I in no way, shape or form take credit for creation or ownership of the Final Fantasy series. That belongs to Square-Enix.


"Ugh… What… What hit me…?"

Jayson groaned audibly as he slowly opened his eyes, his mind reeling to try and figure out where he was. He seemed to bein a small bed within a long, rectangular room filled with other beds of similar design: rich and elaborate, like everything else in the Shrine. His shirt and light armor hung lazily over a chair to his right, his sword propped against it. Red tiles covered the floor, with a long carpet of even deeper red pulled along the feet of the beds, probably so whoever used these beds wouldn't have to walk barefoot on the stone floor. Tapestries hung on the opposite wall from Jayson, a distance of roughly ten feet, each depicting a different event in the Light Warrior's journey. Their epic battle against Kary in the Gurg Volcano, their journey across the Lymari Desert, Garaile's duel with his brother Garland in the heart of the Chaos Shrine.

'Wait… I think… I've seen that place before…'

Jayson squinted at the adornment on the wall, trying to figure out why the grey, stone-brick walls, the tall raised podium, or the sphere as dark as night all seemed so recognizable. He scanned the rest of the tapestry for a clue, and his eyes fell on the other three Light Warriors gathered together in the background. Kai, the brash monk who always let his fists do his talking for him watched the battle anxiously, ready to leap in to help Garaile at any moment. Nirav, the ever-silent mage, watched the fight with vague interest, as if it hardly affected him (or her, there really was no way of knowing). And Renea, the first and only Red Mage in history, and Garaile's future lover, stood with her hand on her rapier, also ready to assist the young knight if needed. He stared at her for a moment, as there was something familiar about the way her long, white hair flowing around her shoulders, about how she always seemed poised and ready to betray her beautiful appearance and attack on sight.

He was in the middle of that thought when it all came back. His eyes whipped back to the tapestry to the black orb on a pedestal, the Orb of Darkness, and he suddenly realized why that scene appeared familiar. Awe fused with disbelief, as his mind rushed to take all these new revelations in. He had SEEN the Orb of Darkness; He had entered the room where two brothers fought to the death. Light-headedness began to sink in just as the door creaked open, and his resolve to show no weakness stiffened as a cloaked figure stepped through it.

"Finally awake are we?" Dau'Mahl asked, and Jayson was fully aware that it wasn't a question that he expected an answer to. The Elf stepped along the carpet, making sure not to look towards Jayson, until he reached the foot of his bed and stopped, tilting his head slightly to eye him. "You've been unconscious for some time now."

"How long?" The knight asked rather forcibly, his patience unusually thin.

"I'd hazard a guess at about… all day." He replied coldly, staring a hole through Jayson. "It's a good thing for you that the Solaced is still undergoing the ritual."

'Still? What are they doing?' Jayson decided to probe a little further. "I see… So how'd I get here?"

"You were taken here by one of those… things." Dau'Mahl's mouth twisted slightly, showing he didn't think highly of whatever they were. "You were lucky enough to mention your connection to the Solaced. Otherwise, you'd be dead."

The question "How do you know?" floated across Jayson's mind, but he ignored the urge to challenge the Elf. Instead, he saw Dau'Mahl turn towards him with a scary glint in his eye.

"The more pertinent question here is what exactly you were doing there in the first place." Jayson went slightly rigid, not enough to be noticed he hoped, but enough to cause a slight jerk in his stomach. Whether or not Dau'Mahl had any power over him didn't matter if Calida decided to send him back for not listening when he should have. "You were told to stay close to the Solaced, yet you didn't. You decided to wander off, playing your own little game, completely oblivious to the dangers of your surroundings or the consequences of your actions. We were already late, and it was difficult to convince the Solaced that you would be fine and that we should continue. One of the requirement of coming on this journey was to listen to the Solaced every word, was it not?"

Jayson stared into the Elf's dark eyes with a lump of guilt in his throat. He knew he had screwed up, but he would never admit it to Dau-Mahl, no matter what. Minutes seemed to pass before he finally muttered, "…Won't happen again." which seemed to satisfy their guide. Straightening himself up, Dau'Mahl headed about two beds away from Jayson and laid down on his back, closing his eyes and letting out a tired sigh. They stayed like that for ten minutes before Jayson finally broke the silence.

"Hey." He called, and Dau'Mahl opened one eye to look at him. Jayson continued to stare at the ceiling as he talked. "What were those things? Those things dressed in black."

Dau'Mahl let out a long breath, closing his open eye in thought. "Quite honestly, I don't know. I've traveled all across Cornelian lands, and I've never encountered anything that… disturbing. All living creatures on this planet have a life force, a kind of mana that sustains them, allowing them to live. But these… I sense no life in them, none at all."

"So they're dead?" Jayson exclaimed, turning his head to look at the Elf. "You're saying we have a bunch of zombies walking around the Chaos Shrine?"

"I didn't say that." Dau'Mahl replied. "I've heard that there are ways to avoid having your mana detected. Spells, special armor, things of that sort can do it. Just because you can't sense a life force doesn't mean it's not there. Although this is the first time I've ever seen something like it."

"What about in Elfland?" Jayson suggested. "I've heard stories about it. There's supposed to be all sorts of magical stuffrunning around overthere. You must've seen something like them before."

"I've… never been to Elfland." Dau'Mahl said slowly, a twinge of shame in his voice. "I was born there, I think. But I can't remember anything about it."

"That's weird." Jayson muttered. "Where're you from then?"

Dau'Mahl growled softly as he sat up, he ears perked as if listening to something. "That's not important."

"So what! I asked you a question, I expe-" Jayson stopped halfway through his sentence as the door swung open again. Calida stepped in, dressed in a red robe and looking as if she had just ran to Cornelia and back, followed by an elderly looking man and the black garbed warrior from earlier. Seeing Dau'Mahl and Jayson tense up at his entrance, the man gave a dismissive wave of his hand and the warrior left.

"Jayson…?" Calida said quietly, seeing him for the first time and offering him a very weak smile. Her eyes kept drooping down, as if she'd fall asleep right there, but she managed to keep them up. "I heard… what happened… You're okay? That's good…"

"Yeah, I seem to still be in one piece." He answered with a smirk, sitting up ever so slightly, since he was still a bit sore. Calida's weak smile grew a little more full when he assured her he was fine. "What's wrong with you though? You look really beat."

"I'm… just tired, that's all." She said groggily, swaying back and forth a bit as her eyes fluttered shut once more. "The ritual is exhausting… but it's worth it, right?"

"I guess…" He said, not really sure of what he was supposed to say. "Here, I'll get up and help you."

Jayson started to climb out of the bed, when a sharp pain shot across his stomach, and he let out a small gasp when he noticed that he couldn't seem to move any further forward. He pulled the blanket away, throwing it unceremoniously to the end of the bed to reveal a large, purple bruise that covered well over half of his abdomen. Calida gasped audibly, and Dau'Mahls eyebrows rose slightly as they saw the unsightly wound.

"You're lucky you got only that." The old man spoke for the first time. He was a bit smaller than Calida, with a long, flowing beard that nearly reached his knees. His crooked back was covered with a red robe the same hue as the carpet on the floor, and lined with golden embroidery along the seams. "If you hadn't mentioned you were here with the Solaced, you'd have been killed."

"So I've heard…" Jayson sighed, as he felt the lump in his throat start to return.

"Well, I've had some salve put on it, so you should be well enough to move before sundown." He said in a wheezing voice. "Solaced, you had best lay down. You need your rest."

"A good nap would be nice Father…" She muttered, nearly collapsing before the man grabbed her and led to the bed beside Jayson. All three men in the room turned away as Calida quickly slipped out of her robe and into a white nightgown that she had brought along for the journey. Not even two minutes after she laid her head down on the pillow and adjusted her blankets, her breathing grew quieter and slowed down, signifying that she was asleep.

"Now as for you." The man said in a threatening tone, turning towards Jayson. He simply stared at him for a moment or two with eyes that seemed to know much more than they should before continuing in a hushed yell. "I don't know what you thought you were doing in there, but by the grace of Munen, you are lucky that I wasn't the one that found you! I promise that I wouldn't have been so lenient!"

"I… I'm sorry…" He offered, but the man continued.

"Of all the places you could have gone!" The man stopped briefly to let out an exasperated sigh, then kept going. "Do you even realize where you were! The most sacred chamber anywhere on this continent, and you had to pick that one! You… You…"

"Father Kelfer." Dau'Mahl spoke up, and the old man just whipped around quickly with a less-than-fatherly, "What!" but the Elf continued unfazed. "Do not be so harsh on him. He's far from the brightest person here," Jayson scowled, "but he does have some useful attributes. I sent him outside of the Shrine to make sure we weren't being followed, as I'm sure you're aware that there have been attempts at the lives of the Solaced in the past. If you're going to take your anger out on someone, take it out on me for ordering him to leave and subsequently getting lost."

Kelfer looked at Dau'Mahl, who stood easily a foot and a half taller above the priest, and muttered in a slow threatening tone. "I'll have you know Elf--."

"That you hold no power over me, for my participation in this journey isn't recognized by the church, and that you are bound by oath not to touch a single hair on my head." Dau'Mahl interupted, leaving Kelfer's mouth moving, but not saying anything as he grasped for a retort. "He could have done something wrong, true, but he didn't, and thus I don't see why you are taking your anger out on someone who has no idea what he's doing here."

"F-Fine then. Have it your way!" He turned around walked out the door, turning back to look at them one last time. "The Solaced is tired, but it's nothing more than spiritual exhaustion. She'll be as good as new tomorrow morning, and then you're all leaving, regardless of whatever circumstance you can come up with." He slammed the door shut as said those last words, making Calida stir in her sleep a bit before snuggling back into her bed. Jayson felt a bit of relief wash over him as the chance of her waking up was averted, then turned to Dau'Mahl.

"What was that all about? Why'd you help me?" He asked. He couldn't understand why the man who had spoken to him no more than three times since leaving Cornelia would lie to one of the leading members of the church just to defend him.

"Because," the guide explained, "if I hadn't, and you were sent back, we would have to go back to Cornelia as well, just to get someone who was bad enough to lose to you at whatever contest you used to decide Guardianship. This way, not only to get to keep the apparently best choice for the Guardian of the Solaced, but we save a good four days travel."

"Gee, and here I was thinking that you were starting to like me…" Jayson said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"I could easily find the Father and tell him the truth."

'Crap…' Jayson lowered his head slightly, trying to sallow his pride. "No, you don't have to… I'm… sor--… Thanks."

"That's better." He said, climbing into the bed he was sitting on. "Now get some rest, we make for the mountains tomorrow."

'Mountains…? This was not in the job description…' Laying his head down on his pillow, Jayson shut his eyes and tried to stop his mind for reeling long enough to fall asleep. He spent nearly twenty minutes trying to force the strangely familiar image of Renea in the main chamber of the Chaos Shrine out of his head, at which point his brain started to calm down, and ten minutes later, he joined his two companions in sleep.

----------------------

'Okay, calm down Jayson… How hard can this be, right?'

But despite his sincerest effort, Jayson couldn't manage to calm himself down. Maybe everything that had happened in the past few days was finally getting to him? No. He decided that couldn't be it. He wasn't about to go crazy yet. He hoped.

They had left the Shrine at sunrise, once again Dau'Mahl and Calida had been up before him. As Father Kelfer had said, Calida seemed perfectly fine when Jayson woke up, though he noticed she had eaten a little more than usual at the breakfast Kelfer had prepared for them. Outside that, she seemed completely back to normal. Well, about as normal as the savior of the world could be. Dau'Mahl, on the other hand, seemed the same as always. Quietly leading them towards the mountains, speaking only to answer Calida's questions or warn her about obstacles she needed to look out for. Most of the time he acted like Jayson wasn't even there, which made it hard to believe that the Elf may have very well saved his life the night before.

"C'mon, let's keep moving. The further we get before sundown, the better." Dau'Mahl pointed out, "There's a small alcove along the path where we can rest. If we make it there, we'll set up camp for the night."

With that, he swung himself up onto a chest high ledge, took a few steps forward, then tilted his head a bit to watch the other two. Jayson throw his satchel up onto the ledge and took a quick running start. Leaping into the air, he twisted so that he was horizontal with the ledge, and then at the last second, put his hand on the edge and used his momentum tospin himselfonto the top, landing in a kneeling position. He smirked at Dau'Mahl, who, much to Jayson's chagrin, didn't really seem to care. He reached down to help Calida, straining as he pulled her up. His stomach hadn't quite healed over yet.

"So, what's Cornelia like?" They had been walking in silence along the mountain path for so long, Calida's question almost didn't register.

"What? Oh. Uh, well… It's… kinda big, I guess." Jayson replied, suddenly aware of how hard it was to describe the simplest of things. "Tons of people from all over the place every day, bunch of merchants ya know? Uh… Is there anything you'd like to know specifically?"

"No, not really." Calida said, "I just didn't get to see much of it when I was there for the ceremony, and I'd heard all these fantastic stories about it."

"Didn't the Sol-- I mean, didn't you come to Cornelia for a month or two a few years back?" Jayson asked.

"Twelve years ago." Calida told him, smiling a bit at how 'twelve' got turned into 'a few', then sighing. "But I don't remember much, I was only four."

"Yeah, I was seven. I think I remember it…" He strained, trying to dig up a memory he wasn't sure if he had. "It would've been a huge event, not many people'd pass up the chance to see you."

"I guess…" Calida muttered, slightly blushing at her own fame as usual. She was snapped out of it however, when she walked straight into Dau'Mahl and fell backwards rather hard.

"Hey, warn us when you do that!" Jayson yelled as he helped Calida get up, who was nursing an elbow that at met a rock at a quite uncomfortable speed. The Elf paid no attention to him, and simply continued starting at one spot on the ground. "Hey, fairy boy, I'm talking to you!"

Dau'Mahl knelt down and started examining the spot. After a few moments, his ears tensed and he quickly came back to his feet. "We move. Now." He said with a newfound intensity, and took off at twice the speed he had been moving before.

"Wait, Dau'Mahl, what's wrong?" Calida called as she ran to catch up to him.

"Someone's been here." Was all he replied.

"So what?" Jayson demanded, catching up to the Elf. "This is the only mountain pass through here, you said it yourself. Why is someone else coming through here such a big deal? Tons of traders use this path, and you know it."

"We passed a caravan heading west on our way to the Shrine, and it rained for a while when we were there." He explained. Jayson wasn't sure about that, but as he had been unconscious for well over half their stay, he wasn't going to question it. "Whoever made that footprint was here recently, and I can only think of one group of people who it would belong to. Why'd they come back…?"

"Who?" Calida asked, having finally caught up.

"Thieves. Bandits. A group composed of those and worse." Dau'Mahl said, an unusually nervous tone to his voice. "They aren't the type of people I, or anyone else here, wants to meet."

"I can handle a few thieves." Jayson muttered indignantly, which caused Dau'Mahl to stop dead and turn around.

"A few? Maybe. At least a hundred? I don't think so." The Elf reminded him. "You don't seem to understand what we're up against here. They'll kill you and I, me especially, without a second thought. As for the Solaced…" Dau'Mahl stole a quick glance at Calida. "She'll envy us."

"W-what do you mean?" Calida asked, genuinely afraid. Whatever traits the ritual had awakened within her, courage in the face of death wasn't one of them. "If you two are d-dead, then how can I…? How…?"

Dau'Mahl simply looked at her with an expression of mild pity, and in a voice completely different than his own muttered, "There are fates worse than death…" to almost no one but himself.

The three stood there for a solemn moment, when Jayson finally spoke up.

"And what are the odds of them finding us?"

"That is the one thing we have going for us." He replied, back to his usual self. "The mountains are vast, and I doubt they'd be around here if they didn't think a caravan was coming through. With luck, we might not even meet them."

"That, you arrogant pile of crap, is where you're wrong."

All three travelers looked up along the ridge, towards the voice that had just interrupted there conversation, all of them thinking the exact same thing.

They'd been found.


Yes, I am alive. To be quite honest, I just couldn't bring myself to stick to writing this chapter. I have a fantastic vision of the plot later on, but I've only know come to realize that I have no idea how it's getting there. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm sure I'll get around to the next installment eventually.

SmurfKiller - King Steven and King Argoth are two different Kings. Argoth ruled during the time of the Light Warriors, and Steven is the King now. Yes, I know Steven isn't a very Kingly name, but it's only there as an homage to King Steve of 8-Bit Theatre, definitely one of the best Final Fantasy webcomics ever created. I know such things are of quite low taste in a story like this, but the King doesn't play a very large role as of now, and I'm not sure about later. And yes, the descriptions I used as Jayson enters the castle were rather misleading, and I apologize for that. "Your" and "you" were meant to be used in a more general way, not in reference to any one person. Outside all of that, glad you enjoyed the story. :)