FINAL FANTASY: WORLD'S DAMNATION
Royal Guidance
I woke up the following morning in a bit of a daze. My headache had returned with vigor. I rose slowly so that it wouldn't worsen. Theo was asleep on top of the windowsill. Outside the window, I saw grassland. We had landed. Silas was already up, his things packed. He was in his armor, his sword attached to the back of it.
The sword was made of a mysterious red meteorite that was a rare material in the world. Known as adamantite, it was a material sharper than all metals, stronger than diamond, and very expensive. "Ah, you're up." Silas said. I nodded, stretching. "Hurry and dress, we're to head out for Baron soon." He said. I changed into my travel clothes and left the room with him.
We met up with the others outside of our room. All four were back in their battle clothes, looking well prepared for any event that would befall them. "Hey guys, we're leaving for Baron as well. Care to make the trip together?" I asked them. "Yeah. The monsters around here won't pose a threat, though. We should make it to Baron within the hour by foot." Jin said. "That doesn't mean we should let our guard down, though. What monsters lack in strength, they make up for in numbers." Kyle said. Captain Cid appeared from around the corner. "Come on, now! We got's to get movin'!" he said. "Captain, will we be able to re-board the ship after meeting with Cecil?" I asked. "Yessiree. We'll be using this here rig to get us to all your destinations. After this we head to Nibelheim! Now hurry on, kiddo! We don't have time to chit-chat if the 'Polycant's comin'!" Cid said. The six of us headed towards the ramp. "Gate opening!" a crew member said. The sunlight poured inside of the ship. The sky was blue and barely cloudy, and the air was absolutely delicious. In the distance, we could see a small town with a large castle nearby.
Stepping outside, we walked slowly as the gate closed behind us. "The land here is beautiful." Dhalia said, looking across the land. "Alrighty, let's go." I said. We began to walk towards the castle, enjoying the scenery. There were many lakes and distant mountains in this area. Birds filled the skies, and the wind blew lightly past our bodies, embracing us with the sweet scent of the flowers that grew wildly. "So how long will you guys be in Baron?" I asked. "It would seem that we're to be here for about three months at a time, returning home for a month after we have served. The process is to repeat itself until we are either fired, killed in action, or retire." Lyle said. "Baron seems so peaceful… I wonder if the monsters around here are even ferocious." Dhalia said. "Spoke too soon." Jin said, drawing his spear. "Monsters! kupo!" Theo said. Walking towards us were two red horses. At closer range, we could see that they had human male top halves and horse legs. "Analyzing… Idaliers! Horse monsters armed with strong kicks a sword. Weak to spells of water, kupo!" Theo said. "Stand back with the Mages, Isaiah." Silas said. I nodded and stood next to Kyle, Lyle, and Dhalia. "Yo, little bros. Cast as many water spells as you can." Jin said. Kyle and Lyle smiled and nodded.
Silas ran towards both creatures and cut them in half. Their blood spewed out onto the ground. "Well, then. Shall we?" Silas said, reconnecting his sword to his armor. "Excellent performance." Dhalia said. We continued towards the castle. "How long do you think it'll take to reach the castle?" I asked. "Shouldn't be more than an hour or so." Silas answered. "What I wanna know is why they didn't drop us off next to the castle instead of miles from it." Lyle said. "Because, brother. It's under orders." Kyle said. "What do you mean?" Lyle asked. Kyle face palmed himself. "We're to be trusted to guard the castle of Baron. To prove our worth, we're to be dropped off an hour's trip from the destination to see if we survive the gauntlet there, and if we do, we're worthy of guarding the castle and its king." "All guardians endure this trial." Jin added. I looked over at Silas, who was leading the group. He had a look of extreme focus on his face. I'd seen this look before on Athen's face while he was fighting the Arachnia back in Denham. The look of the determined warrior.
No monsters appeared as we approached the village. It was small and smelt of many foods cooking at once. "Whatever's cooking, I want some." I said. "We've no time to rest. We must hurry on to the castle." Silas said. "Oh relax, Silas. We'll only be here a few minutes. Besides, we could all use a bite to eat." Dhalia said. Silas sighed, giving in. We headed to a small restaurant and sat down at the counter. "Travelers, I say! What brings you here to the village of Baron?" A plump old woman behind the counter asked. "We're new soldiers for the castle." Jin said to her. "Oh isn't that grand! I'm truly grateful for the help the world's youth selflessly offer." She said. "If I may ask, where are you all from?" "The city of Denham." I responded. "What a bustling city, Denham is. I say, the help of skilled city-folk is a true boon. Now, allow me to serve you our special today!" She said. "Now you're talkin'!" Jin said.
The woman brought everyone a bowl of peach oatmeal with biscuits made from scratch. She didn't charge us for the meal, telling us that she fed all soldiers of Baron for free once a month. After finishing our meal, we kindly thanked the woman and headed outside. A man in armor approached us, giving a salute. "General Walter here to escort the new soldiers to Baron Castle." He said. "Oh, now we're to be escorted after walking for an hour." Lyle said. "Shush, Lyle." Dhalia said, whacking him in the head. "The soldiers are to meet with the king and queen and following the audience you will be placed." General Walter said.
Baron Castle Courtyard
The six of us were standing in the courtyard, the king on his way over to us. He was a man of white hair and clothes of a paladin.
We all knelt down and bowed. "Rise, warriors. No need for formalities. You are a large part of the castle now, and, due to your important position in our kingdom, I should be the one bowing to you." We stood up. "Forgive me, but I was informed that there were to be only four of you coming." The king said. "Yes, that would be the four of us." Dhalia said, pointing out her brothers as well as herself. "I see." The king said. He turned to Silas and I. "For what reason are you two here?" He asked. I cleared my throat, trying to sound as professional as possible. "My name is Isaiah Johnson, and this is my guardian, Silas Torrens. We've news to share with the one called Cecil Harvey, a warrior of Baron who took down Zeromus, fiend of the Lunar Subterrane many years ago." I said, doing my best not to make eye contact.
The king laughed lightly. I felt my face grow hot; had I done something wrong? "My friend, I am Cecil. King Cecil." He said. I felt my face grow hotter. "The four new warriors, I'll tend to your placement in a moments time. Sir Isaiah, Sir Silas, please follow me." King Cecil said. Silas and I followed King Cecil to the throne room, where his queen awaited. "You've brought guests, my love. To what occasion do we owe their arrival?" She said. The queen wore a beautiful light-pink dress to accent her pale pink hair, which was in a magician's ponytail.
"My love, these are two warriors from the city of Denham whom are full of information they wish to share with us." King Cecil said. He referred to the queen as 'love', meaning that she was none other than Rosa, the White Mage who travelled alongside Cecil throughout his journey. "Oh? And what information have you to share, young warriors?" She said. Silas spoke up this time. "I'm afraid that the beast of the Lunar Subterrane known as the Apolycant is on its way to our planet." The king and queen grew silent. Theo sat on my head, quiet as well. "And how am I to know this information is true?" King Cecil asked. "We were informed by the city Wisemen. Silas and I were entrusted with the mission of seeking out the greatest warriors of the world to aid in its destruction." I said. "You wish for my assistance?" he asked. "Our mission is to recruit you, as well as Cloud Strife, Squall Leonhart, Zidane Tribal, and the Blitzer Tidus of Besaid." Silas answered him. King Cecil turned to his queen. "My love, it seems that I've been destined a journey once more." He said. Queen Rosa stood and walked over to him. She kissed his cheek softly. "I'll take care of the kingdom, and we'll be praying for your safe return."
Many hours later
News spread of King Cecil's new journey, and the entire village came over to the kingdom and began to prepare a gigantic feast. I found myself helping the women in the kitchen, while Silas stood around restlessly. I looked over at him and smiled. "You know, to pass the time, you could help out." I suggested, placing a large pot of potatoes over a fire to boil. Silas gave me a look. "Seriously?" I laughed. "Oh, come on. You take down ferocious beasts for a living. Helping in a kitchen won't cause you to die, now will it?" I said, grabbing his arm and dragging him into the kitchen. Within seconds, the women and I had him in an apron. Silas's face sunk. "I look ridiculous." He said. "Yes. You do. Now, sift the flour for the cakes." I said, handing him a sack of flour and a strainer. Silas stared at the two objects in his hands. By the blank expression on his face, it would seem that they were foreign to him. Some of the women came to his aid and began to instruct him on what to do. I looked at him as he followed the instructions. I'd never seen him… hell, I'd never seen anyone so out of place.
When the festival began, there were many people out. There was a huge fire just outside the castle grounds, and many tables of food surrounded it. Lots of dancers were performing, and a group of people in dragon costumes were entertaining the kids. Because the festival was outside castle grounds, many guards were at the festival's perimeter. Among them were Kyle, Lyle, Jin and Dhalia. The four were looking jealous of the festivities that were taking place, and had they not become new guardians to Baron castle, they'd be enjoying themselves with us. I felt really bad for them, so I decided to gather food for them. I grabbed a large plate and loaded it with roasted chicken, potato hash, and a few slices of lemon cake. I walked over to them. "Isaiah, you're not supposed to interfere. We need to be on our guard at all times." Dhalia said. "I know, I know. But even guards have to eat. And I wanted to say thank you." I responded. "Thank you?" Kyle asked, confusion in his voice. "You guys were fun to travel with, and I'll always remember my first journey with ones who walked the roads with me." I said.
Lyle put his hand on my shoulder. "We should be thanking you, Isaiah. If it weren't for your skills, we'd be a Masora short." He said. "Yeah man. I ain't ready to leave this world yet. I have a family to look after." Jin said. "Truth be told, I don't know if we would have still taken the job if Jin were killed for good. The four of us need each other to keep things between us balanced." Dhalia added. I sat down with them as they ate their food. I looked up at the sky, watching as auroras lit the night sky.
I smiled, thinking about how beautiful it was here in Baron. In Denham, all we ever really saw out of the ordinary was an occasional tornado. Here, it seemed that nature was at its best, and showing all of its glory and beauty at every single opportunity. It reminded me of my mother, who always told me to find joy in the smaller things in life. Mom could show me to find happiness in times of critical conditions. I often found it difficult because I'm the kind of person who has to see things in plain sight in order to believe. This often got me in serious confusion in school, especially Language Arts.
King Cecil and Queen Rosa were now outside the commoners, enjoying the festivities with them. This also was different from life in Denham. The higher class citizens did their best to avoid the lower class, and rarely did you ever see any of the low-class citizens and high-class citizens get along. Here in Baron, everyone seemed to respect everyone else, no matter how rich or poor they were. It was like an entirely different world than the one I had grown up in. I looked around and saw Silas looking up towards the sky. He was watching the auroras as well. Except, I saw something in his eyes that looked unfamiliar; a kind of emotion that I didn't think a guy like him had. He seemed…
My thoughts were interrupted by sudden silence. I looked over at the group of people and saw that everything had stopped. The dancing, the music…everything. I stood up and saw that everyone was staring at the sky. Following their vision, I gasped at the horrifying scene in the sky. The auroras had turned blood red, and an extremely large figure of a monster was passing very slowly through them. "Theo, can you analyze?" I said. Theo jumped onto my head and sent a small beam of light into the air. This is how Theo analyzed faraway creatures. Although, Theo's response was one I wasn't ready to hear. "Apolycant. Weak to nothing. Knows all spells, kupo. Advised to flee it encountered in battle, kupo." My heart skipped a few beats as everyone silently stared at the Apolycant in the sky, "Everyone get inside! Warriors and guardians stand your ground!" King Cecil said. The women, children, and commoner men all hurried to the village, led by Queen Rosa. The rest of us, scared out of our minds, prepared ourselves to defend. Silas made his way over to me. "I'll protect you." He said. As reassuring as those words were, my heart was still beating faster than normal. I saw Dhalia and the others walking towards us, and each of them looked beyond frightened. "It's.. It's here." Lyle said. His voice was shaking.
King Cecil gathered us all in the center of the festival grounds. "We're to protect this village and make this monster go away. We have no chance of survival if decides to attack the village. I'm quite positive. However, what we are able to do is make sure that the minute it shows its face, we have our mages cast their most powerful spells. Diamond Mage Isaiah, we're counting on your spell strength to lead the attack, joined by the other mages when your onslaught begins." Kind Cecil said. I nodded, swallowing. Kyle and Lyle joined me, as well as six other black mages, each of them looking like HOMA Kentaro. "What is your strongest offensive spell?" Lyle asked me. "It's between Ultima and Meteor. I'm not sure which one would be more effective in the case of this monster." I said. Kyle turned and looked at me. "You… know those spells?" he asked. I nodded. The black mages joined the twins and me. "It takes a minimum of twenty years to become mentally prepared for either of those spells, meaning that it's roughly forty years to learn both spells. You don't look a day over twenty. I refuse to believe that you know either spell." One of them said. He then looked over at the rest of the mages. "We will cast the third tier of spells, using all four primary elements. Four of you will do this. I and mage six will cast flare spells. Diamond Mage, since you seem to think you can cast spells of great power. Why don't you cast the spells you are ACTUALLY able to cast?" The other mages began to laugh.
The laughing was silenced by the sound of a roar in the distance. Everyone turned to the sky and saw that the Apolycant had drawn closer. "Quickly! Cast your spells and drive the beast away!" The lead mage called out. Four mages casted Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga, and Waterga at the monster. The spells traveled a great distance before coming into contact. The Apolycant was completely unaffected. "Flare!" The lead and remaining mages called. A pink flame arose from the ground like a serpent and quickly struck the Apolycant. The monster simply shrugged off the spells. Although we were in grave danger, I couldn't help but smirk at their failure. "Seems like they'll need you after all." Lyle said, tapping my shoulder. The Apolycant roared an ear-shattering roar. The mages hadn't done anything but pissed it off. "Kupo!" Theo said, shivering. I looked directly at the looming shadow that was the Apolycant and raised both my hands into the air. "Meteor!" I yelled. The night sky flashed and a gigantic meteor was brought down upon the Apolycant. The explosion following the spell left the entire area in smoke. The Apolycant roared, and the sound of the roar got farther and farther away. It would seem that it was retreating.
When the smoke cleared, the Apolycant was nowhere to be found. The auroras in the sky were still red, and the shadow of the monster was shown getting smaller and smaller. Silas sprinted over to me. "Are you hurt?" he asked frantically. "No, I'm fine. Has anyone been injured?" I asked. "Thankfully, no one was scratched." Silas said. King Cecil rode a horse over to me. "I haven't seen mastery of that spell since I journeyed the land with the sage Tellah and the summoner Rydia. Your power is impeccable." He said to me. "King Cecil, if I may. There are still people in the castle. Permission to evacuate them." A dragoon said, addressing King Cecil with a bow. "No! The beast!" A woman said. The Apolycant had returned, and roared with might. The shadow began to glow dark yellow, and then the beast released a beam of matching yellow light that struck the castle. The castle exploded, sending concrete flying everywhere. I looked over as people screamed at the incoming debris. "Dhalia, lend me a hand!" I said. She nodded. We both cast a large Protect spell over the entire courtyard, shielding the entire congregation from the oncoming cement chunks that would kill anyone that was hit by them. The Apolycant flew away, disappearing with a blinding silver light.
The people around me began weeping. The entire castle had been completely destroyed. I ran towards the rubble, without thinking twice. "Isaiah! Where are you going?!" Silas called after me. "There have to be survivors! I can help!" I said. When I'd reached the destroyed ruins of Baron castle, I began tearing through the cement with my fans. "Kupo…" I heard Theo say. "Theo, you have to help me somehow…" I said. "Theo scanned the area… There are no signs of life…" Silas' voice came. "No way! I have to save them! They're not dead, they can't be!" I said, continuing to slash through the debris. I could fear my eyes watering, and soon afterwards, my tears were falling non-stop. "Isaiah-" "I can't watch anyone else die! I refuse to let anyone else die! I can save them!" I screamed. I felt Silas grab my arms and he took away my fans. Even after he did this, I started trying to pull rocks away with my bare hands. Silas stopped me by grabbing me again. This time, he turned me around and hugged me. "You can't save the world on your own. Death is a part of life… I understand your hatred of death, Isaiah. But we can't save everyone." Silas said calmly.
I began to cry softly, closing my eyes. The Apolycant had killed a great deal of people and I was unable to save them, even being a Diamond Mage. Silas held me warmly as I continued to weep. Something about his touch made my heart skip a few beats. I hadn't had a real person to comfort my sadness in a very long. Sure, I had Theo regardless of whatever happened, but he was a Moogle. It wasn't the same as another human. I put my arms around his waist and buried my head in his chest. I don't know why, but my body naturally did so. Theo landed nearby and walked over to my leg, holding it in comfort with his stubby Moogle hands. I'd never felt so week in my entire life.
Midnight, on the airship
I was still upset about the loss of the people in the castle, so I took a walk. Silas wasn't in the room when I rose from the bed, so that meant he was probably in the Star Room again. I decided not bother him there, and headed to the deck of the ship. When I got there, the auroras in the sky were still there, but had changed to a passive green and pink.
I sat down near the edge of the ship and simply looked up at the auroras, losing myself in them. Staring at them, I began to think of my mother and how much she enjoyed nature and its beauty. She was always out on walks and befriended local animals. The sky made me miss her even more than I previously did. "It's cold." I heard Silas' voice say behind me. I turned and saw him holding a white blanket. He sat next to me and wrapped the blanket around me and him. "Are you still disturbed about the events today?" He asked. I closed my eyes and nodded. "I am, too. But the deaths of the people aren't what disturbed me the most." He said. "So what did?" I asked. Silas sighed and looked up at the sky. "Have you ever met someone for the first time and immediately thought that they were going to be your top priority?" I closed my eyes again. "I can't say that I have." I answered. "Well, I saw a lot of tears today after the Apolycant's attack. None of them really affected me, sadly." He said. I opened my eyes and looked at him quickly. His expression was somber as he looked at the sky. I looked away, watching the clouds move as the ship did. "But when I saw you cry, Isaiah, my heart fell apart." I heard him say.
I looked over at him. He kept his eyes fixed at the auroras. "You somehow had my solemn ego shattered when you cried in my arms at the ruins of Baron Castle. And it has furthermore increased the strength of my promise to make sure that I would protect you at all costs." He continued. Silas turned his vision to me and gave me a small smile. "I promise." He added. I smiled back. What happened next was something I hadn't expected to happen. Silas leaned his head in and pressed his lips to mine. His lips were warm and slightly wet against mine, and I was first a little shocked. I wasn't sure why I was kissing another guy, or why I hadn't pulled away yet. All I know is that I didn't.
And I didn't want to.