Act Three: The Sage

"Take that!" Rydia landed a final blow upon the Desert Sahagin's scaly red head and stumbled back as the monster let out a strangled cry and disintegrated at her feet, blowing away with the next burst of scorching wind. Rydia turned to Cecil with a proud grin. "I can feel myself getting stronger, Cecil!"

"I'm sure you'll be a warrior in no time flat," Cecil said wryly as another trail of sweat dripped down his temple. He reached for the flask the kind woman watching over Rosa had given him, loaded with potion. What Rydia didn't realize was that as she was busy hopping around and trying to strike the desert monsters with her miniscule steel rod that she had found in a pile of abandoned trash, Cecil was downing in his own sweat in an effort to keep them both alive by purposely throwing himself in the line of fire of any monster that even looked sideways at them. With Rydia flitting about like a butterfly in a garden, she was the perfect, unwitting target for the beasts that stalked the desert – Cecil hadn't seen it fit to point out that her rod had most likely belonged to a traveler who had met his end and was rotting somewhere in the dunes beneath their feet. He was simultaneously thrilled that she trusted him enough with her life to willingly throw herself into the fray and irritated that the girl would not heed his advice and stand still – even for just one damn minute!

Maybe taking her along wasn't the best idea… Cecil sighed, sheathing his blade and running to catch up with her before she disappeared from his sight – again. He spotted her tottering up an incline, already nearing its crest. I'm a traitorous rebel knight with the most dangerous nation in the world calling for my blood, and I've lost the one man whose hands I could blindly trust my very life to. I'm not in the position to play babysitter…what if I only put her in further danger by keeping her at my side?

Cecil had dared to taunt the gods with his bemoaning of the state of his existence that terrible day in Mysidia, and he now was convinced that he had been paid back ten-fold for his naiveite.

Maybe Kain thought to go ahead to Damcyan, Cecil tried to assure himself. Who knows how far we were flung apart by that Eidolon Rydia summoned… And he said himself that we needed allies – he certainly is the type to just march up to a foreign throne and start airing Baron's dirty laundry if it meant he could get more blades on our side.

If Rosa hadn't… His throat clenched, and he closed his eyes, banishing the tears that seemed to spring on command at just the thought of her wasting away in that bed. …If she hadn't fallen ill, that would have been my next step too, had I not been able to find him.

When he finished throwing his impromptu pity-party, Cecil looked up, hissing a curse. Rydia had already disappeared again. He climbed after her on the dune, using his hand to shield his eyes as he scanned the region below. Luckily, her bright green hair stuck out like a sore thumb in the pale yellow sea that surrounded them – she was on her hands and knees in the sand, her body hiccupping every so often with a sob. Her rod was splayed out in front of her, and she had spilled the backpack of supplies loaned to her by Rosa's caretakers.

She must have tripped, Cecil frowned, sliding down the dune to make his approach. Luckily, it seemed that she had not attracted any monsters with her cries. As Cecil's shadow drifted over her form, she paused mid-sob, turning to face him. The lecture he had been mentally preparing about running off suddenly died in his mouth when he poured over her condition. She didn't appear to be hurt, yet her cheeks were bright scarlet, and her eyes were swollen and spilling over with tears.

"…What happened?" Cecil asked gently, and she turned away, hiccupping again.

"I fell."

"I see that. Are you hurt? Did a monster get you?"

"No."

"Then what…" Cecil began, and she wiped her sandy palms on the front of her leotard before grinding them against her eyes.

"…I was just thinking…the last time this happened…Mommy was there to help me back up. And…I started thinking about it…and…my legs stopped working just now, and I started to…" She sobbed again, shivering. "Ugh…Mommy…"

"…Oh," Cecil whispered, feeling as if he had been sucker-punched in the gut. He knelt down at her side, hesitating as his hand hovered over her shoulder. Would she even want me to comfort her right now with these loathsome, traitorous hands?

"One time, Mommy told me something," Rydia sniffled, her tears dripping in the sand and instantly evaporating away in the scorching heat. "She said that even when someone dies, it doesn't mean they're really gone, because if you love them enough, they stay in your heart forever." She shook her head, swallowing what Cecil was sure was an unpleasant wad of snot. "So if Mommy is living in my heart now, why do I still feel so alone?"

"I…" Cecil trailed off, pressing his lips together. What…what was he supposed to say to something like that? What could he – the monster who had done this to her – even possibly do?

Damn it all… Cecil lowered his head, clenching his fist. No matter how many times I ask "Why?"…I will never learn why this had to happen…will never understand how I allowed such evil to use my hands for its bidding…!

He realized that she was waiting for him to say something – anything – when he dared to look at her once more and found her staring at him morosely, her lower lip quivering.

"…Because even if they're in your heart, it still hurts," Cecil finally offered, his voice wavering. "It hurts that you can never touch them again, or see their smile, or call their name and hear them answer back. When someone you love leaves this planet, it's a pain that never fully goes away."

"N-Never?" Rydia whimpered, and Cecil winced, remembering it was just a child he was blathering on to – would she even understand what he was trying to say?

He took a deep breath, and tried again. "The pain, well – it dulls over time. Then one day, you wake up, and you manage to make it through without the ache, and then another day, and then another. But then sometimes, just the mention of their name, or a happy memory you randomly remember will suddenly bring it all rushing back. Or you'll have a dream about them that feels so real, you wake up, covered in tears."

"Cecil…!" Rydia mumbled, throwing her arms around his chest and closing her eyes. "Did your mommy…did she tell you all that?"

Cecil shook his head, gingerly patting her back just below her mop of curls. "No…I never met my mother. I don't know her name, what she looked like… I was told she died when I was very young – even younger than you."

"Really?" Rydia blinked away her tears, peering up at him. "You're a grown-up now – do you miss her?"

"Yes, I do, strange as it sounds," Cecil tilted his head. "It's hard to explain how you can miss somebody you never knew, but the best way I can describe it is that it has always felt like a piece of my heart is gone – like I was born without it. I was only able to understand what those strange, empty feelings meant when I talked to others who had experienced loss like that as well."

People like Kain and Rosa…

"I see," Rydia frowned. "I-I'm sorry, Cecil. In my dreams last night, Mommy told me to be a good girl for you and to smile even when I felt sad, but…" She shook her head, sighing. "All of a sudden, I just wanted to cry."

"It's all right," Cecil assured her, wiping away a tear that had escaped down her chin. Ah, no wonder she had seemingly undergone a complete transformation overnight – the poor thing was worried about disappointing her mother… "You can be a good girl and still cry. Cry as much as you need, whenever you need. If you need to get angry at me, that's OK too. It doesn't change our promise – I'll always protect you."

"T-Thank you…" Rydia sniffled. "I'll protect you too."

"Um, well thank you," Cecil laughed, lifting her up to her feet. "Do you feel ready to walk again?" He pointed north, toward a band of gray and brown that seemed to sway up and down before them thanks to the desert heat. "The waterway is close, now."

"I think so," Rydia nodded. She gathered her supplies up, and Cecil helped her slide on her backpack before she bent down to take possession of her rod. He unfurled their map, another treasure borrowed from the family in Kaipo, and handed it to her.

"Can I count on you to be our navigator? You'll have to stick close."

"Sure!" Rydia smiled.

I should have just given her that job in the first place! Cecil smiled slightly. Lesson learned for next time.

As they continued on, Rydia's restless energy seemed to rebound back quickly – but now that she had been effectively tethered to Cecil thanks to her new role, she replaced her fidgeting and hunger for battle with an endless stream of chatter. Cecil found that he had to block most of it out like radio static to keep his concentration focused on any enemies that might be stalking them, but once in a while, Rydia dropped a gem or two of useful information that lured him back into holding a proper conversation.

"I know a little bit of white magic, some black magic, and I can call upon Eidolons, of course," Rydia chirped. "I'm still technically an apprentice in summoning, but all it takes is practice. Mommy said not everyone can summon Eidolons…is that true?"

"Verily," Cecil nodded. "In fact, not everyone can practice magic in any capacity – it would seem you are doing quite well for yourself. These Eidolons you summon…are all of them as powerful as the creature that caused the earthquake at Mist?"

"Ah, not exactly," Rydia replied sheepishly. "I'm afraid Titan – that's the name of the Eidolon who made the earthquake – only came to visit because I was very distressed about Mommy."

Came to visit, she says… Cecil blanched. He rearranged the topography of the planet. Totally the same thing as dropping by for tea and a chat.

"She and him were very close, you know," Rydia continued. "I hope to be able to summon him someday on my own. However, there is one summon I get right every time! Wanna see?"

Cecil paused, raising a brow. "Is it dangerous?"

"No, no, he'll listen to every word I say," Rydia nodded seriously, cracking her knuckles and raising her hand. "Just watch!" She closed her eyes, her body glowing the familiar warm yellow Cecil recalled from when Titan was summoned. "…CHOCOBO!"

Suddenly, a large yellow chocobo, a bi-pedaled, broad-backed, flightless bird that could be best described as the unholy union of an ostrich and a chicken, came barreling through the desert toward them. As the bird got closer and closer, Cecil realized it was roughly three times the size of any normal one he had ever seen in the wild or in the domesticated stables back at the castle. KWEH-ing and cawing, the chocobo fluttered off the top of a hill, diving straight for Rydia and nearly knocking her over in excitement. She threw her arms around its neck and laughed as the chocobo, now realizing there were no monsters to topple on behalf of his master, rustled his feathers dismissively and gave her hair a teasing nip with his shiny orange beak before bursting into glittering dust and disappearing from sight.

"W-Wait," Cecil gasped. "That's the Eidolon you can summon on a whim? It's just an overgrown transport bird…"

"Transport bird!?" Rydia blinked. "Chocobo is a fine warrior! He's young, but passionate! And extremely loyal. What more could you ask for?"

"Well…" Cecil crossed his arms, frowning. "In everywhere else in the world except Mist, apparently, chocobos are used to transport people and goods across long and dangerous stretches of land…kind of like this desert we've been melting in for the past few hours. Might I suggest for next time that you mention earlier that you have access to a creature that could taxi us across the desert, unharmed and able to outpace our enemies…?"

"I guess I never thought of Chocobo as a friend I could ride before," Rydia giggled, his pointed words going way over her head. "He's always just been really good and knocking down the kids that bully me!"

Cecil turned around, biting his tongue before he could release the scream of disbelief that had been building in his throat.

Rydia stopped still in her tracks, peering over the edge of their map wide-eyed as she took in the swirling darkness before her. They had reached the entrance to the waterway – sans the help of Chocobo for the rest of the walk. It didn't surprise Cecil that waterway had been built in a cavern – the word "underground" was in the name, after all – but he had expected something slightly less primitive based on what his understanding was about how this place was used. He held out his hand, indicating for Rydia to stay as he took a preliminary look around.

Do people really travel through here to reach Damcyan Castle? Cecil blinked, willing his eyes to get used to the darkness. Unlike the Mist Cave, the waterway had been long carved and shaped by the rushing bodies of water than ran through it, resulting in tall, staggering ceilings dripping with water-logged stalactites and clusters of vampire bats tucked away in the darkest corners. Risen land masses that had not yet been worn away by the underground rivers were scattered about, many of them connected by wooden bridges so that you could safely pass from one island to the next without having to traipse through the pitch-black water.

But the further you strayed from the entrance, the more pervasive the darkness loomed. Cecil could see that there were hollowed-out sconces in the cavern walls where once upon a time, perhaps a diligent overseer or good Samaritan adventurer would keep torches at the ready, but most of them were empty now, and the ones that were not were so far rotted that nothing would light them aflame ever again anyway.

Just as he was about to turn around to fetch Rydia, Cecil paused, his skin crawling in warning as he picked up on the distinct sound of someone – or something – shuffling and tapping not too far away from the waterway entrance. Pivoting slowly, Cecil took a few steps toward the first bridge they would need to cross, holding his breath.

Scritch. Scritch. Tap. Scritch. Scritch. Tap.

What is that? Cecil wondered. It was definitely coming from deeper within – down the very same path he feared they would need to take to proceed. We…we may not be alone in here…

He hurried back to Rydia, who was leaning against the threshold, her eyes half-closed. She snapped back awake when Cecil approached, making a quick swipe with her hand to banish any drool from her mouth.

"Can we go in?"

"I have some concerns," Cecil frowned. "First of all, it will eventually be too dark to see – and we don't have a torch. Second…I think someone else might be in there, too. If we had a light, it might be easier for us to see who – or what – we're dealing with before they spot us."

"What could we use as a light?" Rydia blinked. She pulled off her backpack, digging through it impatiently. "Empty bottle, empty bottle…Ether…Potion…"

"…Wait a moment," Cecil interrupted. "Take out one of the empty bottles." She did as she was told, tossing it over to him. He turned it over in his fingers, noting the cork she had stuffed back onto the top and recalling the way Kain's face had been illuminated when he was toying with the Thunder Fang that had ultimately gone off in Mist Cave.

"…Rydia, do you know Thunder?"

"The spell? Yes, of course," Rydia nodded. "It's one of the basic black magic spells."

That was exactly what Cecil had been hoping to hear.

"Can you fill this bottle with lightning?" Cecil popped off the cork, showing her the radius of the opening. "If we can trap the magic inside quickly, it should stay illuminated for quite a while, right?"

"It could work," Rydia relented hesitatingly. "But…that's a really tiny opening…what if I miss and electrocute you?"

"I've been hit by worse," Cecil smiled. "Don't worry about me – I trust you'll do your best."

"Erg…well…I'll try," Rydia sighed, pushing herself off the wall and swallowing as she pressed her hands together. "Um…try to hold it out as far away from you as possible, please…"

Cecil did as he was told, extending one hand with the vial and the other with the cork, getting his hands as close together as possible before Rydia winced and motioned for him to stop with a quick shake of her head. Taking a deep breath, she whimpered the spell, raising her right hand in tandem and shakily gesturing toward the outstretched vial. Cecil could tell she wanted to close her eyes based on the way she was practically forcing them to bug out, and silently thanked her for her efforts at not going about this blindly.

Suddenly, a crack of thunder erupted above, followed by a flash of blinding light crashing at Cecil's feet and stunning him with pulsing red and green spots that filled his eyes. He stumbled backward from the impact, slamming the cork on the vial before falling to his knees. Rydia screeched, running to the black patch in the sand that was now giving off a trail of smoke.

"Cecil! Are you OK!?"

"Y-Yes," Cecil moaned, still blinking the ultraviolet orbs out of his vision. "Did…we do it?" He uncurled his fingers, revealing the vial, and Rydia grabbed it from him to inspect, jumping up and down happily.

"We did, we did! It's super-bright, too!"

"Thank goodness," Cecil smiled, letting out a nervous bark of laughter at the sight of the scorched sand before him. If Kain were here, he would have declared Cecil to be certifiable for trying something stupid as that. "…Let's just let my heart catch up with the rest of me for a moment."

"Lightning in a bottle!" Rydia sang, clutching the treasure close to her chest. "Hey, that means we did something lucky, right? Maybe everything is going to go just fine!"

"N-Not exactly," Cecil laughed. "It means to accomplish what is thought to be impossible."

"Even better, then!"

Once everyone, namely Cecil, had recovered from their experiment, Cecil took control of their light, worried that little fingers might get too excitable if something ended up surprising them inside. Once they crossed the threshold of the waterway, Cecil gestured with his hand for Rydia to stay silent, and for once, she obeyed, merely returning his order with nod as she fell in line behind him.

Cecil kept his other hand on the hilt of his sword as the cool, damp air welcomed them into the waterway – it felt downright merciful after the draining desert heat. Now able to see better, Cecil could make out that straight ahead was a rotting wood bridge that led to an island and a dead end, while to the left there seemed a more suitable path; so it was to the left they turned. Gigantoads poked their huge, saucer-like eyes out from the water running under the bridge, trying to size up the new visitors. Their bright orange and blue skin was concealed very well under the black water, and Cecil tried hard not to imagine what other horrors could be under there that weren't as colorfully painted.

Once they had crossed the leftmost bridge and reached a new island, the shuffling noises were much more noticeable, so much so that even Rydia could pick up on them. She pressed a hand to her mouth, muffling a gasp as her eyes darted around nervously.

Cecil's mind was racing as he tried to place the movements. He had once heard rumors of the undead wandering caves like these, zombie-like monsters that somehow became reanimated thanks to the putrid bacteria and dark magic that seemed to thrive in places like this. The shuffling was awfully close to what Cecil anticipated one of those zombies would sound like – unable to lift their feet, they would just drag themselves across the rocks, their teeth chattering in their rotting skulls…

Ugh! Cecil shook his head, clutching the light tighter. I just grossed myself out. That kind of stuff…it's just stupid rumors older soldiers would tell cadets to scare us…right?

They crossed a newly-discovered wooden bridge that went due north, Cecil feeling the ancient structure sway gently under his feet as the water rushed through below. He felt something grab his waist, nearly leaping out of his skin in fright until he thought to look back and realized it was just Rydia, hanging on to him so that she didn't lose her balance. Each time she touched her rod to a wooden plank, the creepy tapping sound echoed in Cecil's ear, and it took everything in his power to not beg her to put the damn thing away.

Around the corner there was yet another bridge, and at the end, Cecil could make out a slumping figure lumbering about, his breath catching in his throat as he lifted the vial of light.

Oh gods, maybe the rumors WERE true…this place might really have…

"Huh?" Rydia blinked, lowering her rod. "He's turning around."

Cecil tried to cup the light in his hands in an inconspicuous manner that would still allow him to see, yet keep them hidden away from the intruder, but wasn't having much luck. He narrowed his eyes, jaw clenched as he prepared to reach for his blade.

Wait...! Is that…

…An old man?

As the figure neared closer, Cecil could see he was dressed in billowing pink and purple robes which swayed left to right as he paced to the edge of the next bridge and back, tapping his wooden staff every few steps. His head was overwhelmed with white, bushy hair that stuck out at bizarre angles, and all that could be seen of his face from a distance was a large pair of round purple glasses and a white beard that occupied the areas his rest of his hair on his head did not reach. As he paced, puffy purple pants and little yellow boots jutted out of the robes like an afterthought to his already clashing ensemble.

"I must remember…" he was muttering. "Thundara…Thundara…how the bloody hell does one cast Thundara?"

Rydia gulped and looked up at Cecil, whispering: "Is that one of the cave monsters?"

"I…uh…don't think so," Cecil whispered back. "But stay behind me." While he resembled the (bizarre) undead, this man seemed relatively harmless – Cecil could only pray his instincts were right.

"Excuse me," Cecil's voice boomed as he summoned his best "authoritative" drawl from his days as a captain, crossing the bridge toward the pacing man. "We need to get through."

The man stopped muttering to himself and looked up at Cecil and Rydia as if he had only just now noticed them – had he really not noticed the shining beacon of light in Cecil's hands!? His eyes instantly locked onto the blade hanging at Cecil's hip, and he gasped and suddenly fell to his knees, lowering his head and blubbering. Cecil fell back in shock, nearly dropping the light between the two of them.

"You! You're a knight!" the man clasped his hands together, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe his good luck. "You…you wield the dark sword, do you not? I beg you…lend me your aid!" Cecil's jaw dropped, and once again, he was grateful no one could see his real expression behind his helmet. Once upon a time, he would have confirmed this old man's suspicions by introducing himself as a dark knight of Baron, serving exclusively under His Majesty King Baron, but…well, really, who was he anymore, now that he no longer had that?

"What's happened?" was all Cecil asked instead.

"It's my daughter, Anna!" the old man despaired. "She was tricked by a silver-tongued bard and taken away to Damcyan Castle! I fear I've little time – I sense something sinister about all this."

"Anna, you said?" Rydia tilted her head. She had thought she heard in the village that Anna was rumored to be engaged to Prince Edward – but this man was claiming something quite different. Had Anna been kidnapped by this evil bard and was being held ransom so that the royal family would pay for her freedom? Or maybe this legendary Anna was so beautiful, she had multiple men fawning over her? Rydia couldn't help but feel a lilt of giddiness – it was kind of like being right in the middle of a real-life fairy tale – but something told her to keep the "story" the teenage girl sitting by the oasis had shared to herself. Mommy always said it was wrong to spread hearsay – and surely if Anna were really engaged to a prince, her daddy wouldn't be so enraged. "You must be Tellah, then."

Cecil did a double-take, startled that Rydia sounded as if she knew exactly what she was talking about. Just what kind of snooping had she been carrying on in the village when they had been supposed to be looking for Kain? He had only left her alone for a few minutes, for gods' sakes!

The old man nodded eagerly, his glasses flashing in the light cradled within Cecil's hands. "Yes, I am the very same Tellah of which you speak! I came in pursuit of my daughter, but I cannot get through the waterway. A great monster lurks in the lake beyond, and it will not let me past. The devil is strong, I warn you. My magic alone is no match for it. But perhaps with your dark sword on our side, we might defeat it!" He then turned to Rydia, waving his hand excitedly over her. "And this girl! A summoner, is she not? And one with quite some potential, from the looks of it." Rydia raised her eyebrows. She was shocked that even though he seemed not all there, he was perceptive enough to pick up on her true identity right away. She suddenly had the suspicion that this man was far more powerful than he was letting on with intuition like that, and had some secrets of his own buried under all that loony clothing.

Cecil sighed. He couldn't just leave Tellah here when they both technically had the same goal: reaching Damcyan. He had been hoping the rumor about the sea snakes taking the waterway hostage was either an urban legend or the creature had seen it fit to leave by now, but neither of those seemed to be the case according to what Tellah was saying. He lifted his hand to motion for Tellah to get up – he certainly was not worthy of anyone's begging anymore, let alone a scared old man's.

"We need to reach Damcyan, too," Cecil began slowly, "So perhaps…"

"Then the choice is made for us!" Tellah exclaimed, shakily rising to his feet and shoving his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose. "Let us make haste!" He threw his garish traveling capes back over his shoulders and turned, gesturing to Cecil and Rydia with his gnarled staff. "I know the quickest way to the exit!"

"Are we going to follow, Cecil?" Rydia prodded gently as Cecil stood there in disbelief, feeling as if he had lost complete control of their situation. What was with this guy? Was the world over full of eccentrics like him and Rydia, or had he just been "lucky" enough to run into both of them?

Either way, he hoped Kain, wherever he was, was having better luck recruiting allies against Baron than he seemed to be. When Cecil marched to Baron with a slip of a child and an ancient man who couldn't even remember a spell as elementary as Thundara, perhaps King Baron's troops would simply laugh themselves to death.

The hours passed relatively peacefully as the three uncovered the waterway's secrets together – Cecil settled on formally introducing himself as Cecil Harvey, deciding that for now it was best to leave out his former allegiance to Baron, and Rydia succinctly called herself "Rydia of Mist". It didn't seem necessary for either of them to share the precise nature of their relationship with Tellah – and thankfully, he didn't pry.

The old man, for all his dithering and impatient insistence about tagging along, had seemingly been honest when he claimed he knew his way – there were so many different bridges to take and offshoots of each path that Cecil and Rydia would have probably gotten lost several times over by now had they been on their own. Occasionally, they would even stumble upon abandoned treasures and weapons that other explorers had left behind. Cecil had no use for any of them – as long as he had his shadowblade, he could manifest his true power as a dark knight – but Rydia became the benefactor of one of their finds. As they crossed into a new cavern, Rydia eyed Tellah curiously as he hurried ahead, abandoning them momentarily and climbing between a cluster of rocks Cecil would have never dreamed to search behind. A few moments later, he re-surfaced, retrieving a glittering ice rod, which he then proceeded to hand over to the summoner. It was a silver rod with a delicate sapphire at the top that sparkled with fresh frost like the icing on a birthday cake.

"I'm glad we came back this way," Tellah explained. "I found this in passing before, but it is of no use to me at my age. You, young lady, should have it, and use it unlock more of your potential!"

"I…I could teach myself Blizzard with this!" Rydia exclaimed happily. "Thank you so very much! I'll practice hard against the monsters with it!" She jumped up and down and hugged it to her chest. "I wonder why anyone would leave such a magnificent treasure behind?"

Cecil snuck a glance at Tellah to see how he would answer such a question – as a father, it should have been right up his alley, right? It was obvious to Cecil that the rod had been left behind in such a strange place because someone had been forced to leave it when they were eaten alive by the waterway's occupants. But Tellah just laughed and patted Rydia on the head. "My dear, as a black mage progresses through their studies, they must make efforts to pave the way for young black mages to follow them!" She seemed to find that answer perfectly acceptable and nodded as they started on their way again. Cecil pressed his hand to his mouth, smiling slightly. As odd as these two were together, he still found himself missing the easy banter he shared with Kain or the comfortable silence he could fall into with Rosa as they sat next to each other and did nothing.

Please, let them both be safe…!

Although they could not see the outside world, Cecil could sense when nightfall was approaching, as could Rydia, who went from skipping about happily with her new ice rod, turning every lesser monster she could find to an ice cube under Tellah's supervision, to stumbling and tripping over rocks as she struggled to keep her eyes open. As their rear guard, Cecil found his footsteps lagging further and further behind, as his own exhaustion began to settle in, and at long last, Tellah assured them that they would soon be at a safe spot he knew of where no monsters would approach them for the evening.

Eventually they wandered into a small enclave, where the remains of Tellah's previous campfire sat, along with some crystal torches that glowed with an eerie blue light that had been positioned in a sloppy, but recognizable, circle. Tellah pulled out a small pack that had been hiding under his many layers of robes, and began to spread out provisions – Cecil couldn't imagine what else the old man kept hidden under there (and kind of didn't want to know). He set out a wool weave and invited Rydia to take it for her use. Without argument, she shrugged off her backpack, set it down to use as a pillow, and almost instantly fell asleep, clutching her new ice rod against her chest as if it were in danger of being pried out of her fingers. Cecil watched wordlessly as Tellah set another blanket out, gesturing for Cecil to take it.

"I…couldn't," Cecil demurred. Regardless if he was a lord or an old man's blade-for-hire (with a noticeably absent paycheck), he just couldn't bring himself to take from others to do for himself. Even if you stripped away his titles and honors, at his core, Cecil had still been instilled within him every chivalrous value one would expect from a boy raised by a nobleman.

"Take it, boy," Tellah ordered, although not unkindly. "It's your strength I'll be depending on come the morrow – and if I'm not talking out of turn, it would seem you've had a couple of rough days of your own since before coming here."

Cecil didn't know what to say to that, and could only bring himself to nod as he let himself collapse on the blanket in front of the firepit. Tellah then detached some of his many capes to use as a blanket for himself, nodding at Cecil as if to demonstrate that he would be perfectly fine. He then leaned over the remains of the campfire, muttered a few foreign words under his breath, and a small fire burst forth from the air, crackling as it fed on the dried wood.

"The magic field cast by these crystals keeps monsters at bay. Remain within, and you are safe," Tellah explained. "So rest easy tonight. We need to recover our strength before we face that beast."

Cecil nodded, his gaze locked on the growing fire. Reflected within, all he could see was Rydia sobbing next to her dead mother, and the way she had screamed that she hated him right before he had been knocked out by Titan. His mind was becoming jumbled with so many unpleasant thoughts, he could hardly comprehend what Tellah was yammering on about in the background of the fire's chattering.

If Ashby was to be believed, it will have been three days since I last saw Kain. Has he been captured by Baron since then? If they found me…would it really be so impossible for them to track him down as well?

And Rosa…there's no way of knowing if she's seen him since, either. What possessed her to do something so dangerous, following us here? If she had been threatened in Baron, I figured for sure she would have fled, but…my god, to have gone this far…

"Asleep already!" Tellah's chuckle broke Cecil's thoughts, and he watched through the fire as the old man tucked a stray curl away from Rydia's face. "She must have been exhausted. That child – where is she from?"

Cecil shook away his creeping exhaustion and cleared his throat. "She is a summoner from the Village of Mist."

"Indeed," Tellah nodded. "Then my eyes were not mistaken. She has great potential. With practice and training, she should be able to master many spells. Such a darling little face, too. She reminds me of my Anna when she was young."

"Your daughter?"

"My one and only," Tellah removed his glasses and closed his eyes, and Cecil could see the glimmer of a tear roll down Tellah's rosy cheek. "Deceived by some wandering bard and whisked away to Damcyan… All because I refused to give them my blessing." Cecil found himself looking away, as he couldn't bear to see a grown man cry. He was then instantly filled with a sandbag's worth of guilt in his stomach at having such a thought, especially when he had been close to verge of tears himself several times these last few days.

A coward and a hypocrite… No matter what Rosa or Kain might think…

"During our time in Kaipo, Rydia and I heard that Prince Edward went missing as well," Cecil replied. "Is this bard an associate of his? Or has the region been experiencing more and more of these…disappearances?"

"Your guess would be as good as mine," Tellah shook his head. "Certainly, the world is far more dangerous than it was only a few weeks ago – monsters like the one blocking our way here dare see it fit to show their ugly faces now; they're no longer afraid of us. And the wind…I don't hear the same whisperings upon my ears that the elements used to carry to me..."

Whisperings of the wind…? Cecil drew in a sharp breath. What could he be possibly talking about?

Tellah heaved a sigh and Cecil could feel the man's eyes piercing through the safe anonymity of his helmet. "And you? What need drives you to Damcyan?"

"A friend of mine is suffering from desert fever in Kaipo," Cecil murmured. He didn't feel the need to emphasize further, and thankfully, Tellah seemed to understand.

"I see. And you seek a sand pearl. Then haste drives you as well. Even my magic could not avail against the foe you face."

"The monster of the lake, what manner of creature is it? " Cecil asked, unfastening his helmet. Talking about battle strategies and the like would give him some much-needed focus. "I've heard unsettling rumors."

"A vicious one, with eight massive, writhing tentacles," Tellah began. "The head is as big as you or I and it has a lovely row of razor-blade like teeth when it smiles. At least, I think it is smiling – I haven't dared to get close enough to be sure."

"Hmmm..." Cecil contemplated this new information. "And where is it, precisely?"

"In the lake that leads to the exit of this waterway."

"If it is a beast that lives in the water, surely a Thunder spell would do the trick?" What little Cecil knew of the principals of magic elements and monster types that were weak against them, he had learned from Rosa.

"It is not so easy," Tellah sighed. "My magic…well, it has been weakening with age, much as I hate to admit it. And my more powerful spells that I could cast to make up for the deficit…they just aren't coming to me anymore. I struggle recalling most of them. That is why I thought with your dark blade and the summoner's power…" He lowered his head, his glasses slumping down his nose again. "If we are to save your friend and my Anna, we must find a way to slay it. I pray these premonitions of mine are only an old man's fretting, but if they prove true, our time is short."

Premonitions…? "Understood," Cecil tapped his finger against his lip, furrowing his brow. "I might have devised a plan. If it has eight tentacles doing its dirty work, then we shall have to take them out all at the same time. I will use my Dark Wave to strike them all at once, you will cast Thunder spells to strike as well, and Rydia will summon a Chocobo to attack the head and keep it distracted so she can stay out of harm's way."

"Brilliant, it's brilliant!" Tellah pumped his fist in the air excitedly. "I feel as if we have won already!"

"Don't get overconfident," Cecil warned, laying down and closing his eyes. "The tide of fate can turn against us at any time. I know that all too well at this point."

The next morning, after the threesome had awoken and shared a meager breakfast from Tellah's preserves, Cecil explained their plan again so that Rydia could understand her role.

"And remember, you must stay as far away as possible," Cecil said firmly. "Let Chocobo do all the work, ok? Just…uh…concentrate, or whatever it is you must do to keep him in battle."

"Yes, Cecil." Rydia nodded seriously. "I'll do my very best – and I know Chocobo will too!"

"Let's head out then," Cecil ordered, and everyone scrambled to pack up the campsite.

After another three hours of tireless hiking, climbing and monster battling, Cecil saw his first traces of sunlight in what had been early a day, streaming through the mouth of the passageway they were in. He halfway expected something to stop their escape, as seemed to be par for the course these days, but they drifted through with no issues, finding themselves on a crest of sparse greenery and dark gray slate. As they stepped into the hot sun, Rydia collapsed in the grass and let out a sigh, raising her hands in the air.

"It feels so good to be above ground again!"

"From here we must travel outside for a time," Tellah explained. "The monster dwells at the base of the waterfall beyond."

"We climbed quite a height, didn't we?" Cecil remarked, gazing over the vista spilling below – from their height, Kaipo was a thumbnail's worth of blue enclosed in yellow. And somewhere inside that otherwise unremarkable village, the love of his life was fighting for every breath she took…

And Kain is still out there, somewhere…

Please, please let him be in Damcyan, waiting for us…!

His head had filled with the cloudy fog one oftentimes suffered from elevation change, and as he released a yawn, felt his ears pop with a satisfying crackle. He heard the scattering of gravel, and glanced behind him, only to see Rydia had snuck up to see the view as well. He watched without much surprise as her gaze trailed to the mountain valley that once contained the path to Mist, which Titan had now razed into oblivion thanks to the earthquake.

"Yikes, we are high," Rydia pouted, averting her gaze. Her voice had jumped a pitch, as if she were talking out loud to distract herself. "That would explain why my legs are noodles."

"The next cavern will take us back down," Tellah offered. "It should be easier on bodies young and old, and we'll be deposited on Damcyan's doorstep when all is said and done."

Even if we were to get the sand pearl today, it will still be at least another day until we can see Rosa again if we have to go through this same waterway, Cecil frowned. The position of the sun told him it was nearing noon.

"Let's hurry," Cecil urged, turning away from the vista. "Is everyone ready to go?"

Tellah had said last night that he had a premonition…I should have asked him what he meant.

The vision I saw in the Mist Dragon's eyes…the strange dream about Rosa in the grove…

…Were those premonitions, too?

What's…what's happening to me?

Tellah led them across the crest to yet another cave opening steeped in darkness. As they stepped inside, Cecil could hear the distinct roar of a waterfall that sounded as if it were pouring directly below them. Tellah pushed open a rotting door that was barely hanging its rusty hinges, that somebody, long ago, had made the effort to construct for reasons only the gods understood now. In the next chamber, Cecil's observations were confirmed when he lifted the vial of light, revealing a boundless glow of mist constantly rising and falling over a cliff's edge. Tellah paused as Cecil and Rydia crept toward the ledge, and Rydia let out a small whimper at the sight of the water pounding into the lake below. Although the water looked gentle enough, the cavern was so open that the waterfall's echoes bounced from every angle and made it sound as if you were in the middle of a warzone.

"How do we get down?" Cecil finally asked, not seeing what he thought he was supposed to be seeing – their next path. "I don't have any rope on me."

"Mine was washed away the last time I descended in an attempt to fight the beast," Tellah confessed. "What do you think – can we make it if we jump?"

"WHAT?" Rydia shrieked, but Cecil thought it was as good a suggestion as any, and turned to her, offering his hand.

"Just hold on to me, ok? You'll be fine. It doesn't look so bad."

Rydia turned as green as her curls as Cecil spoke, stepping closer. He scooped her up effortlessly in his arms, swinging her around so that she could climb onto his back. She really didn't like heights...

She closed her eyes tightly, burying her forehead into the back of Cecil's neck. But Mommy said to be a good girl…if I don't help them beat the monster in the lake, we can't help Rosa and Miss Anna…

"There's no turning back from here," Tellah said solemnly. "The beast awaits us down below."

Cecil secured Rydia's legs by locking them with his arms, and looked over at Tellah. "On the count of three?" The old man nodded, taking his place by Cecil's side. Cecil took a deep breath, hoisting Rydia a few inches higher before calling out over the din of the waterfall.

"One, Two…Three!"

Cecil launched himself off the edge of the cliff directly into the spill of the waterfall, a stream of cold water rushing into his armor as they plummeted. Rydia's screams were drowned out by the sound of the water, but she clung on so tight Cecil could swear her shoes were leaving dents in his armor. What felt like only seconds later, the group splashed into the pond below, Cecil and Rydia plunging underwater several feet before Cecil began kicking his legs to force them back to air. The water was far too dark to see anything of consequence, which both comforted and terrified him.

Once they had broken the surface, Rydia fell backwards with an obnoxious splash off of Cecil's shoulders, her eyes wide and lips tinged blue as she doggy paddled for the nearest island. Cecil expunged what felt like gallons of water from his lungs and pulled off his helmet, letting it bob upside down in the lake as he pushed his hair out of his face and wrung it out. He didn't think he had ever gotten so drenched in his life, and yet at the same time felt so unbelievably grungy. Tellah popped up a few seconds later next to Cecil, reaching into his beard and nonchalantly pulling out a baby Pike Fish before tossing it aside.

"Well, that wasn't so bad at all!" Tellah laughed. Cecil wasn't keen to agree, his throat water-logged and burning as he dumped out the water in his helmet and fastened it back on.

Maybe it's not so bad if you're not wearing one-hundred pounds of armor…

But before he could let himself get too annoyed, he felt something heavy and wet smack him so hard in the back of his helmet that his ears rang like alarm bells. He cried out, falling forward in the lake as Rydia reached for him from her island, screaming his name.

"Ready yourselves!" Tellah gasped, spinning around just as Cecil's assailant quickly whipped its way back into the waterfall, a blur of orange suckers all Tellah could make out before it disappeared. "There he is! It's an Octomammoth!"

Cecil tried to regain his composure, but it he could hardly hear anything Tellah was saying, and was seeing double of Rydia on the ledge of the island, her lips moving but her voice not making a sound that could reach his ears. He suddenly felt Tellah grab his hand and drag him over to Rydia, the girl pressing her face into his as she grabbed his head, her mouth moving as if in slow motion.

"Duck!"

Cecil lowered his head with Rydia's help, catching something slimy and orange swinging over them out of the corner of his eye. When the coast was clear, Cecil scrambled up alongside Rydia, reaching down to help Tellah and finally managing to flip open his visor on his helmet and take in the extent of the horror that had been chasing them: The gigantic, eight-limbed beast was flailing just yards away in the deepest part of the water near the falls, the suction cups on its writhing tentacles as big as Cecil's hand. A mouth of ugly, yellow, leering teeth came poking out of the water, and the Octomammoth's big white eyeballs rolled around in its head as it took in his intruders.

His hearing and vision at last restoring back to normal, Cecil quickly turned to make sure Rydia was safe. After the Octomammoth's second attack, she had escaped to a lone island deeper in the rear of the pond, this one far enough from Octomammoth's current reach. Her eyes were closed and she was glowing, with green crystal-like bubbles beginning to form at her hands. Cecil could hear the whistling sound of another tentacle ripping through the air before he could see it, and instinctively rolled out of the way just in time for it to smash into the narrow space between himself and Tellah.

"Begin the attack!" Cecil cried, somersaulting back onto his feet and unsheathing his blade. As he began to summon the dark energy for his attack, he could hear Tellah casting a chain of spells in rapid succession as he swung his staff menacing in the air.

"Thunder! Thunder! Thunder!"

Bursts of lightning rained down upon each of the tentacles in his line of fire, causing them to curl back in retreat before attempting their next strike. The scaly flesh erupted in scorch marks as the lightning burned the creature from the inside out, its head portion gnashing its teeth in anger. Cecil could feel the panic rising in his throat when he realized enough time should have passed by now for him to execute his own attack, yet he was still not at full power. He could feel the energy from deep within his marrow crawling up from his core and extending through his arms, then finally to his fingertips to pour into the blade itself, but his weapon felt unbearably heavy, like he was a gentle gust away from dropping it. The muscles in his shaking legs felt like they being sliced upon tendon by tendon with a razorblade…

What the hell is going on with me? Cecil worried, closing his eyes tighter. Why can't I use my attack like I did in Kaipo?

"Go, Chocobo!" Rydia cried, and the massive bird bolted past Cecil and Tellah, gliding on the water as it lowered its neck and head-butted Octomammoth square between the eyes. The monster gurgled angrily in retaliation, rolling its eyes back and revealing two haunting pools of foggy white. Its remaining tentacles began to thrash even more recklessly, but Chocobo was too speedy – the bird effortlessly dodged each arm as it smashed into the lake, paying the Octomammoth back for the favor by rearing back in the air with its feeble wings and hovering just long enough to deliver a brutal scratch to its eyes with its razor-sharp hind claws, all before disappearing in a shower of crystalline bubbles.

"Excellent!" Tellah cried, tossing off another Thunder spell as two of Octomammoth's tentacles rushed to nurse the blood gushing from its stinging eyes. "The beast is weakening! But don't be lulled into thinking we've won. A wounded beast is a dangerous one!"

Cecil didn't know how much longer he could hang on – he was nearly drained of his strength, yet the darkness had not manifested for him – it was only debilitating him further still.

Why…why won't my shadowblade react!?

Darkness…I beg of you to heed my call…everyone is counting on me…!

Just as he felt his stance falter and his legs collapse beneath him, an outpouring of adrenaline raced through his veins as if released from a dam, the shadowblade igniting in an eerie violet effulgence that drenched the lake in a nightmarish dusk. Barbed blades, their auras stained the color of blood and obsidian, burst forth from the blade and fanned outward towards Octomammoth's remaining tentacles, slicing them cleanly in twain and at last, circling back around to meet their final target. A final curved blade of convulsing shade that resembled the Reaper's scythe sliced straight through the center of Octomammoth's head, causing the top half to flop into the water while the mouth screamed in agony, blood mixed with ink oozing between its teeth that splashed into the lake in thick drops. The bisected remains of the tentacles began to shrivel up into papery, withered stalks, and the beast sank away from them into the water, fat bubbles penetrating the lake's surface it disappeared from sight.

Cecil's spent blade smashed into the ground as he fell forward, unleashing an ear-splitting ring as sparks burst where granite kissed steel. He clung to the shadowblade's handle for dear life, gasping for air as Rydia took a flying leap from her island back to theirs, Tellah catching her and swinging her around in the air like she weighed as much as a bag of feathers – it was as if the man's biological clock had been sprung back twenty years by their victory.

"You were wonderful, Rydia!"

"Heh, thanks!" Rydia smiled, her face falling and a small gasp escaping her lips as he spun her past Cecil's collapsed form. He paused, eyes wide behind his glasses as Rydia leapt from his arms and ran to Cecil, throwing her arms around his waist.

"My word boy, are you all right?" Tellah gulped, and Cecil winced as he peered down at Rydia's concerned stare.

"Cecil!"

"I'll be fine," he lied, smiling against the pain that was ravaging his lungs – it felt as if he had been sliced and diced along with the Octomammoth. "I guess that took a little more effort than I anticipated."

"That was a lot more energy than what you unleashed at the inn," Rydia frowned. "For a moment…the entire lake was drowned in darkness…It was kind of scary."

"I apologize for frightening you," Cecil bowed his head. "I only did what had to be done to ensure our victory."

"Such is the strength of a dark knight!" Tellah exclaimed, sweeping over to them. "Truly, I've never seen such a power manifest itself like that before! You must be quite the adept…and honed at such a young age, too. Whoever your master was, they have trained you well."

Your Majesty… Cecil closed his eyes, clutching the sword tighter. Something like this has never happened before…I wish I could confide in you once more…I wish you could tell me what is happening to my body…!

But a small, fearful voice inside of him already seemed to know the answer…

"Cura!"

Cecil felt a rush of warmth embrace him, sparkling green light dancing behind his eyes as some of the sensation began to return to his arms and legs. He shakily rose to his feet, using his sword as a crutch as Tellah lowered his hands, his smile reaching his eyes.

"There – that should get you to Damcyan, at least – my white magic isn't quite as far gone as my offensive spells, although I've forgotten a lot of those too…"

"You know white magic, as well?" Rydia blinked. "Amazing!"

Don't you know both kinds of magic, too? Cecil wanted to ask, but said nothing. Tellah merely chuckled, waving her off.

"It's nothing to brag about, my dear – it's our victory that we should be celebrating." Tellah pointed past where the Octomammoth had fought its last battle, just beyond the waterfall. "Damcyan is only steps away, now!"

Cecil was the last of them to jump back into the lake to swim over to the exit. As he sheathed his blade and tried to steady his erratic breathing, he couldn't help but wonder what Kain would be saying to him right now if he had seen him struggle so desperately in another battle.

First the Mist Dragon, and now this Octomammoth…

Rydia and Tellah, at the end of the day, are still nothing but strangers to me…they've never seen me at my best to realize just how truly far I've fallen in such a short time…

But Kain…he would know something was wrong right away. He knows the way my body moves on the battlefield perhaps even better than myself…

He knew something was wrong at Mist, too…I could see it in his eyes, even if I had persuaded myself that he bought my lies…

Cecil swallowed the bile that had bubbling up in his throat, cringing as the waterfall's incessant pounding berated his hunched back. He wrapped his arms around himself, watching little Rydia disappear in the depths of the passageway that had revealed itself to them in the wake of Octomammoth's final resting place.

Outside, Tellah explained that it was just a short walk to Damcyan Castle using the much-trodden road through the patchy mountainside prairie that would discharge them back into the kingdom's infamous desert lands, the northern half known as the Damcyan Desert. Cecil could make out their destination rising high above the retreating mountain peaks: Divine white marble ore columns climbing the cobalt summer sky like vines of ivy scaling an ancient shrine, gold-plated spires reflecting the radiance of the baby-fine desert sands below, and silver-threaded banners rippling in the wind emblazoned with Damcyan's crest, a violet orb mounted by a crimson gilded crown entwined with morning glories. Because the castle was located in the middle of the desert and could not conceivably maintain a moat, it was instead flanked by an army of silver woven trellises that bloomed with an array of desert blooms and slips of vellum tied between them. In honor of the yearly flower festival that celebrated the crowning of the nation's first queen, citizens would flock to the castle to write their wishes on the hand-hewn paper distributed by the royal family and tie them next to their favorite flower in hopes that their dreams would bloom alongside it in the new season. In fact, legend had it that Damcyan castle itself had been constructed as a gift from the first Damcyan king to the woman he had wooed to become his queen. The castle was known the world over for its delicate, storybook beauty, as opposed to a place like Baron, whose stronghold had evolved over to house a considerable army and was much more militaristic in stature and purpose.

"Tellah, who exactly are going to see about the bard that took Anna?" Cecil asked. "Only the royal family and their closest followers live here, right?"

"The bard is hiding Anna in the castle, thus the king and queen must know of his whereabouts," Tellah huffed, his face getting that same red glow as before when he first explained his dilemma to Cecil and Rydia. "But do not be alarmed – I will make sure you find a member of the royal family to take you to the sand pearl before starting any ruckus!"

Cecil said nothing, choosing instead to imagine what kind of ruckus exactly an ancient gentleman with the propensity to forget his own spells could cause.

"Prince Edward is missing, too," Rydia frowned, gingerly tapping her ice rod against her palm. "The castle might be in an uproar as it is."

Tellah unleashed a cheeky huff of breath. "There have always been...funny rumors about Prince Edward. He's an only child, so he's the heir apparent to the throne, but it's fairly well-known that he has no desire to become king. He has several cousins he could abdicate to when the time comes, but it would be a scandal if he ever voiced that intention while his parents were still alive."

A missing heir, a kidnapped daughter, and a wicked bard… We sure have our work cut out for us with this mission – and with every minute I hesitate, Rosa slips yet further away from me…! Cecil turned on his heel, continuing to walk backward as he eyed Tellah and Rydia warily. He wanted to make positive they were both heeding his next words. "Perhaps we should proceed with utmost discretion when we approach the king and queen…"

KA-BOOM! Mrrr…mrrr…mrrr…mrrr…

He was interrupted when he heard the sudden rumble of thunder in the distance, his heart leaping in his throat as both Rydia and Tellah froze in place.

W-what was that? Cecil spun around, his eyes narrowing as he took in the cloudless sky and the overpowering sun that was now hanging directly above them. There is no way a storm could be on the horizon. Not in weather like this…

"Oh!" Rydia cried, jumping and pointing toward the south with her rod – the exact location from which they had just emerged via the underground waterway. "Is that…an airship?"

Airship…?

Cecil clenched his jaw, his gaze following Rydia's weapon. Sure as he was standing there, a crimson-bellied, airship-shaped apparition was gliding over the southeastern mountains, growing ever larger with each passing second. Within moments, the rumbling Cecil had thought was thunder soon had escalated as such that the very ground beneath their feet began to vibrate, and the three of them silently craned their necks, mouths agape, as the shadow of the ship glided over them without notice, making an unmistakable beeline for the castle.

"An airship!?" Tellah gasped. "I thought only Baron had a stranglehold on such technology."

"…It is a Baronian ship," Cecil said quietly, his gaze drifting over the ruby phoenix wing imprinted over an obsidian flag that flew on the rear mast. He could feel a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck, and his throat suddenly felt as if he had spent the day drinking sand. At the word "Baronian", Rydia let out a whimper, taking hold of Cecil's leg.

"Huh. Well if that's the case, what in the world are the Red Wings doing here?" Tellah demanded, completely oblivious to the fact that Rydia had suddenly turned as white as a ghost. Cecil was finding it very difficult to try to come up with any kind of explanation that didn't involve either his or Kain's treachery in Mist, when suddenly a pair of additional ships flew over them, followed by two more pairs which totaled the seven ships that made up the entirety of the Red Wings fleet. As the ships hovered over each of the staggering towers, with the first ship that had flown in draping the keep in a veil of black, a barrage of incandescent red light and smoke suddenly poured upon the castle in a fearsome explosion that nearly knocked the group in their rears from the massive shockwaves that tore forth through the desert.

A silent scream rose in Cecil's throat as the catastrophic destruction manifested before his eyes in slow motion – it was Mist all over again, with everything and anything that had once been alive and good suddenly being encompassed in a cyclone of all-consuming hellfire.

The Red Wings were bombing Damcyan to oblivion.

The majestic towers and their jewel-like spires crumbled into dust in what felt like seconds, and the beautiful wall of flower-filled trellises that welcomed visitors collapsed into a pile of blackened ash, cremating the kingdom's curated wishes that had been carefully and lovingly inscribed on the sun-bleached slips of paper. Even through the deafening explosions, Cecil swore he heard the collective screams of the people trapped inside castle, their cries drowning in blood. The first airship to arrive on the scene that had been observing the keep briefly dipped down toward the destruction, but Cecil and the others had no way of seeing what was happening. After making a full sweep around the castle perimeters, the other Red Wings reversed course and started to make their way southwest – surely, they had to be returning to Baron. A few moments later, the final ship over the keep rose back into the sky and followed its brethren, shifting into a gear that made it fly twice as fast as the other ships so that it could quickly catch up.

The deathly chill of the final ship's shadow as it passed over Cecil sent his pulse into overdrive, and he felt his knees sink into blistering sands of the desert long before he realized he had collapsed in shock. Rydia, still clinging to him for dear life, sank to the ground with him, stifling her screams against his armor. Ahead of them, just a few moments ago, had once been Castle Damcyan.

Now, all that remained was nothing more than a funeral pyre.

"Oh my gods!" Rydia whimpered over and over, her sobs reverberating in Cecil's skull as he stared ahead, dead-eyed. Tellah, who had been stunned into silence throughout the entire affair, suddenly raised his staff in the air, screaming unintelligibly at the top of his lungs as he bolted for the smoldering rubble.

"C-Cecil…!" Rydia rasped, tugging on his arm desperately and pointing toward Tellah, who had already become a purple blur as she watched him blast a bloated, saffron-colored Sand Worm that had the misfortune of being in his path into an explosion of pus and ash with a Fire spell. "He's going to get himself killed…!"

Oh gods…that's right…his daughter was…! Cecil lifted his head, willing away the stringing sensation in his eyes and banishing the thousands of questions that had bubbled up in his throbbing head and confusion-riddled heart. He staggered back to his feet, grabbing Rydia by the hand and urging his spent muscles to propel him forward until the world around him became a smoke-stained blur.