Princess Lenna Charlotte Tycoon raced through the courtyard. Her pink hair glistened with a tint of blonde in the sun as it rested on her shoulders. She wore an orange dress with a thick brown leather belt around her waist which had an ornate blue buckle. She wore two lapis bracelets, one on each wrist and a pair of thick, robust leather boots which had been dyed blue. From her waist hung a large dagger, a memento of her late mother which many believed to have been more ceremonial than practical, but Lenna was adept with it and had actually taken the time to get it sharpened for use by the smithy of the castle. Across her shoulder was a satchel, filled with various potions, some were for healing wounds and restoring energy and vigour, whilst others were for practical aspects - antidotes, eye drops, smelling salts. She had been told by her father, King Alexander that she was to remain in the castle, but when the wind started to significantly slow down, to the point where it was almost as if it had stopped, she ignored his command and made a run for it.

Running behind her, the young squire, Albert struggled to catch his breath. He was a young boy, fifteen years old and was a knight in training, sadly for him, he was not a very good knight. The king had took the boy on as his Squire, hoping to groom him for a leadership role - a steward of the castle, a head of coin or head of trade, but he too showed ineptitude in that. He was a lanky fellow, nearly six feet tall, but his thin frame and poor physical abilities - slow paced, lack of staying power and poor co-ordination worked against him in this situation. He was chasing after a very determined princess who was nineteen and physically fitter than most of the knights in the castle and just as dangerous as them.

"Princess! Wait! You're father said to stay and protect the castle!"

Lenna ignored the boy's pleas. She managed to evade some of the guards who had saw the pursuit and came down to assist in stopping her by using her knowledge of the castle. Jumping up onto a barrel, she dug her hands into the wall and climbed up it like she was a thief or a ninja infiltrating a vault. She moved with speed and precision, nothing was out of place. Reaching the top of the wall, she looked over her shoulder, down into the courtyard some thirty feet below and bowed. Turning back quickly, she looked down to the bales of hay below the wall and took a deep breath.

The hay did its intended job of breaking her fall, but the impact with the plant material knocked the wind out of her. The drop down from the wall to the chocobo stables was greater than she expected and there may have been less hay there than previous times she had used this escape method, but irrespective of her shortness of breath, the resourceful princess jumped up. She snuck through the storage area, peering out from time to time to ensure that the chocobo's were calm and didn't give her position away to anyone in the stable. Seeing that the coast was clear, she opened one of the hatches and let a chocobo out.

"Come Koko, we're going for a run"

Koko, the chocobo was a female. Slightly smaller in stature than her male counterparts, she was faster and had a sharper beak and talons. She could be aggressive when she needed to be, but she preferred to just ride. None of the knights used her when they jousted, they only used her when delivering messages. Lenna mounted the big yellow bird and ran her hands gently down the back of its neck. It let out a low wark before it slowly crept forwards. As they reached the door, Lenna kicked it open and then dug her heels into the sides of her steed. Koko let out a shrill cry and ran forwards in the direction of the wind shrine. Behind them, at the gates of the castle stood the Chancellor and Albert.

"The king should have known better than to have forbade her from assisting him..."

Albert nodded at the Chancellor's words before they both returned to the castle.

=...=...=

Her father had only been gone for half an hour and she'd been on the plains for twenty minutes. She was making good time, but she knew that Hiyru, being a dragon could fly, and flying was significantly faster than crossing the great plains surrounding Tycoon.

Tycoon was a fairly low-lying land in most parts. It had mountainous regions which flanked most of its plains, so you could say it was just one long, massive valley in a way. She passed by the small hamlets which housed most of the farming community of the nation and started to near the woods which were at the start of the long west-valley region. As Koko started to slow down to preserve its stamina, Lenna looked to the sky. There was a large burning object falling at great speed and it appeared to be headed in her general direction.

"What in the name of the four crystals is that?"

Lenna brought Koko to a gentle canter as the large burning object started to get closer. It was a meteorite, something she had learned about in her lessons in the castle's library but something she always thought to be fake. No one had seen a meteorite for at least thirty years or so and even though thirty years could be classed as recent history, to many people it was a generation or two back which to some, rendered it into myth, folk tale and legend territory. She gazed at the celestial body which was now hurtling towards the forest at great speed. Koko let out a shrill cry as the force of the object created a blast of wind and a wall of pressure. Holding on tightly, Lenna clung to Koko as the large extra-terrestrial rock smashed into the forest and carved out a path of destruction. The impact of the meteor resulted in a violent tremor. The seismic activity spooked the chocobo, which started to cry loudly and attempted to buck Lenna from its back.

"Koko! Calm down, I'm here, we're safe"

Koko heard the calmness in Lenna's voice and listened to her words. It's flailing subsided and with a gentle nudge, the bird headed towards the forest, slowly at first but when it saw that the area was safe, it increased its pace. The bird picked up speed and was soon travelling at its maximum pace when they entered what remained of the forest. Travelling at full speed, they rode further along the clearing the meteorite had carved out. As they got deeper and deeper into the forest the chocobo became uneasy once again.

"Koko! Calm down girl.. You're going to get us both hurt"

The chocobo ignored the pleas for calm from the princess. As Lenna looked ahead, she could see why - goblins. Three of the monster's blocked her path. They were only short in stature, no taller than four feet, but their beige skin, green leather caps and tattered loin cloths and disfigured limbs and faces struck terror into the bird. Koko let out a loud wark and stopped dead in her tracks. Knowing that the bird wouldn't proceed any further into the wood, the princess dismounted and drew her dagger. She was a competent fighter, but three against one, even if they were only weak goblins were unfavourable odds. Unless she could critically injure them in quick succession, this could have a very grizzly outcome, one which she wished she didn't have to experience. Seeing her, one of the goblins raised its mangled arms and pointed its finger towards her. Its long, yellow claw like nails made her cringe, and when the monster licked its lips and shown off its misshapen fangs, she felt a chill run down her spine. She'd never faced a monster before, and today was the first time she was going to.

Crouching down, she drew her knife with her right hand and brought it up with her other hand into a fighting stance. She shifted her weight between both feet, keeping on her toes so she could react quickly and she took a deep breath. The first goblin, the one who had identified her slowly approached her whilst its friends watched. It licked its lips once again and let out a hideous shriek before it ran forward on all fours in an animal like manner. Stepping out to meet it, Lenna dropped her right hand down, angling the blade and at the right moment, flicked her arm out. The monster lunged at her, but as it reached out with its arms, the metal of her dagger cut into its flesh, stopping it dead in its tracks. Howling in pain, the goblin tried to flee, but not wanting to let it get away from her, Lenna gave chase. Thrusting her blade forwards, she sank it into the back of the monster, finishing it off. As it fell to the floor, its two pack-mates saw it and charged towards her.

"This isn't going to end well"

=...=...=

"We're almost there Boko!"

Minutes earlier, a lone traveller, with only his sword and Boko, his chocobo, for company were relaxing in a secluded part of the forest. They were getting some much needed rest on their journey to nowhere in particular when the violent shaking of the ground woke them. Whether it was destiny or curiosity though which had drawn them towards the crash site though was a different matter. Boko came to a stop the moment they smelt burning wood and earth. Knowing it would be safer to venture in on foot, the man riding the chocobo dismounted it and patted it on its neck.

"Boko, wait here ok.. I'm gonna go up ahead and check out what just happened. If it's safe, I'll come back for you"

Boko let out a wark in response and sat down near the undergrowth as his master headed into the woods. With his sword firmly in hand, he carefully made his way through the undergrowth. Cutting through some of the more stubborn branches with his sword, he managed to make his way into the clearing.

"Holy Chocobo! What could have caused this?"

The land had been torn apart by whatever had crashed into it. His eyes first went to the right, the direction in which the object which had made impact had came from and they scanned across towards the left before they rested on the large object.

"A meteorite? Woah! Wait till Boko see's this..."

His amazement at the meteorite was short lived however. Just in front of the meteorite was the body of a human. Its pink hair stood out against the dark brown earth and standing over it triumphantly were two goblins. Clutching at his sword tightly, the wanderer ran forwards. The goblins didn't even know what had hit them. By the time they had reacted, the swordsman had already cleaved one across its chest, splitting one of them open. Bringing his sword up, he blocked the goblin's swipe with its claws and thrust his sword out at it. The goblin jumped backwards, evading the thrust and countered with one of its own. It jumped up in the air and brought both its arms up at either side of it. As the monster let out a cry, ready to slash at him, the swordsman ducked down out the way and with a certain touch of style to his technique, spun the sword round in his hand by its handle so that the blade was pointed backwards. He brought his left hand up to the hilt of the sword and using both arms and tremendous force, thrust the sword backwards into the beast behind him, finishing it off. With both monsters dead, the man ran towards the body on the floor which lay face down.

The wanderer knelt down by the body which he noticed was that of a female. Rolling her onto her back, he tilted her head back and placed his head just over her mouth. he felt her warm breath on his cheek and smiled.

"She's still breathing, that's a good sign"

He reached for a potion out of her open satchel and uncorked the flask it came in. The pale red liquid sloshed around as he poured it over her face. Potions, although water based didn't stick or stain. They evaporated once they made contact with skin when used externally but the magic they were imbued with went to work almost instantly. Seeing the green glow run across the girl's body, the wanderer smiled in relief before he leaned over her again. Tapping her lightly on the cheek, she flinched but didn't open her eyes.

"Hey! Wake up!"

The wanderer shook the pink haired woman a few times. On the third shake, her eyes opened. Before he could even react, she pushed him away, rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and brandished her knife at him.

"Hey there! take it easy will ya?"

The woman looked round and realised that the goblins weren't around anymore. She looked at the man who now stood up in front of her with his sword out in his right hand. He was five foot ten, he had thick brown hair which had been left to naturally grow - out and backwards, in an almost permanent windswept look. He had blue eyes and he wore a matching blue tunic over a white long sleeved shirt. His boots were dark brown and he wore white pants. On his right arm he wore a leather gauntlet and on his left hand he wore a fingerless leather glove. He had an air of mystery around him, but at the same time he presented no danger. Relenting, the girl lowered her knife and brought herself up to her feet.

"Are you ok?"

The girl nodded.

"Yes... I think so... I managed to fight off one of the goblins, but the other two got me."

The wander nodded.

"It's ok, I got them anyway. You're lucky though, usually goblins hunt in larger packs."

The girl shook her head. The wanderer took this as a sign to stop talking. He sheathed his sword and looked her up and down.

"My name is Le...Reina.. Reina.. sorry, my head's a little fuzzy"

"Bartz"

The man spoke his name as he extended his hand out. Reina took it and felt his grip. It was firm, strong but gentle at the same time. Her father always said you could learn a lot from a man in how he shook hands, and given the fact Bartz had saved her and had a firm and reassuring handshake, she knew he was a good man.

"What brings you to Tycoon?"

Reina asked him as she ran her hands through her hair. Bartz watched her carefully and judging by her body language, she was hiding something. He couldn't tell what it was but it didn't concern him much either ways, he was a wanderer on a journey with his chocobo and until recently had the wind to guide him.

"I'm a journeyman, me and my chocobo, Boko, are just travelling to nowhere in particular."

Bartz turned to look at the meteor. As he did, Reina did the same.

"Would you look at the size of it... what do you think it is?"

Bartz glanced to his side as Reina walked up alongside him.

"It's a meteor. it fell from the sky. I was out on my chocobo Koko, we were headed towards the wind shrine to make an offering when suddenly there was an earthquake and this thing flew right into the forest"

Reina walked towards it, she could see the smoke rising from the crater and its surface. Knowing it would be hot to touch, she refrained from doing so, instead she turned round to Bartz and looked at him.

"Do you think that maybe, this thing has something to do with the wind stopping?"

Bartz shrugged his shoulders.

"I gotta go. I wish I could repay you somehow, but I must hurry..."

Reina walked back towards Bartz. She pulled her hand up to her mouth and placed two fingers between her lips and was about to whistle when Bartz suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"Hey, wait a sec... "

Reina looked shocked at first, but because of the timely interruption from Bartz she heard a faint groaning noise. Looking around confused, she stopped and turned her attention to Bartz.

"Did you hear something?"

Bartz shook his head. There was another groaning noise, this one was louder however. Bartz heard it this time.

"Huh?"

The two stood there in front of the meteorite in a confused standoff. Their eyes looked everywhere at first but as the moaning became more frequent and some slightly coherent sounds were being made, the two of them looked towards the meteor.

"Help!"

Bartz and Reina both nodded and headed to the right side of the meteorite. Lying on the floor near the undergrowth was an old man with thick grey and auburn hair. He had a full beard which covered near enough all of his lower face. His eyes were glazed over slightly but the brown tint to them stood out. He wore a strange combination of clothes - a long dark green robe with a golden trim which was open at the front. Underneath that he wore a yellow and purple shirt and pants combination with pale brown boots on. He appeared to have no visible weapons on him, but given his appearance he could easy be a martial artist of sorts.

Standing either side of him, and helping him to his feet, Bartz and Reina propped the man up. Dusting themselves off, Reina looked at the old man who must have been in his fifties at least.

"Are you alright?"

"Where... am I...? Ow... my head!"

The man looked round. He was clearly dazed. Bartz glanced at Reina who was trying to get through to him.

"What... What is with me? I can't seem to remember anything!"

The man scratched at his head before holding it in his hands. It was not uncommon for older people to suffer with memory problems, but given his location and what just happened, it was safe to say his loss of memory was more a result of physical trauma than mental deterioration.

"You hit your head by the looks of things"

Bartz gestured to the man's head. It was bruised slightly and there were a few scrapes but cosmetically, there wasn't much else in terms of damage.

"That explains it... A-HA! GALUF!"

The man exclaimed loudly.

"My name is Galuf... I remember that much!"

Reina smiled. This was progress, but it was also eating away at her. Bartz could see the turmoil in the young woman's face. She was clearly compassionate but at the same time, she had to get to the wind shrine. This was almost a moral and ethical dilemma for her. Wanting to help her out, Bartz stepped in.

"Can you remember anything else besides your name?"

Galuf thought for a moment and sighed. He held his hands up as if to say 'I got nothing'. Reina noticed this and used it as the perfect chance to make her escape.

"I wish I could be of more assistance, but i have to hurry and make it to the wind shrine"

Galuf's eyes widened at the mention of the wind shrine.

"The wind shrine? I know that place... I have a feeling I need to go... I'm coming with you!"

Galuf pushed past Bartz who smirked as Reina tried to protest but as she tried to say "but..." Galuf cut her off.

"I can't explain, I just feel I have to go.. I MUST go"

Relenting, Reina nodded as Galuf stood by her side, they both looked to Bartz as if to say "well, what about you?"

"I'm going to continue on with my journey... Good luck getting to the shrine you guys"

Bartz waved to them as he took a few steps backwards. The two turned round and began to walk towards the edge of the clearing. After taking a few steps, Reina stopped. She turned round and called out to Bartz.

"Bartz... Thank you so much! Goodbye and good luck on your journey"

Bartz smiled as Reina bid him farewell. Galuf nodded and echoed the sentiment.

"Farewell Bartz"

The two turned around again. As they walked, Bartz headed back towards where he cut his way into the clearing. Heading through the brush, he found Boko. Rubbing the birds neck, he jumped onto his back and dug his heels in.

"C'mon Boko... let's go!"

=...=...=