Chapter 4: The Way of the Warrior
Lesca had another dream.
In this one, she was being attacked by fiends. They ran at her in seemingly endless droves. She slashed at them with a sword, and they fell by the dozens.
A huge wolf fiend leapt at her, and she impaled it on her blade. But it began to change form... and the body of her father fell from the sword.
"No!"
Lesca woke up to see that only the fayth boy remained.
"What was that all about?" Lesca demanded.
"They were initiating an energy drain. We would have been unable to return to this world for a time had we waited. And time is of the essence," he replied.
"So... where exactly are we?"
"We are within my world, in the Farplane. Look up."
Lesca did, and saw a platform hovering high above. "What's that?"
"That's where visitors go to see the forms of friends and family who have died. Someone is there now," said the fayth. "Speak with her. You will need to know how to protect yourself, and she is a mighty warrior."
"But... do I really need to learn? I already have your aeon."
"Summoning is not always an option. Aeons can aid in battle, but do not depend too much upon them. You must learn to use your own strength as well."
"Okay. Hey... the person on the platform wouldn't happen to be that Yuna you mentioned a while back, would it?"
"No. Yuna has saved the world twice, and deserves to be left in peace. She has married Tidus, the boy from the dream Zanarkand, and they now live on Besaid. The one on the platform is a friend of Yuna's."
"Oh." Lesca was a bit disappointed, but she supposed she might get to meet Yuna anyways. "Wait... how am I supposed to get up there?"
The fayth smiled. "Bahamut is winged, is he not?"
"Oh. Um... how do you summon, anyways?"
"There is a bit of my fayth-essence within you. Concentrate on that. You'll know what to do next. But I would not advise summoning Bahamut again topside. The fayth faded about three years ago, so no one else on Spira can call aeons. I don't think anyone would try to kill you here, but it would be best if you kept where you came from mostly secret."
"Okay," Lesca said. She closed her eyes.
Bahamut.
She raised her arms above her head, then spread them sideways until they were horizontal.
The dragon aeon came crashing down, landing next to Lesca.
Lesca grinned. "Thank you, fayth."
Bahamut got on all fours, and Lesca clambered up and grasped the golden wheel which hovered behind Bahamut's back.
"Let's go," she said.
Paine wasn't sure where to go next. The Gullwings had all gone their separate ways. Yuna had gotten married to Tidus, and they were living on Besaid. Rikku had decided to form her own sphere hunting group called (something)-- apparently she'd gotten tired of Brother's "leadership". Shinra had joined the Machine Faction, and had impressed even Gippal (no easy task) with his technological genius. Paine left the Gullwings shortly after Rikku had-- Brother had gotten on her nerves whining about his "beloved Yuna".
So now Paine was alone. She didn't mind; she was used to it. But she didn't know what to do next.
She had decided to visit the Farplane to see her parents, who had died in an attack by Sin when Paine was about four.
Their figures hovered nearby. Paine didn't say anything-- she just wanted to make sure she remembered what they looked like. Besides, Paine was pretty sure that the apparitions she was seeing now were merely images, and her parents were truly elsewhere.
A crash resounded throughout the Farplane.
What could that be!
She drew her sword. Bahamut came soaring up, and Paine backed up several steps. She had no intention of getting squished.
The last time Paine had seen this aeon, it had been attacking her.
It landed on the platform and... a girl jumped off its back!
"What the..." Paine trailed off.
The girl made a pushing motion with her hands, and Bahamut leaped back and disappeared. She turned to Paine.
"Hi! My name's Lesca!" she said.
"Um... hello, Lesca. I'm Paine." Paine was most confused. "How..."
"How did I summon Bahamut? Well, one of the fayth lent his power to me."
"Why?"
"Well... can you keep a secret?"
Lesca told Paine everything-- how she had met the fayth walking home one day, how Bahamut had caused panic in Zanarkand, the strange dreams she'd been having, how she'd met Jecht and Auron on the Farplane, how something happening in her world was apparently imperiling the Farplane, and how she'd ended up in this world.
When she finished, Paine was looking at her thoughtfully.
"You... don't believe me, do you," said Lesca.
"I don't know," Paine replied. "It is pretty far-fetched... but then, I have a friend whose husband is a dream of the fayth. And you did just call an aeon. So I suppose I believe you... for now, anyways."
"Um... the fayth said you were a mighty warrior..."
"He did, did he?" Paine chuckled. "Well, I suppose I am. What of it?"
"Would you mind teaching me how to fight?"
"Well..." Paine thought about it for a minute. She didn't think she was much of a teacher, but she didn't really have anything better to do. "All right."
Sheesh. I'm getting as bad as Yuna, helping everyone who asks. Oh well.
Lesca grinned. "So... do I get a sword?"
"If you're a summoner, the traditional weapon would be a staff. But we'll see."
They walked out of the Farplane.
"So," said Jecht, "How long d'you think it will take for our summoner to drive Paine absolutely nuts?"
"Hm..." Braska thought. "I'll give it a week."
Bahamut's fayth smiled. "I will speak with the other fayth and see who will volunteer to lend their aid to Lesca next."
"Good," Auron said. "She will need all the help she can get."
"C'mon, guys!" Jecht said. "A thousand gil says Paine cracks in three days."
"Very well," replied Braska, "You're on."
Auron sighed.
Paine decided to start Lesca's training in Macalania Forest.
"This is a Garment Grid," Paine began, holding out the First Steps grid which she'd kept, along with the Warrior, Dark Knight, and Black Mage dresspheres. "These are dresspheres. Place them on the Garment Grid like so," she said, tapping each sphere to a node, infusing it with the dressphere's essence, "and you can use the dresspheres. Here, try it."
Lesca held the Garment Grid. "Hmm... how about Warrior?" she said. Immediately, her clothes changed into dark leather armor, and a sword appeared in her hand. "Cool!"
"The weapon is built in with the dressphere. When you change dresspheres, the weapon will likewise disappear. That's one of the downsides to dresspheres. After you get adequate experience, we'll see about getting you a real weapon."
"Oh. All right."
"Now... there are plenty of fiends wandering through the woods. Let's go find some."
After a few battles, Paine was beginning to get a tad annoyed with her new apprentice.
"Would you mind focusing on the battle instead of the scenery?" Paine said tersely, slashing at a Blade-type fiend called an Epaaj which had been about to attack the distracted Lesca.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. It's just so shiny..."
"Yes. I know. Now get your head in the game!"
Lesca ran in to attack the Epaaj, but missed.
Paine slashed at the fiend once more, and it collapsed in a cloud of pyreflies.
All too quickly was Lesca beginning to realize that real life was absolutely nothing like a video game.
"Come on. We have a lot of work to do," said Paine
"But I'm tired!" Lesca complained. Although she wasn't in bad shape, per se, she'd never really had to physically exert herself in her life, whereas Paine did so on a regular basis, usually to avoid becoming fiend chow.
"I don't care! The fiends won't ignore you just because you're 'tired'! Now let's get moving!" Paine yelled, exasperated.
In the Farplane, the fayth were convening.
"You ask a lot," said Shiva's fayth. "I am weary of dreaming."
"As am I," said Bahamut's fayth, "certainly no less than you. But you know of the danger to the Farplane."
"Yes," the fayth of Shiva replied. "If needed, I am willing to help."
"As am I," said Ixion's fayth. "But isn't there also a fayth in Lesca's world? Why has she not gone to that one?"
"I do not know its location," said Bahamut's fayth. "It sleeps too deeply for me to sense. We have sent someone, however, to search their records to see if there are any clues."
"Who?" asked Valefor's fayth.
"The one of us who I felt would most familiar with Zanarkand, and would be able to figure out its workings best."
"You don't mean..." Shiva's fayth trailed off.
Jecht walked around the streets of Zanarkand. They were different from the ones in Yu Yevon's dream, but he recognized a few places. He'd brought along some gil, which he'd obtained by venturing out of the 'living' area of the Farplane and battling fiends (not being able to die was a definite advantage). He wouldn't have cared about the odd looks his attire brought if this wasn't meant to be a covert operation. As it was, Jecht figured it was best that he blend in.
Of course, he'd asked Auron to monitor Paine and Lesca while he was gone. He certainly wasn't going to let Braska squeak out of that one!
Being made out of pyreflies, he could dissipate at will in order to sneak through vents and small openings, an ability Jecht guessed might come in handy. However, first he had to figure out where the information he was looking for was likely to be stored.
It probably wouldn't be public, according to what Bahamut's fayth said about this world. So perhaps the council building would have records which would give a clue.
Lesca was sore all over. She'd switched off the Warrior dressphere, and Paine had finally agreed to call it a day. They'd rented rooms in the Macalania inn, owned by a character named O'aka. Lesca flopped onto the bed and fell almost instantly into a dreamless sleep.
