Chapter Eight: Garland's Beginnings

"And so, their journey begins...What await the Four, they do not know..."

Final Fantasy I

Jakk stood on the edge of a dream.

He faintly remembered the newly built bridge that the party crossed...what was amazing to him was how beautiful Sara, Swan-Princess of the Moon and Stars, was. Especially after that kiss she gave him for his dashing rescue.

He was on the tip of his dreaming...but then the dream turned upside down as Basyi whined at the tightness the daydreaming Jakk was holding her harness. She shook her body to alert him, but Jakk's grip was not tight enough. The young thief fell to the ground, head-first, dream-like state gone and replaced by three Warriors laughing.

"Not funny," he muttered, getting himself up. Basyi snorted.

"A kiss by Princess Sara means nothing, Jakk. Don't let it get to you." Klad said, giving him a hand, already reading his thoughts.

"Maybe not," the youth said, flexing his aching muscles. "but a kiss is a kiss, and being kissed by a Princess doesn't come often, does it?"

Klad shook his head, but he was already lost in his own thoughts. The vastness of the northern territory stood in front of them, with rising stretches of desert where Tranmankand was, to hilly forests of green. To the north, the City of Thieves lay, and beyond, the Cave of the Witches. To the south, before the arch-bridge Lyr had built for easier access to the north, lay Coneria. Its glimmering spikes of tall towers still could be seen...faintly, as if in a dream.

But their route was to the east, to Pravoka, the last port-city willing to travel the Fiend controlled Aldi Seas.

After their rescue of the Princess, they had proceeded directly on with their journey, seeing that Luhkan had already left the city and gone to Pravoka.

Seek advice in those you trust, but stray from those who seek to help you too much, Luhkan had last said to them. It was his advice they sought.

"Come, warriors," Klad said, smiling over the bustling wind. "We again, make haste to our goal. We ride to Pravoka!"

He stirred Strider on, and they rode, along the path to the port city.

A rider followed, clothed in black and green to blend into the forest colors.

Astos watched slowly as the Prince slowly slipped on to his bed, and sighed, deep in a slumber. A slumber he would never wake from; the deep draught which would be his death with life. Quickly, the Dark-Elf took the cup from the Elf-Prince, emptied the contents, and mixed the blood of the Prince with a potion from his vial. And then he drank.

The plan was so simple, so brilliant! It would secure his power and provide an army to conquer the ends of the world.

Carefully, he took the Prince's hand and said an incantation. First, the hand slowly vanished, blending into the depths of the room, and the rest of Prince Elles' body disappeared. Crudely, Astos shoved him into the closet, right after the door knocked.

"Come," he said, in the Elles' voice. Before the door opened, Astos looked into the mirror, pleased to see fair hair and face of none other than the Prince himself, with the green garb marking him Prince of Elfland. And no one except his own Dark Elf clan knew who he really was.

It was time for this world to fall.

They sat, silently, as fire flew from Bane's hands to the clump of dry plants and wood. Instantly, a fire rose, blazing merrily and flickering into the faces of the Warriors.

"So odd," Aki said, almost to herself, as she watched the flames flicker in front of her.

"What is?" Jakk asked, curiously, sharpening his rapier with a grindstone. It seemed like after a few days with the mage, they had started to grow on each other, with a feeling of mutual respect, without the flirtations that Jakk had impressed on the young woman.

She looked up at him, and then at Klad. "How is it that two men, from the same Guard, can turn out so different? One, a warrior, the other, a betrayer? It seems not real."

"Garland never betrayed anyone. He was not evil. But he believed that, in the end, Chaos, from the Four Fiends, were to take command of Gaia," Klad said in a low voice.

The others looked up.

"What do you mean!" Jakk responded, dropping the stone. "He tried to kill you."

Klad gave a shrug, looking out to the stars.

"He was once my mentor, not a bad knight, by Coneria standards. He, like Luhkan, was a lore-master and philosopher. But his searches, to find the ultimate truth, he came to a different conclusion than Luhkan: that the universe was made from the Creator's chaos, ruled by chaos and fate, not order, and so it must be conquered by chaos, from the energies that made the Alatari. This, he believed was the truth. He never intended to keep his philosophy secret, and so he preached about his ideas. People were disgusted that a knight, the protector of the Kingdom, would betray the hope of many. In the court of the King, he was given the name Damdrilli, Betrayer of Light and Hope. Then he was demoted him to Master-of-Arms, a lowly position for a person who had such power as an adviser to the King, and he was forever bitter."

Klad's voice had gone hoarse. The others looked quietly into the flames.

"And so in revenge, he kidnapped the King's daughter," Jakk surmised.

The knight nodded.

"So," Jakk said, hopefully and conversationally, "what is our next move? Journeying to Pravoka is fine, for I have never been there, but to do what?"

Bane threw a stick into the fire and shrugged.

"My only concern is defeating the Fiends. Pravoka will gain us access to the rest of the world, since they alone are brave, or stupid enough to journey these waters. Even the Conerian Fleet does not even do that."

Aki pursed her lips into a red rosebud shape, deep in thought...and making her very attractive, Klad thought, eyes widening.

"I have heard legends concerning the coming of the Light Warriors." She took off the hood that hid her fiery hair, giving a grateful nod as the knight handed her a cup of tea.

"They would be the last to unite the Tari's creatures under one banner, to defeat the Fiends. And we need information from the Lore-master and any others who can locate the whereabouts of the Fiends. Getting a ship would make this easier."

Jakk crackled his knuckles out of an old habit, frowning.

"Diplomacy with the Dwarves? Pacts with the Dragons? I'm not sure any of us are experienced with politics. Even our omniscient mage." He sneered, throwing a look at Bane.

"I am of Elvish blood. I know some of their ways," Bane responded, quietly sipping his tea. "I may be of use if we go to Elfland."

The other three, surprised, look at him, silently sipping their drinks.

"By the hands of the Creator!" Aki said, laughing softly, peering into the flames. "We are really fighting the Fiends. I have been living a dream for the past three days, and finally, I realize what we are doing " She shook her head sadly.

"Take comfort in the fact our creators were wise enough entrust this planet in our hands. Otherwise, our own ignorance would have been the downfall of this world," Klad responded, surprised at the mage's outburst. She had been quiet and reserved about the journey.

"We will rest. Tomorrow is the journey to Pravoka, and then to Elfland. There, we must gain the support of the Prince. Light Warriors and blessed may we be, but we are still mortal, and death will come as quickly from a feral bite of a wolf as an assassin's arrow. An alliance and host we need, and the Prince will help us."

Bane nodded in agreement. "I have no knowledge of where any of the Fiends might be. Perhaps the Elves will help us find them."