Pain, Love, and Shame
Part 4
"Magil. Magil! I need you!" A voice echoed through walls of the ruined Cathedral. I knew who it was, but quite frankly, I did not wish to speak to anyone.
"Magil, why did you not come when I called!" Garvin demanded a response from me. I have never been one to be commanded, and I was not about to change for the 'leader' of the Radical Dreamers.
I turned to face him. My anger must've showed because he backed away for a moment, before regaining his composure. He realized that to show his fear of me was to show his weakness, something the leader of an already small band of thieves did not need.
"I do not come when beckoned. I may serve your cause, but I am not your servant. I could just as easily take your little band away from you as I could assist you, so show proper respect, fool." I snapped back, intending to strike fear into the young thief's heart. It is easier to convince the fearful to do as you wish.
"You speak to me as if you were my superior…." His reply was weak, a last ditch effort to maintain his dignity and strength, but I knew I had crushed him already.
"I am." I said with a sneer. He knew at that moment that I could end him at any time, but his feeble mind still thought he was in command of the Radical Dreamers. A radical dream indeed.
"….You were correct in assuming…" He finally gave way to make his point known, though it seemed he went out of his way to insult my powers.
"Prophesizing." I interrupted him, making sure he knew that I did not appreciate my powers being taken so lightly.
"…Prophesizing that the Western Garrisons could be easily pillaged. However, there are those among my men who wish to go further, into the Main Garrison. I told them that it was suicide, but they insisted. I said I would consult with you and base my decision upon your advice." A simple task he asked of me. I needed not to even think of it, as I already knew what my answer would be.
"A wise move, young Captain Garvin. Of course, not all things can be seen, but of what I see, your campaign would be a success." I would have the boy and his men raid that garrison, though the reason for which was far from his war on Porre. There were much bigger things at stake.
"Indeed?" Again, he questioned my foresight, though I could not blame him this time. Where he only thought an attack of the Main Garrison of Porre would be his end, I knew for certain that it would be.
"Indeed, though you must hurry. After your attack on the Western Garrisons, the Porre Military is sure to respond quickly to protect its remaining garrisons." I tried to comfort his fears. Not an easy task when you know you are sending a man to his death.
"Thank you, Magil." He said, placing his hand on my shoulder in some desperate act of camaraderie. He was a fool to think I would be so blind to not see what he was doing.
"You need not thank me, Captain." I replied as I pushed his hand off my shoulder and brought my attention back to my readings. As he left, I found myself smiling at the fool's blind charge into death.
To think that the mighty Magus need play pawn to this ignorant little thief. The thought disgusted me, but it would not be long until his pride and ignorance were no longer a concern of mine.
I had hoped that my warning to young Ashtear would have been enough, but she still followed the path of the blind over the cliff, necessitating my return to this god forsaken era. Crono and Marle were expendable, but Lucca's mind held the key to making sure that everything worked out the way it was meant to.
The visions I endured at the End of Time haunted me less, now seven years since I witnessed them before the attack on Lavos. Still, their meaning was very clear. The success of the future hinged on my success now.
Oh, it could have been so easy, but the girl could not simply keep a low profile. The orphanage was bad enough. Through that, she became a symbol of hope and strength in Truce and all of Guardia, and I knew that would draw the attention of Porre someday. However, her continuing rivalry with the Porre techno-genius, Lucia, made her a jewel in the eyes of the high ranking Porre officials. It would only be a matter of days now, before they would come for her.
Oh, how wished I could have simply ended him and the little mystic girl, too. So much pain and suffering could be avoided in their destruction. I could have done it, it would have been rather easy, but my task, my quest, it required their lives to be spared, though their lack of knowledge of that fact would be a valuable tool.
The few that returned were broken and heavy hearted. Though I played them as pawns to be sacrificed, I could not help but take pity in their failure. Though misguided, their cause was noble and honorable. Nobility and honor meant little in the vast recesses of time and space, however.
I came to them for the first time. They had heard of me, yes, the powerful prophet that led Garvin to victory in every campaign he engaged in, though their faith in me had to have been shaken.
"You return in failure?" I asked them. They glared back up at me without trust. It seemed that the task of gaining their support would be as difficult as I imagined.
"Your vision was a lie." One of them responded. Though they had never seen me, it became quite apparent that they knew who I was.
"No, I foresaw something that you needed. Your pride and confidence had grown too great. A great battle you face in the future, but you must be cautious and humble as well as proud and confident if you are to succeed." I tried to assure them of their success, though I knew that at this point, most, if not all, was lost for them.
"Why should we fight for anything now! Garvin is dead; the Porre Military is too strong!" Came the reply from the disheartened thieves. I smirked, though I doubt it was noticed among the rabble, and tried to appear as confident and arrogant as I could. I decided that the key to winning over these beaten men's hearts was to instill the same confidence that I had once had in my quest against Lavos. A blind confidence, one that convinces a man that all he needs is opportunity.
"Your battle is against thousands and it is a battle that you mere forty cannot win. However, the pillar of strength in the Porre Military is vulnerable. You all know of whom I speak." I gave them their opportunity. The heart of the vast armies of Porre made itself far more vulnerable than he should have, and they were now coming to realize of what I spoke.
"Lynx is not so easily beaten." Another voice answered. True, for these men, to challenge the demi-human would be their end. They knew nothing of what I was capable of, however, and I intended to use that to my advantage.
"You need not beat Lynx. You only need to do as I command, and I assure you, your victory will be achieved. I have foreseen it….." They looked at me with an engaged curiosity, as though they had just the slightest drop of faith in what I spoke. Though I remained imposing and focused on the outside, echoes of laughter could be heard within my mind. I had never dreamed that it would be so easy as to suggest such a crude and uncertain goal and pass it off as a great and master plan.
The crowd began to murmur and roar with intrigue and I loved every minute of it. Through it all, I began to reminisce about my days as mystic warlord, how I manipulated those pathetic fools with empty promises and invincible arrogance, and found that this was just as it was in those days.
"I say to you, young men of Guardia, that should you wish to follow me to the restoration of the Guardia legacy, to decide quickly, as my plans require sharp minds, even sharper blades, and swift action." I gave them their ultimatum, politicking as I'd never done before. I appealed to these men's hearts and souls and loyalty, as opposed to the bloodlust and fear that so drove the mystic hoards. "Will you follow me to glory?" I asked, as a final ultimate request. It was so easy, and I would find that it was equally effective. The men cheered as I'd never heard them cheer. Apparently, Garvin led by example rather than by his 'great' oration skills, as I found my speech to be rather hammy and forced, but they responded none the less in a way Garvin never could get them to do.
I looked at my current situation and smiled upon it. Though my forces were severely hurt by that suicide raid, it was a sacrifice that needed to be made. I now had, instead of two hundred men fighting only for their share of the loot, forty men who would bleed every last drop of blood for me, and they would too, indeed they would. Now all that was left was to instill the quiet discipline necessary for this task, as it was not a simple raid on a weapons garrison. They could not simply overpower their opponent. This required stealth, restraint, and precision. I had only days to do this, and it would take at least a half a day to arrive to our location.
"I will need much from you. I cannot guarantee that any of you will return from this mission, but I can guarantee that should we be successful, our goal will come to fruition. The Ashtear Orphanage will be visited Lynx and an associate, a harlequin mystic named Harle, along with a minor escort squad, within the next few days. Lynx has never believed in armed escort as he is one who can protect himself, and that will be his weakness. There will be no more than ten men following them, and I ask that only half of you engage in combat. The other half of you will enter the Orphanage, upon my signal and my signal only, where you will secure the survival of the children, and one in particular who is of the highest priority. I will not lie to you, the orphanage must burn, but I promise that I will confront Lynx and his mystic wench, and I shall not fail you, but we must hurry as there are many preparation that need to be made…." I said as I rallied my troops to make our way to the forest surrounding the Ashtear Orphanage. This would be my greatest glory or my ultimate failure, and the lives of many hinged on my success...
Woah, how about that? Hmm. Anyway, if you liked that, I am happy for you and if you didn't, all your base are belong to me. In all seriousness, however, I do hope that you are enjoying this story, even though I am updating at a ridiculously slow pace. This IS a slight chrono crossover, though the Chrono Cross aspects are mostly minor. I am trying to make this a Magus and Lucca piece (Not nessecarilly a LuMa, though it may go that way, I'm not sure) that follows the timeline given to us by Square, though some alterations, I will have made (tee hee:) ). Anyway, I leave you on that note. God Speed, Spider-Man!
Dark Creation