way. Meanwhile, Marzinquan's current whereabouts is somewhere in Jugner forest, and the locals here are terrified that they are next."
Celos spoke. "How is Sandoria doing right now?"
Halystaru's turn. "We have no clue of their status. Here in Bastok and over in Windurst we remain untouched for the moment, and since Windurst is stuck on the other side of the ocean, they are effectively cut off from giving us support. Its like the pale warriors are trying to cut us off from one another so that they can weed us out, almost like they are frightened of something."
Celos nodded. "They are scared, but not of your armies. Pull your armies back...they will only be massacred. The only weapon we have against the three of them at the moment is Truth, since we have no idea where "Light" is."
Daleth looked at her quizzically. "How did you know about Truth? I didn't tell you..."
Celos sighed and shook her head. She explained everything, with Kidria watching all the while. What the mirror was, the history of the Evil, and what Celos and Kidria really were. She talked about the legend of Light and Evil's weakness, its powers, and the secret behind Evil's perfection. After a half hour of taking all of this, Kidria was left sick to her stomach. She was what this Evil was fighting for? Why did it want her? She never wanted a part in this...
Celos finished up the story, and gazed at the ceiling. "Whoever told me all this, since it apparently wasn't Daleth, left some things unsaid. He never explained why the Evil would try to kill Kidria when it could just as easily possessed her in that cave, why Truth was in that hole outside the castle Zvhal, and why evil still continues to fight even though it knows its not perfect. It has revealed the one greatest tool it had going for it, the fact that mankind had no knowledge about this Evil. There has to be something we don't know that Evil does, and I have no clue what that could be. Kidria, do you know anything?"
Kidria gulped and gave a shocked look as Celos turned her head toward the keyhole Kidria was peering through. She sighed heavily with her cover blown and opened the door to see Daleth, Celos, Halystaru, and Fupac sitting in chairs around the fire talking. She limped over to the four of them and sat in a nearby chair.
"All I know is that Taelos said I unlocked 'Potential' and that somehow, I was related to him. I was always dense, I didn't get how he was related until the very end. Don't expect much help from me in this riddle, because I suck at solving things."
Halystaru grinned at her. "Well, at least you are a decent fighter. You took on a Pale Warrior single-handedly, and lived. Chances are you will go on in history along with the rest of this facade of events."
Celos turned glum and rested her hand upon her chin. "While Celos stared at rocks. Woo."
Daleth frowned. "Personally, I would be glad to live without these memories. I never wanted to see my own friends try to kill me, nor to see innocents massacred, or even to see Cerulean or Taea turn against me." He seem troubled by even the slightest glance at Kidria, who was puzzled by the look.
Celos gave Kidria an odd look. "Kid...you ok? You're turning pale. You've already lost a lot of blood, but you look like you've seen a ghost."
Kidria felt a rush to her head for a moment, and then felt her forehead pump. "I don't know...I think...I think..." She felt woozy for a moment, and her vision began to clog and the world began to fog and cloud. The vision of her sister faded, and Kidria's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted.
It was Taelos' voice. "Kidria, I apologize for the abrupt reunion, but I needed to speak."
"About what?"
"I have many things to say, but little time, so please listen, but do not speak. To begin with, I need to thank you. I now rest in peace along with Katmir, and my friends will be short to follow. I apologize for not telling you of our...relation, but it was something that needed to remain unsaid."
"But now is not the time for that. You must go, now, along with Celos and the others, to Valkrum Dunes, Jugner Forest, and Sandoria. You are a key in more than just potential, but I do not know how. Only Evil does. I do know this: It no longer seeks to control you, only to kill you at all costs, so stay out of its sight. Something wrong is afoot."
"Furthermore, you must know that although you play a key part, you are still in danger. Stay out of the way. Also, do not let Celos get near the Evil either, if that is possible. Halystaru and Fupac will help you as well, but for a time, leave Daleth behind."
"Why?"
"When he entered the cave you fought in, his first and only thoughts were Taea and nothing else. Despite the fact that she is unharmed, he is angry with himself for being more worried about someone who is unhurt and who attempted to murder you while you lay dying and bleeding. He is still your friend, but this is a battle he will be forced to sit out on."
The voice sighed. "Ah...Kidria, so many things left unsaid. One day, when you have earned redemption, you will finally meet my family and me as well. I look forward to that day Kidria, but do not work to hasten its coming. Perhaps one day we can truly meet, not on a battlefield, but as one to another, but until then...goodbye Kidria. Once more, I thank you."
Kidria's eyes snapped open to see her friends looking at her worryingly. Although they saw she was awake, no one spoke until Kidria opened her mouth in inquiry.
She turned to Halystaru as she talked. "Haly...in my sleep, a few hours ago, I had visions of Sandoria burning, and...a 'friend' told me to go there. What's happening?"
Halystaru bit her lower lip and looked into the burning fire in the hearth with sorrowful eyes for a few moments in silence. When she finally did turn back at Kidria, she had a look like something terrible had happened.
"Less than twelve hours ago, back while you fought Taea, Sandoria, your home, came under attack by Fxeni. Eight hours ago, he broke in the front gate and into the confines in the city. Four hours ago, we lost contact. Now, a glow lights up the northern sky, a glow that may very well be the burning of the Kingdom of Sandoria."
Daleth remained serious. "You aren't her sister. You are a very, very distant relative, two families spread apart by hundreds of years of lineage. You are barely related."
Celos stuck her tongue out and gave a disgusted look. "That doesn't change the fact that I AM related to her! What's next, I'll find out I'm Marzinquan's mother?!"
Daleth opened his mouth to speak. "Actually-"
Celos didn't let him finish. "NOPE! Don't wanna hear it! Just, next time, now matter how much I beg, leave me in the dark, ok?"
Daleth finally grinned and laughed. "Just like Taelos." he caught himself, and looked at Celos.
Celos looked at him questioningly. "What...did you just say? How did you know Taelos?"
Daleth seemed unsure of himself for a moment, then his eyes refocused back out of their glazed look and he shivered as if something ran across his back. There was a light wisp of air, Daleth gave a moan, and fell to the floor clutching his head. Celos rushed over.
"Daleth, how do you know Taelos?" She was shaking him.
Daleth continued to clutch his forehead but didn't look back at Celos. "My friggen head...who the hell is Taelos?"
Celos gave him an angry look. "You just said 'Just like Taelos', so how the hell do you know him?"
"What are you talking about? We were asked me about what I meant about your being special!"
"Dammit Daleth, I'm not in the mood for games!"
"Celos, have you gone completely insane? I'm not playing games!"
A large crashing boom interrupted their argument. A giant tremor shook the cave so badly that Celos was knocked over and the room barely managed to keep from collapsing. Soon, roaring crashes filled Celos' ears so much that she was forced to clench her teeth and cover her ears just to keep from going insane. Walls of dust covered the pile of rocks in front of her, and the room was suddenly filled with a large heating light before everything settled down and Celos and Daleth recollected themselves. When Celos finally looked up, she saw that the rocks, which were previously blocking the tunnel, now had settled so that there was an opening for Daleth and Celos to get through. Without a single word or a gesture, the two of them quickly scrambled over the rocks onto the other side.
Kidria lay with her head turned to the right on her front with a light bit of blood trickling down her forehead. Beyond her lay Taea, unconscious and seemingly uninjured, but breathing heavily. Next to her laid a black, smoking, shimmering sword, which was pulsating and throbbing as if it contained something. For a moment, all Celos and Daleth could do was stare before they rushed to Kidria's and Taea's sides, respectively. Daleth noticed that Taea was unharmed, but Celos found Kidria in the worst of ways.
Kidria was covered in her own blood, her arm was pierced and Celos could see bone sticking out from the wound. Her jaw hung lack and there was a large gash above her left eyebrow. She was bruised in several place, and her pulse was very close to being nonexistent.
Celos nearly screamed. "Jesus, she's almost dead, and she's been impaled in the arm. We need to get to her to the nearest town. Jueno's the closest, but its vacant and been destroyed...Daleth, she's going to die! There's no where we can take her!"
Daleth did not turn from Taea's side and remained silent, but Celos was hysterical. "Daleth! Kidria is dying! God, someone help!"
Celos heard a shuffling of feet behind her, and turned to see a Taru standing in the doorway. Celos could not recognize its features, but she knew its voice when it spoke.
"We must hurry. Much is afoot in the world, and I must get Kidria to Bastok." The Taru waddled over to Kidria's body, and with a surprising bit of strength, picked up Kidria in her arms. The Taru mumbled a few words, and the Celos noticed that everyone was beginning to glow. With a final gesture by the said Taru, the room disappeared and Celos was picked up in a swirl of motion and whisked away in a flurry of wind.
Kidria woke up to find a large head right above her face. Her eyes grew wide in a panic, but a comforting hand calmed her upon her arm, and her focus finally realized Celos' face. Soon afterwards her energy left her once more and she fell asleep.
For a few hours she drifted out of consciousness, pondering Taelos' words and what they meant. What part of a key was she? What did he mean about not being fully powered as Celos? Kidria remained in a flurry of questioning thoughts and riddles, and even in her sleep she was disturbed by visions of massacres around the world, a burning Sandoria, and headless bodies lying in piles. She eventually woke with a start clutching her chest, covered in sweat, and panting heavily to see that she was in a nightgown and in a dark room at night. The window outside revealed a dark, starless night, looking down upon a cold, silent town lit by torches. All the buildings, even the taverns which were usually full of singing bards, were quiet, and it chilled the memory of Kidria's visions.
For a moment, she sat there, examining her patched up wounds and her stitches. The door out of her room was made of wood, and the space beneath it was filled with torchlight, and Kidria could not stand the silence. She hopped out of her bed and snuck over to the door and peeked through the keyhole to see a room warmed by a fire in the hearth and the air with voices.
She first recognized Halystaru's voice, a female Taru Kidria had met only a few months before. She was better known by the others, but Kidria had known her long enough to recognize her odd way of talking.
"It was luck, really. I was merely traveling through the area when I saw the massacre in Jueno. The sole living person was Takmir, whom I promptly took to Bastok, and then, being the Whitemage I am, came back and searched the remaining area for survivors. While prancing through Rolanberry fields, I saw a blasting column of light erupt from the Crawler's Nest, which I promptly ran over to. I found you guys there."
The room was quiet for a moment before Kidria heard Celos' voice. "You mentioned other things happening in the world. What about him?" Kidria noticed through the keyhole that Celos was pointing at someone. "Where did he come in?"
A third voice spoke, but Kidria did not immediately place it. "The truth is, I don't know. It was like I was called down to Jueno. I saw the massacre and ran back towards Sandoria to report what had happened. Soon after what occurred there, I scouted around the nation on chocobo and took stock of what areas were attacked. Soon after, I ran to Bastok and found you guys here."
Kidria suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Wait...that's Fupac!" She covered her mouth in self-protest, and hoped no one heard her. If anyone did, they made no apparent sign, and Daleth spoke this time. "What did you find?"
Fupac spoke again. "Seryaa is wrecking havoc on the dunes. Many are dead, and since Sandoria is busy at the moment, Bastok sent its men to fight. They are still on their way. Meanwhile, Marzinquan's current whereabouts is somewhere in Jugner forest, and the locals here are terrified that they are next."
Celos spoke. "How is Sandoria doing right now?"
Halystaru's turn. "We have no clue of their status. Here in Bastok and over in Windurst we remain untouched for the moment, and since Windurst is stuck on the other side of the ocean, they are effectively cut off from giving us support. Its like the pale warriors are trying to cut us off from one another so that they can weed us out, almost like they are frightened of something."
Celos nodded. "They are scared, but not of your armies. Pull your armies back...they will only be massacred. The only weapon we have against the three of them at the moment is Truth, since we have no idea where "Light" is."
Daleth looked at her quizzically. "How did you know about Truth? I didn't tell you..."
Celos sighed and shook her head. She explained everything, with Kidria watching all the while. What the mirror was, the history of the Evil, and what Celos and Kidria really were. She talked about the legend of Light and Evil's weakness, its powers, and the secret behind Evil's perfection. After a half hour of taking all of this, Kidria was left sick to her stomach. She was what this Evil was fighting for? Why did it want her? She never wanted a part in this...
Celos finished up the story, and gazed at the ceiling. "Whoever told me all this, since it apparently wasn't Daleth, left some things unsaid. He never explained why the Evil would try to kill Kidria when it could just as easily possessed her in that cave, why Truth was in that hole outside the castle Zvhal, and why evil still continues to fight even though it knows its not perfect. It has revealed the one greatest tool it had going for it, the fact that mankind had no knowledge about this Evil. There has to be something we don't know that Evil does, and I have no clue what that could be. Kidria, do you know anything?"
Kidria gulped and gave a shocked look as Celos turned her head toward the keyhole Kidria was peering through. She sighed heavily with her cover blown and opened the door to see Daleth, Celos, Halystaru, and Fupac sitting in chairs around the fire talking. She limped over to the four of them and sat in a nearby chair.
"All I know is that Taelos said I unlocked 'Potential' and that somehow, I was related to him. I was always dense, I didn't get how he was related until the very end. Don't expect much help from me in this riddle, because I suck at solving things."
Halystaru grinned at her. "Well, at least you are a decent fighter. You took on a Pale Warrior single-handedly, and lived. Chances are you will go on in history along with the rest of this facade of events."
Celos turned glum and rested her hand upon her chin. "While Celos stared at rocks. Woo."
Daleth frowned. "Personally, I would be glad to live without these memories. I never wanted to see my own friends try to kill me, nor to see innocents massacred, or even to see Cerulean or Taea turn against me." He seem troubled by even the slightest glance at Kidria, who was puzzled by the look.
Celos gave Kidria an odd look. "Kid...you ok? You're turning pale. You've already lost a lot of blood, but you look like you've seen a ghost."
Kidria felt a rush to her head for a moment, and then felt her forehead pump. "I don't know...I think...I think..." She felt woozy for a moment, and her vision began to clog and the world began to fog and cloud. The vision of her sister faded, and Kidria's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted.
It was Taelos' voice. "Kidria, I apologize for the abrupt reunion, but I needed to speak."
"About what?"
"I have many things to say, but little time, so please listen, but do not speak. To begin with, I need to thank you. I now rest in peace along with Katmir, and my friends will be short to follow. I apologize for not telling you of our...relation, but it was something that needed to remain unsaid."
"But now is not the time for that. You must go, now, along with Celos and the others, to Valkrum Dunes, Jugner Forest, and Sandoria. You are a key in more than just potential, but I do not know how. Only Evil does. I do know this: It no longer seeks to control you, only to kill you at all costs, so stay out of its sight. Something wrong is afoot."
"Furthermore, you must know that although you play a key part, you are still in danger. Stay out of the way. Also, do not let Celos get near the Evil either, if that is possible. Halystaru and Fupac will help you as well, but for a time, leave Daleth behind."
"Why?"
"When he entered the cave you fought in, his first and only thoughts were Taea and nothing else. Despite the fact that she is unharmed, he is angry with himself for being more worried about someone who is unhurt and who attempted to murder you while you lay dying and bleeding. He is still your friend, but this is a battle he will be forced to sit out on."
The voice sighed. "Ah...Kidria, so many things left unsaid. One day, when you have earned redemption, you will finally meet my family and me as well. I look forward to that day Kidria, but do not work to hasten its coming. Perhaps one day we can truly meet, not on a battlefield, but as one to another, but until then...goodbye Kidria. Once more, I thank you."
Kidria's eyes snapped open to see her friends looking at her worryingly. Although they saw she was awake, no one spoke until Kidria opened her mouth in inquiry.
She turned to Halystaru as she talked. "Haly...in my sleep, a few hours ago, I had visions of Sandoria burning, and...a 'friend' told me to go there. What's happening?"
Halystaru bit her lower lip and looked into the burning fire in the hearth with sorrowful eyes for a few moments in silence. When she finally did turn back at Kidria, she had a look like something terrible had happened.
"Less than twelve hours ago, back while you fought Taea, Sandoria, your home, came under attack by Fxeni. Eight hours ago, he broke in the front gate and into the confines in the city. Four hours ago, we lost contact. Now, a glow lights up the northern sky, a glow that may very well be the burning of the Kingdom of Sandoria."