...It is important to remember that the symbol for this sign is the twins, and that not all twins are alike. There are broad distinctions within the Gemini character...Inseparable as two sides of the coin, those born in this sign can be dazzling and irresistable or inconstant and irrational.'
Zodiac Signal
A Final Fantasy Tactics fanfic
By Tenshi no Ai
I don't own the characters and locations in the game that are presented in this work, Square-Enix does.
It was early afternoon when Mesdoram Elmdor, the ruler of Limberry and a capable Arc Knight, descended into the first underground level of Murond's bookrooms. The heavy mahogany door closed behind him with a muffled noise as the musty odor of the underground vault invaded his sensitive nose. He nearly opened the door again, if only to air out the room, but the sudden realization that he could no more completely remove the unpleasant smell than he could defy God's will caused him to turn away and stride into the heart of the room. His dark cloak billowed behind him and he drew it over his tall frame in a quick, graceful movement. Long, white-blond hair drifted behind him like a streak of moonlight in the dark room. Between that and the sleek pieces of foreign armor he often wore, it was only natural that there would be such extremes between the names he was known by.
The Silver Noble, a distinguished, elegant man who defined the heart of nobility.
The Silver Ogre, a merciless warrior with a blade dripping with the blood of his enemies.
The names were fine with him, they had always been. He didn't need to be understood for who he truly was by either his friends or enemies. Only his people, the poor yet hardy laborers of Limberry, could ever truly understand. The Fifty Year War had forced them to bear the ultimate insult of invasion and occupation by the Ordalians, and only by intuitively knowing when to be kind and when to be cruel could the survivors cling to their homeland. With the war having ended a mere few months before, they would all have to continue these ways as they began the arduous process of rebuilding Limberry. It was his most fervent belief that God could understand him as well, that the Lord could forgive him for following the devil's route in order to try to bring his people some sort of salvation.
Those of the Glabados faith seemed to understand this. They had given him a holy stone and told him that he had the potential to become one of God's Zodiac Braves.
Absently, he touched the stone through the cloak pocket which it now rested in, thinking back on Vormav Tingel's words as he meandered about the room, cerulean-blue eyes scanning the spines of each tome for something suitable to read. That he was allowed to wander Murond without some wide-eyed Shrine Knight as his guide spoke volumes about the connection he had with the Church. Due to his support, he was highly regarded by the Church and unofficially qualified to become a Pagan Examiner should he ever choose to leave the life of a noble.
Not now, not yet. He owed it to his people to help them, and a noble's position was better than an examiner's in that regard. Soon, perhaps; he was already in the second half of his thirties and was starting to feel it in his bones, his soul.
It was hard to hold both God's and the devil's hands without feeling as if he was being torn apart.
There was a book that caught his eye, a dissertation on the Zodiac Brave legend. With sable-gloved fingers he pulled the tome out of its place and opened it, glancing at the preface.
A warrior takes sword in hand,
clasping a gem to his heart.
Engraving vanishing memories
into the sword,
He laces finely honed skills
into the stone.
Spoken from the sword,
handed down from the stone...
Now the story can be told...
The sound of a creaking chair alerted him to the fact that he was not the only person indulging in the knowledge--and the fairy tales--that the bookroom had to offer. Never one to announce his presence boldly, he calmly made his way to the tables and spared a glance at the other occupant in the room. It was another man, a boy really, and there was a stack of books in front of him, showing that this boy had been here for a fair amount of time.
Good afternoon, sir, the boy said in a sort of blanket respectfulness, as if he didn't know who the Marquis was. Mesdoram could understand the feeling; despite the boy's Shrine Knight armor, swathed in a surcoat of green, he could not place who this knight was.
Good afternoon, Sir Knight, the Silver Noble responded in kind before sitting down at another table. He opened the book he had taken and began to read it, consciously aware of the eyes of the young man sitting at his back.
There was a shifting noise, and then, Excuse me, sir, but may I ask who you are? I'm sorry, but you look familiar.
Mesdoram closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning his body, glancing at the boy out of the corner of his eye. Mesdoram Elmdor of Limberry, he stated simply, watching the boy frown momentarily at this news before his eyes abruptly widened.
Oh, you're Marquis Elmdor! Forgive me, I had forgotten that my father had said you were here, the boy lowered his head in rushed acknowledgment, his light brown bangs brushing over his forehead at the movement. A half-smile appeared on the elder man's face as he wondered if he had ever been so youthful.
'Your father', the Marquis repeated, and the boy looked up in curiosity, who is your father?
With a small, almost undetectable fidget, the Shrine Knight replied, My father is Vormav Tingel, my lord. My name is Izlude.
Digesting this information, Mesdoram looked away from the boy. The only person you should ever refer to as my lord' is God, young Tingel.That is true, Izlude hurriedly replied. Forgive me, I don't know how to properly speak with the nobility, so I--'Marquis Elmdor' is fine, or any variant you so choose, the half-smile quirked up upon the noble's delicate face, reflecting in his eyes, after all, we are of the same band now.
Izlude's dark eyes were dull for a moment before he inexplicably smiled widely. I see! You've been marked as one of the Zodiac Braves as well! Which one are you, if I may ask?
Mesdoram's smile was tempered by the question, but it still remained. The Gemini seemed most appropriate, the corners of his mouth lifted in pleasure at his private joke, but the boy didn't seem to notice. And yourself?
Something in Izlude's countenance seemed more fitting of a man for the barest second, before being washed away by his youthful exuberance. The Pisces, he answered, shrugging slightly. Any confidence he had assumed suddenly seemed to melt off of his gold-plated shoulders. I only hope I can live up to the legend itself...To think in such a way almost certainly allows for failure to overcome you.
The boy was startled by these words, only managing a confused, E-excuse me?Do you seek to become like your predecessors, or do you wish to become your own man? Mesdoram blandly glanced at Izlude, his mouth turned down in displeasure. He couldn't understand the Shrine Knight's words. They reeked of dependence, weakness.
Marquis Elmdor could've never afforded to hold such an attitude. His people deserved more than that.
...Of course I want to become my own man, but I think that the legends are there to be examples on how we can improve ourselves, Izlude argued passionately, his bare and calloused hands palms-down on the table as if he might raise himself and his voice soon, it's just like the priests who swear to emulate the holy Saint Ajora, or God Himself.
Cold blue eyes narrowed at this example. I pity those who believe they could ever emulate the Lord. Unless they cast off their humanity, their endeavors are fruitless.
Now the young knight did stand, leaning forward with irritation dwelling in his eyes. Forgive me, but I don't believe that's true at all! he announced, taking a breath before continuing, With the proper example, humans can aspire to become one with God.
Mesdoram leaned back, one thin eyebrow arched in beautiful disdain. How do you explain the war, then?Because of the nobl... a tirade was quickly quelled as Izlude froze, realizing just what he was about to say, no...I don't mean to imply you specifically, but because of the system of aristocracy and those who seem to believe that they are above God's grace.
It was slow, but it built up steadily until the refined noble began to chuckle. That is something I would not disagree with, he smiled, the act much like the clouds clearing after the rain. It is purely because of self-interest that humans act.
Still hunched over the table, the Shrine Knight said nothing at first. Finally, he shook his head. I don't think I agree with that, he stated slowly, his eyes downcast, we are capable of sacrifice. Not everything is about ourselves.Come now, are you truly this naive? The Silver Ogre's eyes glittered as he smiled thinly. A person always lives to accomplish something for their own benefit. Can you truly say that you are any different?
His face flushed at being called naive, Izlude removed his hands from the table. He stood there, a golden knight dressed with the surcoat of a novice, and yet something essential had changed. His youthful face now seemed grave and serious, and eyes that showed all too well his ever-changing emotions revealed a hidden reservoir of maturity within the boy. You are right, he murmured, that I am naive. I've never fought in a war. I have never seen a person die. Even though I try my hardest not to be, sometimes I'm selfish, sometimes I'm jealous, and sometimes I don't think things through. Am I any different? No.
But, Marquis Elmdor, I'm trying to become a better person. To do that, I try to follow the words and examples set before me. My mother had told me that I must try to understand others in order to understand myself. My father once said that I must never suffer evil, the young man faltered here, his eyes aimed away from the blank-faced noble as he tried to find the right words. If...if I fail in my mission because I followed the examples set before me, I think...I would've at least stayed true to myself.
It was quiet in the bookroom after he finished. Embarrassment crossed Izlude's face and he lowered his head, his heroism slipping away and revealing a confused boy in its stead. Silently he collected his books and he made as if to walk away, but then he glanced at the noble, the man merely staring back with an expressionless face. The young Shrine Knight seemed to want to say something, his lips moving barely more than a twitch, but instead he walked away.
Mesdoram did not watch him go. Instead, he ran a hand through his hair and then looked down at his gloved hand. There was a blond strand caught along his forefinger and over his palm, and with the poor light it looked just like silver.
The Silver Noble. The Silver Ogre.
The older he became, the more of life he had to endure, the more the Marquis wondered if it was alright if he finally let himself be taken over by whoever wanted him. Limberry or the Church, God or the devil, the noble or the ogre...but the names had never mattered, had they?
In the end, they were all the same.
-Gemini fades into Cancer...-
What do Gemini, Virgo and Sagittarius have in common? They all have too many people under their sign (four or more is a lot, especially considering poor Aries and Taurus). I can't and won't write a story about all the possible characters under one sign if there are more than two, but I will provide analysis for all of them in the story notes.
There is only one common trait that ties Izlude, Kletian, Elmdor, Malak and Worker 8 together as Geminians, and that is their dual natures. Note that dual natures' doesn't mean that they're diametrically opposed. To put it concisely:
-Elmdor is explicitly stated in the Brave Story to be known as both the Silver Noble and the Silver Ogre depending on who you talk to.
-Izlude is an utterly naive boy subjugated by his father, and yet he is also a heroic young man who fights to save Ivalice from evil, even if that means his own father.
-Malak, who acts like a selfish creep, does the right thing in the end and gets himself kille--I mean, sacrifices himself to protect his sister.
-Kletian is a bit more difficult to pin down. We learn exactly three facts about him: he is very intelligent (the Brave Story states that he was at the top of his class in Gariland), he is very devout (the Brave Story then says that he knew he wanted to go to Murond), and he is very devoted to Rofel (Kletian's battle quotes). The duality then can be either of these two things: intellect/devoutness or intellect/devotion (if we infer that Kletian wanted to go to Murond because Rofel was there).
-My theory for Worker 8 is that his sign is more of a hint about his twin' Worker 7 NEW at Nelveska Temple than about any actual characterization. What solidifies this in my mind is that Worker 7 NEW apparently has a variable zodiac sign.
The thing to note here is that with five different characters under one sign, the character creator couldn't link them by explicit characteristics, such as charming' and youthful' and stimulating', which are all Geminian in nature. It seems that for some signs, it is the concept behind the sign and not the characteristics themselves that link the characters together. It is...it kind of makes my head hurt.
Gemini is the mutable air sign, capable of adapting ideas to fit their need at the moment. All the air signs in general are known for ideas and overall intelligence.
Reviewers!
TobyKikami, I completely forgot about the Aries stone. Now I've got this idea in my head that Wiegraf was compatible with the Aries stone because of the loyalty he had to Boco...or something.
Thanks for the compliments. The fake princess thing is...weird. No one gives a very coherent explanation in this game.
Hey, Hawk of Death. Heh, other than my Arian generics, I've got two Aquarians (Claudia and Junk). They're all better than most of my specials.
The only other sign with as many characters as Gemini is Virgo, annoyingly enough. I liked it better when I could focus on only one character.
Ah...Cloud. Meh. I've never played FFVII either, but I do know about the Leo thing. From what I can tell, though, Aquarius fits him a lot better.
Glad you like it so far, Killiko Jun. I remember you from WHW a long time ago. Aquarius...are you looking forward to it because it's your sign, or because of a character? Just curious.
I know white isn't a color, but non-color' or two colors and a tone' seems unwieldly. :)
Yo, The Burning Misery. Thanks for putting up the second part of your review again; I know that you're usually good with your reviews. I see what you mean about the practical applications of astrology--though there's a lot more to a Leo than that, and some of it coincides with a Libra, trust me--and I'm glad that you know about this stuff anyway.
Obsessive? Damn straight. That's why it's called fanfiction. :)
I'm glad you liked the symbolism of the story. Your theory isn't obscure at all though, it's the general belief for Delita's actions.
Hello, Supremia! I didn't think I'd be getting a review from the FFX goddess of shoujo-ai herself. :) Hope you like this part!
Jaide DM, it's nice to meet you. I'm kinda disappointed that using the zodiac as the basis of a fic would be so regarded as something new', considering the game and all, but thank you for your kind words. Astrology is indeed what you make of it, and it's great that the director of this game was able to use it as efficiently as he did in order to make these characters work.
Hi, Jaded Soul. Thanks for having an open mind about the series. I don't really believe in astrology either, but I do like it a lot. Anything that can help character analysis has got to be good, right?
Libra, huh? Haha...I'm really looking forward to that story too.
Luna, it's great to see you again! I thank you for your compliments. It's strange to say, but it doesn't feel right to write a series without seeing you around. Glad to see you're still here. :)