Mysidia
Quistis Trepe woke up, feeling the strange disorientation that comes from awakening in an unfamiliar location. Then she saw Laguna and the four companions that had met him last night and it all came back to her. The stories they had told. The mission they had been sent on, to find a city that they were surprised that she had never heard of. The similarities between all their experiences. She shook her head at the strangeness of it all. If she hadn't experienced it herself, she wouldn't believe any of it. She had simply been on a visit to Estar to consult with the President about organizing defenses against the renewed monster activity, when they had been snatched away into this... place/time/whatever. Nobody seemed to be clear on what the relationship between their own realities and this one was! But the mage Rosa had suggested that, as she and Laguna had been brought here after the other four of them had, and had been placed directly in their paths, that they had been intended to meet and join together. Quistis wasn't sure about that hypothesis, but it seemed to fit the facts well enough, and from what they had said, their current mission seemed to hold the best chance of actually finding out any solid explanations as to what was going on, so she and Laguna had agreed to travel with them towards the city of mages when the next day arrived. And now it had.
They rented Chocobos and headed out along a road towards Mysidia, which they reached a bit after noon. Mysidia was not as large as the other cities they had been to, nor did it look at all familiar to any of the new Light Warriors. The streets curved to accommodate the hilly terrain that the city was built upon, and the buildings almost seemed to have been grown, not built; there was not a right angle to be seen anywhere. The party asked directions of a few of the citizens and made their way to the Tower of Sorcery, a large edifice near the center of town where the sages and elders of the city met.
"Good day," said a man in dark green robes as they walked through the door.
"Good day," responded Cecil. "We are here to speak with the Council regarding a matter of some urgency."
"Very well. They're closeted right now with the Sage and the Summoner, but in a few hours they'll be free and you may speak with them."
"The Sage and the Summoner?" asked Quistis. "Are they Light Warriors?"
The man gave her a strange look. "Of course not. Nobody's seen the Light Warriors since the monsters came back."
"All right. Who are the Sage and the Summoner then?" she asked.
"You don't look like you're from around here, but I can't imagine you'd not have heard about them showing up here. Did you just arrive in Mysidia?" When they responded in the affirmative, he nodded. "Ah. Well, they're a pair of powerful mages, escorted by two warriors, that showed up here out of the blue a few days ago. Strange folk; the Sumoner's no more than a girl, the sage is a talking cat, and one of their escorts is a man with a tail, of all things! But the Council has taken an interest in them." He shrugged.
The adventurers looked at each other, and Cecil smiled. "In that case, we should be speaking with the council right now. We know something of these strange arrivals, and one of my companions," he gestured to Relm, "is a young Mage Knight, come to consult with the mages of this city."
The man's eyes widened at the words Mage Knight. "After all this time?" He walked over and looked into her eyes. "By the Light Spirits!" he whispered reverently. "I... I will announce you at once!" He hurried off down a corridor, hiking up his robe slightly to enable him to move more quickly.
"Why does everyone do that?" Relm asked Celes. "The king looked into your eyes and thought you were a Mage Knight, and now this guy does the same thing to me."
Celes thought for a moment. "The Mage Knights gained their power through their association with the Espers..." she mused. "And I received my magic the same way, in Cid's Magitek infusion program--" She stopped as she noticed the strange looks the other four were giving her. "What?"
Cecil and Rosa noticed too, and traded glances with Quistis and Laguna. "Well," said Quistis, "it seems that we've found another parallel between our experiences: a man named Cid?" Cecil and Rosa nodded. "We'll have to ask 'the Sage and the Summoner' about that."
They could see the green-robed man returning, and he beckoned towards them with his arm. He led them down a twisting corridor and into a chamber where at least a score of wizards and sorceresses sat in a semicircle around a girl about Relm's age with a horn protruding through her hair, a deep red catlike creature whose tail appeared to be on fire, a young man with golden hair and a long, monkey-like tail, and a surprisingly well-endowed woman who nonetheless looked tough enough to forcibly demonstrate to anyone who were to pay her unwanted attention the error of his ways.
A white-bearded, balding man in a black robe addressed Relm. "Milady Mage Knight, escorts, I am the Elder of Mysida, and on behalf of the Council I welcome you to our city. I was told you could explain the singular events which transpired today?"
"Well not exactly..." began Relm, but Celes cut her off with a hand on her shoulder.
"You have our thanks, Honored Elder. I am Celes Chere, a former General in the Imperial Army of Vector, now the companion and protector of the young Mage Knight Relm Arrowny. These are Cecil and Rosa Harvey, King and Queen of the land of Baron. Cecil is a Paladin of the Light, and Rosa a renowned White Mage and healer. And this is Laguna Loire, President of the land of Esthar, and Quistis Trepe, an elite mercenary of the Balamb Garden SeeDs. None of us are familiar with your world, nor with each others', but in our own lands each of us is considered a great hero for our roles in defeating a terrible evil which threatened our worlds three years ago. A few days ago, while attempting to deal with a new upsurge of monster activity in our lands, each of us was abducted in their sleep and brought to this world, two by two, and placed in each others' path, seemingly by design. We were told by the King of Galaar to visit the Council in Mysidia, in the hope that you would be able to provide some explanation, and now that we arrived, it would seem that two more pairs of heroes have found their way to you before us."
The Elder nodded, not knowing exactly what to say, and the red feline answered Celes. "I am Nanaki, a protector of Cosmo Canyon and observer of the Lifestream, and my companion is Tifa Strife of Midgar, and it would seem that the same pattern is forming around all of us."
The monkey-tailed youth nodded his assent. "I'm Zidane Tribal of the Genomes, and this is Eiko Carol, a Summoner of the Madain, and we also helped save the world three years ago. So do any of you know what's going on? I've been snatched away from my wife and our son, and Mrs. Strife here is in a similar predicament, so any help would be welcome."
The various heroes looked at each other confusedly. After a moment of silence, the Elder stroked his beard thoughtfully and spoke up. "You have given us much to think about. I can only suppose that this has to do with one of our most ancient and least-understood prophecies: the Reunion." The sage waved his hand and incanted something, and a scroll appeared in the air before him. He took the scroll and unrolled it, then began to read.
The Day of Light cometh,
and throughout every land
the chosen of the Light shall triumph
over the forces of the Darkness.
Three years of peace shall there be,
then cometh the Day of Darkness,
and the Lord of the Dark
shall gather his champions and return in power.
Then cometh the Reunion,
that which was riven shall be returned to its place,
and Darkness shall cover the land
and overwhelm all realms
if it falleth not in the favor of the Lord of the Light,
he who guardeth the seals
of the Ultimate Power.
When he was finished reading, there were a few moments of silence, until Relm spoke up. "Well," she said, "that's... interesting, and I can understand some of it, but what does the rest mean? What's the Reunion supposed to be, and who're these Lords of the Light and the Dark? And..." she waved her hand, "all of it."
The sage frowned slightly. "We know little more than you do, but it would seem that its words are beginning to be fulfilled. Throughout every land, ours and all of yours, light triumphed over the darkness, and we have all had three years of peace. Now the champions of darkness seem to have returned and their power begins to cover the land throughout all realms, ours and all of yours. Now it appears that the chosen of the Light—those who triumphed over the Darkness—are being reunited from every realm.
"Every realm," he repeated, stroking his beard with a look of concern on his face, "but our own. There has been little sign of the Light Warriors of this world since the problems began anew last week. We only know regarding one: the ninja Blaze, captain of the Light Warriors, has recently taken up residence on a high mountain to the west of here. When we sent an envoy to seek his aid, they were turned away by a troop of hostile dragoons. By my arts I have ascertained that Blaze is still alive, but that Jek, a great Dragoon of the Light Warriors, is not anywhere to be found on the mountain, so I fear the worst. I require your aid; please break the dragoon siege, rescue Blaze, and bring him back here that he may consult with us. Perhaps when the Light Warriors are brought together, further light will be shed on the nature of the Reunion."
Cecil nodded. In a level voice, he replied, "Yes, I have had some experience fighting treacherous dragoons." He looked around, looking each of his companions in the eye one by one, and each one nodded. "We will go."
"Go, then, Light Warriors, and let us pray you do not arrive too late."
Ugh. It's been way too long since I updated this. I know I promised "more updates soon" and said that three months between chapters was too long a time. That was, about 7-8 months ago. :( But now I'm really back and really getting back to work on this. I just hope there's a few people left who care.
Mason Wheeler