Author's notes: Oh my goodness, the hiatus was enough to nearly kill me. I'm so sorry to all of you people. I hope that it never happens again.
So, back to that story I was writing... -blushes- I'm going to make a serious effort to update more frequently from now on. This story never died to me... it just had to be put on a back shelf for a little while.
A small explanation as to what I'm going to try and pull with the next chapters. They are supposed to give an insight into wutaian culture and Tseng's childhood. Oddly enough, the beginning portion of each chapter is going to talk a little bit about Reno, his motives and his background, and the main portion of every chapter talks about Tseng's time in Wutai. I'm going to seperate long flashbacks using a line and I'll always start the 'Tseng' portion of a chapter with a short proverb. I hope that it won't get too confusing.
And now, without further ado... Oh, and please refrain from tar and feathering me 'till after you've read the chapter! -grins-
Salvation (14)
Reno leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. So, she'd gone back to him after all. He wasn't surprised, really. She was that kind of a woman.
Reno closed his eyes and reached for a cigarette. He was tired. Worse, he felt old. Heh, he didn't need to count the years to know exactly how old he was. It probably would've surprised most people. They were all younger than they looked. Even she was. What did they call it… an accepted causality. That had always made him laugh. Cause and effect. Midgar and the scars it left on its people. It was a disgusting city.
Sometimes he wondered if the others noticed it. The way she sometimes flinched if you snuck up on her. The small scars on the backs of her arms that she took pains to try and hide. It wasn't hard to guess who and what she had been before she came to join them, though he had never asked. That would have broken the taboo. There were some things that you just could not ask people.
Reno traced a scar on his cheek with an absent finger. There were some stories that were better left untold. Sometimes he wondered how much Tseng knew about any of it, how much she had told him. An ironic smile touched Reno's lips. Gods knew that he did not have the pleasure of her confidences.
Jealousy? There was no point to it. So many things would always be out of his reach. Envy couldn't even come into play.
After all, the dead can't envy the living.
Pride is wutaian.
Wutaian proverb.
"Leviathan once swam alone in the oceans of this world. They say that he had once traveled through the very darkness of space until he settled upon this desolate planet. In the beginning, this place had no land, only the unending ocean and sky and the great god was content for many eons to swim in this emptiness alone.
However, the god soon grew weary of his endless solitude and sought to end his isolation. Using one of his sacred fangs, Leviathan pricked the very tip of his tail and let his blood flow through the vastness of the ocean. From this holy mixture of the god's blood and the salt of the sea, all the small and great creatures of the ocean rose up. They were Leviathan's first people and so are most sacred by the gods.
For some time, Leviathan swam with his people, reveling in their presence. There came a point, however, where he in his infinite wisdom realized the importance of Balance. Do you understand what I mean?"
"No, Grandmother."
"Everything is balanced in the universe, child. The sun and the moon. The land and the sea. Life and death. Leviathan realized that the vastness of his ocean home was incomplete and would someday decay into chaos for it lacked that necessary equilibrium. There can be no completion without opposition.
Thus, with a heavy heart, he plucked forth three of his holy scales and cast them into the ocean. The divine magic hidden within them took root in the ocean and from them three great continents sprang forth. There, all manners of creatures arose, small and large. Plants, birds, animals, people, they were all brought to life by the power of the god's scales.
They did not, however, please Him.
He looked upon these earth-bound creatures and found in them little of the divine spirit with which he had so deeply blessed his first people. He looked upon his creation and decided to make a new, different people. He plucked from his great maw one of his fangs and cast it out into the sea. From that fang sprung forth a vast, twisted continent, a harsh and inhospitable land not truly fit for life. For a time, the god despaired thinking that no creatures would take root there. Then, the god noticed a miraculous sight. Upon the shoreline, a tiny blade of grass was growing. The sacred waters, remembering the taste of the god's blood and relishing in the feel of his fang, had called forth a tiny speck of life. The grass grew upon the sandy beach, half covered in water, struggling to survive. The god looked upon that small blade of grass and pitied it for its life was cruel.
In his wisdom, the great god decided to bless that barren shore. He pricked once again the tip of his tail and with one ounce of his breath raised a great tidal wave to wash over the land, carrying his sacred blood with it. When the water receded, the god was astounded by the transformation. Life, unexpected and unlooked for, now flourished there. The god looked on in amazement at his youngest creatures all unique and well-suited for their mountainous home. There, he witnessed the first man and woman of Wutai come forth. They looked out into the vastness of the ocean and saw the face of their god and immediately fell down in worship This pleased the great lord immensely for the other land-dwelling people had only cowered in fear at the god's terrible countenance. Thus did he name these last, youngest of his creatures his one true people.
For many years the lord dwelt off the shores of the youngest continent, teaching ancient and forgotten lore to the people of Wutai. However, there came a time when the god longed once more for the vastness of his ocean home and he drew away from the island. The wutaian people despaired and prayed for his return and Leviathan decided to grant them a great boon. He swore to them that he would create a land apart for them, a place of life after death where those that died in glory could travel to. There, he swore, they would meet him again and dwell forever in the lands of Paradise, a Paradise that he would create for them beyond the horizon, a place where they could dwell with him in glory beyond the ocean."
The old woman fell silent and looked to the young boy sitting across from her. He was perhaps four years old, his eyes already too somber for his years.
"Do you understand, Tseng?" she asked the child gently.
"…That's… that's where Mother is."
The woman sighed.
"Yes, child."
"There's too much blood Grandmother!"
"Nokomis!"
"Miro, this is no place for a man!"
"Miro! Oh Gods!"
"Tetsaiya!"
"I can see the child!"
"Sweet Gods please!"
"Grandmother, what should I do?"
"Hold her down!"
"Miro, Miro…"
"Tetsaiya!"
"Grandmother! The child… he's not breathing!"
"Tend to him!"
"My son, my son!"
"Tetsaiya, hold on!"
"Miro…"
"Sweet Gods!"
"Tseng, my son…""…Tetsaiya?"
"Yes, that's exactly right."