Deception?
Pilotslover
Chapter 1 - A priest and a demon
Disclaimer: I don't own FFIX and all it's related places, people etc, I wish I did. I won't be making any profit from this work, again, I wish I did, I need the cash.
Rating: 13
Reason: Just blood really, and I hate rating systems
Summery: Kuja's back and he's after Vivi. But is it really Kuja? And what does Vivi have that is so desperately sought?
AN: Welcome to the proper start of Deception? If, that is, anyone's reading it ... based on the adismal response to the prologue I'd say no ones reading this. Sigh Please, if you do read this, review it, tell me its a smouldering heap of poop if you want but please review it!
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Candles flickered, their rich orange flames warming the frequently chilled visitors to Esto Gaza. The priest charged with the keep of the pilgrims moved to the small room off to one side, which was used for treating the sick. A boy lay on the bed, his chest was wrapped in a tight bandage and his left arm, which was very badly broken, lay across his front in a cast and a sling. They had found the boy, who looked about thirteen near the beach outside, his unconscious form surrounded by blood stained snow.
The kindly priest pulled a blanket up around the boy's shoulders, offering the small form a little more warmth. "You should wake up, not die away from those you care for." This had occurred for the three days since the boy had been found and whilst no one knew what an unconscious person heard, just speaking to him made the priest feel he was doing something.
The current priest was not the one Zidane and the others had known but a younger man with long dark hair, vibrant blue eyes and skin almost as pale as the snow outside. He was tall and slender, and he looked as if he were as kind-hearted as he was. He alone had gone into the snow and claimed the small prone body from the beasts and elements that had tried to claim it, he had removed the soggy clothing and he had bathed and dressed the boy's wounds. None of the others in the settlement would do the same, afraid of even looking upon the Black Mage.
In treating the boy, Daihan had discovered many things and two of these gained his interest. He had been convinced of one thing, Black Mages were a construct of the mist, they could bleed like any other living being but their bodies were as black as the night where they existed solidly at all; however, this boy, under all his wrappings was easily as pale as Daihan. The Priest knew also that the dark black face on a mage was their normality, yet, in the boys case it was nothing more then a mask. Out of respect for the stranger, Daihan had not pried it back but he was very curious. "Haven't you ever wondered what you look like under that mask? Do you even know that it's a mask I wonder?" He sighed, blue eyes on the floppy hat, still in place on the boy's head. "What brings you here to this place of ice and rock?"
"Daihan, there's a new pilgrim."
A beautiful young woman poked her head around the door; she was Daihan's younger sister but looked nothing like the priest at all; her hair was as golden as the sun, just as their mothers had been and her skin was tanned. "Alright Sayan, I'll just finished checking this little one first."
"Dai, do you seriously think he's got what it'll take to wake up? He's not even tried in three days."
"You can claim to know what goes on in his head? I know he's not given any real signs but I can't help but think he wants to wake up."
Sayan shook her head, she hated Black Mages despite news from four years ago that they were no longer used for the wrong reason and she refused to waste her sympathy on the child. As she stalked out, Daihan turned again to the boy. "I know you're trying little guy, you're not like the others at all are you?" The priest pulled on his official robe, pilgrims were very rare since the 'Pathway of souls' had disappeared and Daihan wondered what such a person was doing there. "I wonder if they are after you." He meant the comment in jest but a sixth sense alerted him to the reality of it.
Worried by what he had said, he kicked open a hidden compartment, lowering the wounded mage into it. He closed the small passage door, making sure that it was indistinguishable from the wall in which it was hidden. He stood, brushing down his robes, opening the door and walking through it.
His nose was assailed by the smells of blood and burning; bodies of those in his congregation lay scattered in unceremonious piles, pools of their own blood surrounding them. Cautiously, Daihan moved to his sister's side, her beautiful face distorted by a horrific death; he reached for a pulse that would never be found. "Who is here?"
"Who indeed?"
Daihan stood; he knew he did not yet have the time to grieve for those who had passed. "Speak your name stranger; explain your actions in this place of peace and worship." The priest ordered, hastily casting reflect on himself as he did it. A man in white emerged from the shadows; his equally white hair had feathers in it. "I know you, you're Kuja, I heard that you had died."
"So did I, but it seems even death can be a fleeting illusion. Now tell me, where is the boy?"
'So, he is after the boy.' Daihan thought sadly, wondering why such a young person was being hunted so violently. His eyes scanned the dead quickly, "There is a boy lying dead behind you, is that the one you seek?" Kuja took a step towards the priest brushing white hair back from his delicate features.
"Very clever priest, you know which boy I mean, now where have you put him?"
"I have no idea what you mean,"
With a bark of laughter, Kuja's eyes went to the robes Daihan wore, the deep blue gems finding bloodstains, "Oh? Then whose blood stains your robes?"
"My sisters and all the other innocent people that you slaughtered today."
Fear, knowing death was inevitable and an intense desire to defend the young mage made Daihan bolder; seeing the death around him, he felt he had nothing to lose any more. He glared angrily at Kuja, "In search of but one boy you would kill so many?"
"The puppet has something I want,"
'So he doesn't know the truth either."
"Children seldom visit this isle."
Kuja pushed Daihan into the small side room, eyes falling on every surface. "Blood stains your sheets priest, whose blood is it?" He questioned back in a silky purr, his eyes continuing in their search but they never found the secret hatch. He took the priest by the throat, his nails digging into his pale neck. "You've had the mage here, where is it?"
The tight grip dug into the sides of Daihan's Adam's apple, choking the priest. "My sister …" He coughed a few times, the grip on his neck was slightly released. "… Hid something in the mines. She … said something … about …" He coughed again. "The bottom of the mine."
Kuja threw him aside, throwing him like a plaything and Daihan connected painfully with the corner of a table. "That wasn't so hard was it?" The Genome left Daihan on the ground where he collapsed and left. Listening on baited breath, Daihan knew now that he had to get the prone boy out of there.
"H - Has he gone?"
A small voice chimed in from one side, the hidden doorway opened and the boy crawled forwards from it. "Yeah, he's looking for you in the mine. We'd better get out of here." Daihan said simply, as shocked as he was by the boy's appearance he was too emotionally drained to be affected by it. "My name's Daihan Nighfield."
"V - Vivi Orunitia,"
Daihan soon grabbed a bag, throwing in some potions, bandages and other supplies that would be needed. "We must hurry, I'm going to check to see if anyone survived; you should change and meet me outside." He did not wait for an answer from the shaken boy; he made his way around the dead, closing their eyes upon finding that none of them had survived. He came at last to his sister, putting a hand on her forehead before closing her eyes forever; he reached into her tunic and removed a pendant, slipping it around his own neck. He moved to one of the smaller candlesticks and pushed it over.
"As I stand to watch your final passage,
I know your soul will wait for mine."
The teenaged boy soon joined him, catching his breath sharply as he saw all the death and destruction. "Oh," He breathed sadly. "What happened? Did Kuja do this?" He could smell stale magic in the air and knew exactly what had happened.
"Let's get out of here,"
Daihan pushed over another candlestick and then another, Vivi saw how he could help and began to cast, saying the words that were needed. "Please, don't do that, that fiend can sense magic." Daihan said simply and Vivi stopped, calling the words back from the air.
"Please, burn bright and true,
Cover our retreat for a time,
Give me the courage to defend the innocent,"
Daihan's prayer passed his lips swiftly, this was another form of magic; one that would not necessarily work. 'The innocent,' Vivi thought, 'I don't think I've been that for a long time now.' The priest turned to the boy and they fled, turning from the burning ruin of Esto Gaza.
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Pilotslover
Chapter 1 - A priest and a demon
Disclaimer: I don't own FFIX and all it's related places, people etc, I wish I did. I won't be making any profit from this work, again, I wish I did, I need the cash.
Rating: 13
Reason: Just blood really, and I hate rating systems
Summery: Kuja's back and he's after Vivi. But is it really Kuja? And what does Vivi have that is so desperately sought?
AN: Welcome to the proper start of Deception? If, that is, anyone's reading it ... based on the adismal response to the prologue I'd say no ones reading this. Sigh Please, if you do read this, review it, tell me its a smouldering heap of poop if you want but please review it!
---
Candles flickered, their rich orange flames warming the frequently chilled visitors to Esto Gaza. The priest charged with the keep of the pilgrims moved to the small room off to one side, which was used for treating the sick. A boy lay on the bed, his chest was wrapped in a tight bandage and his left arm, which was very badly broken, lay across his front in a cast and a sling. They had found the boy, who looked about thirteen near the beach outside, his unconscious form surrounded by blood stained snow.
The kindly priest pulled a blanket up around the boy's shoulders, offering the small form a little more warmth. "You should wake up, not die away from those you care for." This had occurred for the three days since the boy had been found and whilst no one knew what an unconscious person heard, just speaking to him made the priest feel he was doing something.
The current priest was not the one Zidane and the others had known but a younger man with long dark hair, vibrant blue eyes and skin almost as pale as the snow outside. He was tall and slender, and he looked as if he were as kind-hearted as he was. He alone had gone into the snow and claimed the small prone body from the beasts and elements that had tried to claim it, he had removed the soggy clothing and he had bathed and dressed the boy's wounds. None of the others in the settlement would do the same, afraid of even looking upon the Black Mage.
In treating the boy, Daihan had discovered many things and two of these gained his interest. He had been convinced of one thing, Black Mages were a construct of the mist, they could bleed like any other living being but their bodies were as black as the night where they existed solidly at all; however, this boy, under all his wrappings was easily as pale as Daihan. The Priest knew also that the dark black face on a mage was their normality, yet, in the boys case it was nothing more then a mask. Out of respect for the stranger, Daihan had not pried it back but he was very curious. "Haven't you ever wondered what you look like under that mask? Do you even know that it's a mask I wonder?" He sighed, blue eyes on the floppy hat, still in place on the boy's head. "What brings you here to this place of ice and rock?"
"Daihan, there's a new pilgrim."
A beautiful young woman poked her head around the door; she was Daihan's younger sister but looked nothing like the priest at all; her hair was as golden as the sun, just as their mothers had been and her skin was tanned. "Alright Sayan, I'll just finished checking this little one first."
"Dai, do you seriously think he's got what it'll take to wake up? He's not even tried in three days."
"You can claim to know what goes on in his head? I know he's not given any real signs but I can't help but think he wants to wake up."
Sayan shook her head, she hated Black Mages despite news from four years ago that they were no longer used for the wrong reason and she refused to waste her sympathy on the child. As she stalked out, Daihan turned again to the boy. "I know you're trying little guy, you're not like the others at all are you?" The priest pulled on his official robe, pilgrims were very rare since the 'Pathway of souls' had disappeared and Daihan wondered what such a person was doing there. "I wonder if they are after you." He meant the comment in jest but a sixth sense alerted him to the reality of it.
Worried by what he had said, he kicked open a hidden compartment, lowering the wounded mage into it. He closed the small passage door, making sure that it was indistinguishable from the wall in which it was hidden. He stood, brushing down his robes, opening the door and walking through it.
His nose was assailed by the smells of blood and burning; bodies of those in his congregation lay scattered in unceremonious piles, pools of their own blood surrounding them. Cautiously, Daihan moved to his sister's side, her beautiful face distorted by a horrific death; he reached for a pulse that would never be found. "Who is here?"
"Who indeed?"
Daihan stood; he knew he did not yet have the time to grieve for those who had passed. "Speak your name stranger; explain your actions in this place of peace and worship." The priest ordered, hastily casting reflect on himself as he did it. A man in white emerged from the shadows; his equally white hair had feathers in it. "I know you, you're Kuja, I heard that you had died."
"So did I, but it seems even death can be a fleeting illusion. Now tell me, where is the boy?"
'So, he is after the boy.' Daihan thought sadly, wondering why such a young person was being hunted so violently. His eyes scanned the dead quickly, "There is a boy lying dead behind you, is that the one you seek?" Kuja took a step towards the priest brushing white hair back from his delicate features.
"Very clever priest, you know which boy I mean, now where have you put him?"
"I have no idea what you mean,"
With a bark of laughter, Kuja's eyes went to the robes Daihan wore, the deep blue gems finding bloodstains, "Oh? Then whose blood stains your robes?"
"My sisters and all the other innocent people that you slaughtered today."
Fear, knowing death was inevitable and an intense desire to defend the young mage made Daihan bolder; seeing the death around him, he felt he had nothing to lose any more. He glared angrily at Kuja, "In search of but one boy you would kill so many?"
"The puppet has something I want,"
'So he doesn't know the truth either."
"Children seldom visit this isle."
Kuja pushed Daihan into the small side room, eyes falling on every surface. "Blood stains your sheets priest, whose blood is it?" He questioned back in a silky purr, his eyes continuing in their search but they never found the secret hatch. He took the priest by the throat, his nails digging into his pale neck. "You've had the mage here, where is it?"
The tight grip dug into the sides of Daihan's Adam's apple, choking the priest. "My sister …" He coughed a few times, the grip on his neck was slightly released. "… Hid something in the mines. She … said something … about …" He coughed again. "The bottom of the mine."
Kuja threw him aside, throwing him like a plaything and Daihan connected painfully with the corner of a table. "That wasn't so hard was it?" The Genome left Daihan on the ground where he collapsed and left. Listening on baited breath, Daihan knew now that he had to get the prone boy out of there.
"H - Has he gone?"
A small voice chimed in from one side, the hidden doorway opened and the boy crawled forwards from it. "Yeah, he's looking for you in the mine. We'd better get out of here." Daihan said simply, as shocked as he was by the boy's appearance he was too emotionally drained to be affected by it. "My name's Daihan Nighfield."
"V - Vivi Orunitia,"
Daihan soon grabbed a bag, throwing in some potions, bandages and other supplies that would be needed. "We must hurry, I'm going to check to see if anyone survived; you should change and meet me outside." He did not wait for an answer from the shaken boy; he made his way around the dead, closing their eyes upon finding that none of them had survived. He came at last to his sister, putting a hand on her forehead before closing her eyes forever; he reached into her tunic and removed a pendant, slipping it around his own neck. He moved to one of the smaller candlesticks and pushed it over.
"As I stand to watch your final passage,
I know your soul will wait for mine."
The teenaged boy soon joined him, catching his breath sharply as he saw all the death and destruction. "Oh," He breathed sadly. "What happened? Did Kuja do this?" He could smell stale magic in the air and knew exactly what had happened.
"Let's get out of here,"
Daihan pushed over another candlestick and then another, Vivi saw how he could help and began to cast, saying the words that were needed. "Please, don't do that, that fiend can sense magic." Daihan said simply and Vivi stopped, calling the words back from the air.
"Please, burn bright and true,
Cover our retreat for a time,
Give me the courage to defend the innocent,"
Daihan's prayer passed his lips swiftly, this was another form of magic; one that would not necessarily work. 'The innocent,' Vivi thought, 'I don't think I've been that for a long time now.' The priest turned to the boy and they fled, turning from the burning ruin of Esto Gaza.
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