CHAPTER 3:

GREEN DWARVES AND BLACK MAGES

Harry was surprised when he first met the Dwarves of Conde Petie. They had very thick accents that he could have sworn were Scottish, few of even the men had beards, and they were all green. Oh, and they loved to say "Rally-ho!"

As it turned out, the Dwarves had a great respect for the summoners of Conde Petie, and were willing to trade for supplies. Unfortunately, there was little money and few things to trade: the Moogles could make some necessary items that the Dwarves sold, like Potions and Antidotes. It was more some foods and clothing items, though, as well as some weapons and armour.

It was, surprisingly enough, the Magus Sisters who hit upon a solution. In their original life, they had been a band of travelling entertainers, mostly singers, before they became summons. In fact, the Magus Sisters was the name of their band. In exchange for concerts, the Dwarves would give them supplies, like clothing, food and spices that were harder for the Moogles to get a hold of, even through their Mognet delivery system.

Eiko, once she realised what they could get, was all for it. She turned out to be an excellent flute player, and her Eidolons could disguise themselves as human like Harry's. Well, Fenrir looked more like a werewolf, but Carbuncle became a green-haired boy about their age with a ruby on his forehead, and Phoenix became an elegant, red-haired woman who seemed disturbingly familiar to Harry. Anima told him, quietly, that Phoenix resembled his adoptive mother, Lily Potter.

The Dwarves loved the entertainment. Yojimbo showed off his sword skills, using Zanmato, the Demon-Cutting Sword, to cause objects to fall apart long after he had cut them(1). The Magus Sisters sang songs from their original world, from Harry's world, and from this one. The Dwarves were strangely fond of We Will Rock You by Queen. Sometimes, they did plays, though they couldn't do I Want to Be Your Canary, as they had too many female Eidolons, and not enough male ones. But a few of Lord Avon's plays still fitted the bill, like The Chocobo King and Merry Maladies.

Harry got used to this routine, and so too did Eiko. Harry, in fact, was truly beginning to love his new life. True, it was a bit more primitive than back on Earth: no dishwashers or gas stoves. But he enjoyed his new family, and despite the fact that he and Eiko were the only two people at Madain Sari, the Moogles and the Eidolons ensured that he didn't get lonely. Indeed, they helped teach him how to harness his magic, how to use it in battle. He found that he had an affinity for Black Magic, whereas Eiko tended to be better with her White Magic. He also knew a little White Magic, but really only the basic curative spells, namely Cure, Cura, and Poisona.

He got used to using Black Magic to drive off or kill monsters whenever they made the trip to and from Conde Petie: he didn't like hurting things, but if the monsters wanted to kill or eat him and Eiko, then he didn't have much of a choice.

Eiko was astonished when they confronted the Hill Gigas(2), and Harry summoned Anima, who transformed from a kindly young woman with a maternal air, into a bizarre, eldritch creature that seemed like some aquatic creature turned into a mummy. And who promptly annihilated the Hill Gigas with Oblivion, a series of powerful physical blows that sent the not-so-jolly green giant sailing over the hills, likely never to terrorise the path between Conde Petie and Madain Sari ever again.

Needless to say, Eiko was awed at the power of Anima. Though she lamented that she didn't have any Eidolons of her own as powerful as that.

Of course, she then had to hurriedly apologise to Fenrir, Carbuncle, and Phoenix. She didn't notice how Mog, her 'sister', seemed to be quiet after hearing that.

Six months passed since Harry arrived on Gaia, and it was time for another concert. He was dressed fairly simply, in dark trousers, a white shirt and a waistcoat, with a wide-brimmed hat. The hat was a dark red, which was fitting, so the Moogles and Eidolons said, for he was a Red Mage, one who could use White and Black Magic. That he had powerful Eidolons on top of it helped. That being said, Eiko was certainly more talented with White Magic than he was even with Black Magic: she was on her way to learning how to use Holy, the ultimate White Magic, whereas he was still learning the second tier elemental magic spells(3). Of course, his powerful Eidolons helped make up for that.

It was during the preparation for such a concert that Harry noticed a couple of newcomers in the audience, certainly not Dwarves. They were taller, dressed in less rough clothing, with pointy straw hats. They didn't seem to have faces, just a darkness between hat and collar from which two eyes glowed yellow. The effect was unnerving, but not actually sinister. If anything, it would have been considered endearing, if Harry knew of the word.

The two newcomers seemed surprised to see Harry and Eiko, though he didn't know why. Eiko didn't recognise them either. Morrison, however, did. "Black Mages," he murmured as they prepared 'backstage' (their stage was actually just outside Conde Petie).

"Sorry?"

"We've been getting letters from our friends from the Mist Continent, kupo. There are Black Mages who are normal people, but there are rumours of ones that are manufactured. I can tell that these two are constructs made of Mist and other ingredients. I can smell it, kupo."

"Why would they be made?" Harry asked.

"As soldiers," Morrison said, disgustedly. "But I thought they were meant to be mindless drones. These ones seem…alive. Aware. Like actual people, kupo."

During the concert, Harry and Eiko realised that the two Black Mages were listening raptly and attentively. Despite the lack of expression on their faces (such as they were), they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Afterwards, Eiko asked David Heavenguard, the High Priest of the Dwarves and a good friend, to ask the two Black Mages (whom he called 'Pointy-Hats', or rather, with his accent, 'Pyntie-Hets') to come backstage.

They seemed timid, until they realised that they were talking to a pair of children, albeit ones with powerful magical gifts. Upon realising that Eiko and Harry meant no harm, they introduced themselves as Number 36 and Number 56(4). In many ways, they were rather childlike themselves. Not stupid, but simple to certain degrees.

Soon, a few more Black Mages came to their concerts. Eventually, about a month after they met them for the first time, a new Black Mage, who wielded an elaborate staff, met the two children. He introduced himself as Number 288. Unlike the other Black Mages, he didn't have a childish air to him, rather, a more solemn air. Even a lugubrious air.

"So, you two are the humans the others have spoken of. You are young to venture from your homes. Then again, I cannot speak of youth. I am but six months old, only two of which, I was truly aware. And both summoners to boot. I thought Madain Sari long destroyed."

"How do you know that?" Eiko demanded.

"Because I met the man who did the deed," 288 said. "He had us doing mock battles against vagabonds and criminals in the catacombs under Treno in order to test and hone our skills. He goes by the name of Kuja, though I am the only one of our kind that had escaped here who has met the man. He once remarked to a pair of underlings about his role in destroying the summoners. He revelled in the destruction, but was angry that he had been ordered to destroy the very things that he could have used to destroy his master, whom he called Garland. He was discussing a plan to extract Eidolons from a summoner."

Harry and Eiko looked at each other, before Eiko asked, "There's another summoner? At this Treno place?"

"No. Treno is but one town on the Mist Continent. The summoner he referred to was Princess Garnet til Alexandros XVII of Alexandria."

Eiko yelped, "Wait, the Princess of Alexandria is a summoner?!"

"So Kuja believed," 288 said. "He intended to make a move after her 16th birthday, to extract the Eidolons forcibly, which is to happen in a few months' time."

"So that's why Grandpa said not to leave the village before I was 16!" Eiko yelped.

"Yes. The procedure is draining enough even when they're ready. On anyone younger, it would prove potentially lethal, as well as preventing the user from extracting the Eidolons. I didn't hear much more."

288 would later give the two summoners a standing invitation to come to the Black Mage Village, a hidden village not far from Conde Petie. It wasn't until a few weeks later that a wary Harry and Eiko took up 288 on his offer.

It was actually interesting to go there, and meet the Black Mages. 288 explained that they had woken to self-awareness through some means or other. He had woken shortly after killing a vagabond during one of Kuja's drills, and had fled Treno not long afterwards. Some had banded together, and either found ships, or travelled through the ancient underground passages of Fossil Roo to get here from the Mist Continent.

One of the things that disturbed Harry and Eiko were the Black Mages' attitudes to death. Eiko, being precocious, had more of an understanding of death than was normal, and Harry had the definition beaten into him by his cruel aunt, who was taunting him about his parents. But, save for 288, the Black Mages didn't quite understand. They called it 'stopping' or 'coming to a stop', but only 288 seemed to recognise that his fellow Black Mages were dying. Two years seemed to be the standard lifespan. They attended the funeral of Number 36, who had died shortly before one of their visits. 56 couldn't quite understand what had happened, wondering whether 36 would come out of the ground one day, and how much of a wash he would need. Harry and Eiko, to whom 36 and 56 were the first Black Mages they had met, were actually quite sad at this, both to 36's death and 56's incomprehension.

However, in the Black Mage Village, they found more weapons and armour and books on magic than they had in Conde Petie, and the Black Mages, once they got over their fear of humans (the ones who hadn't been to the concerts, anyway), were congenial and pleasant, viewing the two humans as friends.

Whenever they went to the Black Mage Village, they stayed overnight, as the journey back to Madain Sari took the best part of a day. They often did concerts there. However, Harry and Eiko were disturbed by the prospect of the man who had killed off their people being out there, somewhere. 288, who had proved to be a capable artist as well as a leader, produced a painting of Kuja from memory. Harry, when he first saw the image, asked out loud if Kuja was actually a woman. 288 said that he knew Kuja was male, he just liked to dress in a disturbing manner, and have effeminate mannerisms.

Kuja, in the image, was an elegant, effeminate young man, dressed in what could only be described as robes and a thong. His hair was silvery-blue, but for some reason resembled feathers. Bizarre, and weird.

Harry hoped that he never met the man. As much as he wanted the man who murdered his real parents to come to justice, he also knew that he would have to have great power to lay waste to Madain Sari.

About five months after the first Black Mages arrived, the Moogles got word from the Mist Continent, even as Mognet began to mysteriously stop working as it should have. Apparently there had been a brouhaha during Princess Garnet's 16th birthday, and she had been abducted by brigands posing as a theatre company. Not long afterwards, Alexandria launched a series of invasions against Burmecia, Cleyra, and Lindblum. Against the latter two, Queen Brahne had unleashed Eidolons, and Harry and Eiko shuddered, for it seemed that Garnet had had her Eidolons extracted after all.

A year after Harry arrived in this world, and six months after they met the Black Mages for the first time, events came to a head. Harry and Eiko had come to Conde Petie for new supplies, only to find more newcomers had arrived at the entrance.

Their leader was a boy of perhaps fifteen or sixteen. He had a shaggy mop of blonde hair, sapphire-coloured eyes that twinkled with mischief, and was dressed in blue trousers, white shirt, and a darker waistcoat. A feline or simian tail protruded from the back of his trousers.

Nearby was a girl of about the same age, with dark hair and dark eyes, a gentle face. She was dressed in what looked like orange coveralls and a white shirt. She moved with a certain grace and poise that made her seem like royalty. She had a pendant with a blood-red jewel on it that seemed vaguely familiar to Harry and Eiko.

Accompanying them was a Black Mage, albeit a shorter one than they were used to. He looked like a child, with blue clothing instead of the burgundy and purple of the other Black Mages. He looked around with wonder, but an air of nervousness.

Last, there was a Qu, a dumpy creature with bone-white skin, a wide, frog-like mouth from which a large tongue perpetually protruded, and beady eyes with clown-like markings around them. Despite the fact that such a description was disturbing, the Qu seemed more comic than disturbing, dressed like an old-fashioned house chef, with pink dress, an apron, and a squat bonnet.

"Hey, are those humans there?" the teenaged boy with the tail asked.

"Och, yon bairns are summoners from Madain Sari," one of the guards said.

"Summoners?!" the girl yelped. "Like me?!"

Harry and Eiko shared a look, before they approached the quartet. "You're a summoner?" Eiko asked.

"I…I didn't even know there were more like me," the girl said.

"Well, Dagger, Eidolons had to come from somewhere," the Black Mage boy said, almost timidly. He seemed a little like Harry, especially when Harry first came to Madain Sari.

"Ye wanna speak wi' the bairns? Well, if ye wanna enter Conde Petie, ye gotta say our sacred greetin', Rally-Ho!"

The four newcomers echoed the greeting with varying degrees of enthusiasm and bemusement. As they walked into Conde Petie, Eiko came forward. "Hi! I'm Eiko Carol. And this is Harry Potter!"

"Hello," Harry said. He had managed to shake off most of his shyness by now, thanks to Eiko's personality, and interaction with the congenial Dwarves and Black Mages.

"Hey," the boy said with a grin. "I'm Zidane Tribal. This lovely lady here is Dagger, this kid is Vivi Ornitier, and s/he's Quina Quen."

Which was how Harry and Eiko met the fugitives from the Mist Continent, searching for answers about Kuja…and how they met a fellow summoner…

CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:

You'll no doubt notice that how Zidane and his party arrived at Conde Petie is different to how it is in the game. It's been a while since I've played the game, and frankly, I wanted to have the four of them meet Harry and Eiko simultaneously.

How does 288 know Kuja? I wanted to have 288 know about summoners, and I also wanted to puzzle out how Black Mages could be considered new at the time of the game, when clearly the Black Mage Village has been established for at least a little while before the game (I'm saying about six months). I decided Kuja trained them and had them doing mock battles in Treno against vagrants and criminals. This was to try and tally with 288 waking up after having killed someone.

Review-answering time! knightblazer85: I checked the Final Fantasy Wiki, and all I have to say is: D'OH! Still, I'm keeping it as is for the moment. It's too good to have Carbuncle in early.

KaiserUltima: I think Anima and the Magus Sisters are sufficient.

1. If you're wondering why Yojimbo would do this without getting paid a lot of money, there's a few reasons for that. One, he actually likes Harry a lot, and would do his moves without pay. Two, the Dwarves pay him enough because of their awe in his skills. Three, he likes practising his moves.

2. In the game, this is the Hilgigars boss. The English translators goofed.

3. I wanted to provide some small balance between Eiko and Harry. I know Eiko wouldn't learn Holy until much later in the game, but assume she is learning it now. Also, while Harry will be more of a Black Mage than a White Mage, he is more of a Red Mage.

4. 56 is one of the Black Mages seen in the Active Time Event A Different Language. 36 is dead by the events of the story, so I thought it fitting and sweet, in a sad way, to have them meet Eiko and Harry, only for 36 to die.