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Final Fantasy VI: The Sands of Time

Book 1: The Beginning

Chapter 7 - Confluence

Part 7.6 - Into the Forbidden

The next day dawned with the same overcast sky as the previous days. There was no morning sun to greet the nervous citizens of Narsille, only the same grey mass of thunderclouds swirling slowly around the city like a giant whirlpool in the sky. But the daily responsibilities of the city's workers could not stop, and at the eastern docks of the great city life went on with a muted sense of duty.

These docks were built next to the city's primary water source, the Lethe River. Flowing steadily eastward for many miles, it started high in the snow-capped mountains behind the city, flowing deep underground at first, then emerging in the east as it winded through valleys and canyons towards the great eastern sea, where Crescent Island awaited. It was the hidden beginning of this very river that Dune had traversed on his harrowing journey under Narsille, and now he would travel its course once again.

At the moment, Dune was already aboard Captain Bismark's ship, waiting anxiously for the appointed hour that this new journey would begin. Indie had told him the entire story of his father's heroic journey thirty years ago, and he could feel the weight of his father's legacy on his shoulders. If it came time for him to act the way his father had, giving his life in order to save not only his friends, but the entire world, could he do it? Dune did not feel like anybody's hero, and his only goal at the moment was trying to save Mae. Leave saving the world to the real heroes, he thought. Men like Draco. He was only a simple archeologist.

Dune looked out over the ship's rails at the docks as he waited for the ship to set sail. Sailors and Narsillian workers crowded the docks despite the weather, loading and unloading countless crates full of exotic supplies that allowed the Narsillians to live the life of luxury they enjoyed. Dune watched them scurry back forth, feeling like he no longer belonged with them. The trying events of the past few months had made him acutely aware of how trivial and boring life in Narsille was compared to the outside world. He thought back to Dr. Atma's words on board the Figaro so long ago, and found himself agreeing with the cynical man's opinions much more now than he did back then. He sighed at the thought of agreeing with that unpleasant man and continued to wait anxiously.

Glancing to his sides, Dune could see lines of Narsillian ships up and down the docks, looking very much like the giant floating refrigerators that Bismark had called them. They were all metal and gleamed with the blue-white glow of mythril-strengthened steel sides. Full of sharp angles and jutting corners, they were not at all streamlined like regular ships, and didn't need to be. Powerful motors propelled the ships like missiles through the waters, and the Maiden would have trouble keeping up with them if the winds weren't right. Dune knew Bismark had motors on his ship as well, any serious sea-farer had to in this day and age, but he was loathe to use them unless absolutely needed.

Dune laughed at the captain's old-fashioned stubbornness, but stopped cold when he saw an unwelcome sight on board one of the Narsillian vessels a few piers down. Sade, Dehr and Cruz were boarding their ship as well, and Dune knew it was almost time to leave. The three surely could see the awkward Maiden among all the shining Narsille ships, but they made no attempt to contact it. Everything that needed to be said had been said the day before.

Soon after the Committee trio had disappeared inside their ship, a hooded figure in plain clothes cautiously approached the Maiden from the opposite side as the Committee's ship. Dune watched the person slowly walk towards the ship, then glance back towards the Committee ship before reaching the Maiden. He lifted his hood and Dune recognized the regal features of Draco Christophe at once. Even disguised as a regular Narsillian, Draco still carried the aura of a king.

"Draco! You made it!" Dune said in a quiet voice, not wanting to attract attention. The two men shook hands as Dune helped Draco on board the ship.

"Yes," Draco said in an equally subdued tone. "I don't think the Committee members saw me. I told Barden to return to West Jidorik at once and watch over the castle in my stead until I return. As far as anyone here knows, I am leaving with him."

"Good," Dune said. "We should be setting sail soon. The Captain, Indie, and Alex are already on board."

"Then I will join them inside. I must admit, a ship such as this is a welcome sight to my foreign eyes. Sometimes the technology of this place can be overwhelming. I can't imagine how those Narsillian ships even stay afloat. Come, Dune. Join me down below. I am eager to be away from this place."

"Of course," Dune agreed. He, too, had seen enough of the dreary city, and was anxious to get away from the ominous storm above. He half wondered if it wouldn't follow them out of the city, and shivered at the thought as he went below.

Dune's fears proved groundless, however, and once the two ships had set sail eastward, the sun soon began to shine. It was a welcome sight, but everyone on board knew how quickly the weather could change, especially when they were on another mission sponsored by the Committee.

The journey down the river was blessedly uneventful, and after four days they had reached the mouth of the Lethe River, and were halfway towards their destination. The long river had brought them to the edge of the eastern sea, known as the Serpent's Sea due to its long and narrow shape. On its south-eastern tip was Crescent Island, waiting for them patiently.

Unlike the Mordic half-way across the world to the west, the Serpent's Sea was a peaceful and beautiful place, teeming with life both above and below the waters. Massive underwater currents coursed up and down its length in a great cycle, making travel easy in both directions. In what seemed like no time at all, the ships had unceremoniously reached the southern shore of Crescent Island. There had been no monsters and no storms to bother them this time. Indeed, it seemed like the seas were safely guiding them to this point. The crew of the Maiden hoped the rest of the journey would be this peaceful, but they knew in their hearts it would not.

Crescent Island itself, true to its name, was shaped in a great arc, like that of a waning moon. On its western side was a great chain of mountains, forming the inner curve of the crescent. Standing on deck as the ship closed in, Dune peered out at the intimidating sight. He had never seen mountains so high, and wondered what could have formed them. They plummetted into the ocean below in a sheer drop several miles high, as if a giant had scooped out half the island. Towering waterfalls burst out of caverns high on the mountainside, flowing precipitously down into the churning waters below. They looked like exposed arteries, bleeding great gouts of foamy water downward from the gaping wound that was the mountain range.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" a voice spoke up from beside Dune. Dune turned around in surprise, and saw Alex standing beside him, peering at the severe mountainscape with just as much interest as him. Alex looked back at him and smiled.

"That isn't natural, you know." Alex said matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean?" Dune said, eager to here what the geologist had to say on the strange mountains.

"Something happened here eons ago," Alex continued serenely. "Something extremely violent. Either something crashed here from above, or something erupted from below. I'm not sure which yet, but hopefully this mission will answer that question for me."

"Didn't Draco say the natives believe a moon fell here?"

"Yes. Your father studied the natives here thoroughly, during his early years, and it was here I first met him."

Dune looked at Alex in surprise. His father's life seemed as intertwined with these old men as much as his own. What other surprises about his father might he learn on this voyage?

"Don't look so surprised, Dune!" Alex said with a grin. "While your father studied its people, I studied the land. This island is both a geological and archeological gold mine, filled with all sorts of mysteries to the few brave enough to venture out this far. Some say a moon fell here, some say this very spot is where the world began. Others say a great evil sleeps here." Alex's smile disappeared as he spoke now. "The natives believe the highest peak of that range holds a demon, and worship the mountain as a sort of protector, keeping the demon from destroying the world. I suspect that peak is our destination."

"Do you believe those stories?" Dune asked incredulously. He did not put much faith in the folk tales of primitives, and found it hard to believe his father had. Even after the extraordinary events that he had lived through, and the strange story about Phoenix Isle that Indie had told him, he still was a firm believer in science and logic. Alex and Indie may be willing to jump to "magic" as a valid explanation for things, but Dune was still reluctant, although much less so now than he had been a few months ago.

"Still stubborn, eh?" Alex said good-naturedly. "That's alright. It takes a lot to shake a man from his most deeply held beliefs. I honestly hope you aren't forced to that extreme, Dune. For your sake. Having everything you thought you knew thrown to the wind can be a trying ordeal, one that I wouldn't wish upon anyone."

Alex looked at the loftiest of the visible peaks as the ship steered towards land, trying to see anything unusual through the clouds. There was nothing to see, however. The mountains cliffs climbed into the sky, higher than even the towers of Narsille, and nothing could be seen after a certain height. He turned his gaze to Dune, a sad look on his suddenly very old face.

"But we all have to grow up, sometime, I suppose..." he said quietly to himself, and walked away.

Soon the two ships had reached a safe harbor on the other side of the island. The mountains filled the western rim of the island, but on the other side was flat land filled with lush tropical forests and uninterrupted shorelines. This was how the entire island was supposed to look, Dune thought. Something horrible must have happened here to turn such a quiet, uninteresting landscape into the fierce jagged teeth on the island's other side. And he was heading straight into those jaws.

Along the white sands of the approaching beach several small huts could be seen with tanned half-naked natives walking among them carelessly. These must be the primitives Alex was talking about. Dune had never been as adventurous as his father, and had never even left the continent that Narsille was located on, so he knew little of the history of these people. His father knew them, though. Dune supposed his father knew a great deal about the world that Dune did not. Dune could hear the captain's voice in the back of his head saying "Some archeologist!" and couldn't help but smile as he studied the oblivious natives of the island.

Soon, those oblivious natives began noticing the two strange objects approaching their village, though. They began to line up along the shoreline, comparing the large foreign boats to their tiny wooden canoes. The Maiden attracted some attention, but most of the natives were staring at the glowing Narsillian vessel just ahead of the Maiden. The Maiden at least vaguely resembled their own ships. The squarely-shaped Narsillian ship looked like something from another planet to them, and some of the fainter hearted villagers had already shied away inside their huts.

When the Narsillian ship landed and Sade, Dehr and Cruz walked down onto the beach, however, the opinion of the natives took an unexpected turn. All eyes were on Sade and Sade alone the moment he stepped ashore. One of the natives screamed and ran for the nearest hut, and soon the others began running helter-skelter, trying to hide from view of the black-robed man with fire-red hair. Many of the natives were yelling the same word as they fled from Sade's presence, hands over the heads in fear of some hidden strike from above.

Sade paid no attention to the natives, and walked with calm assurance across the beach and towards the forest line. Dehr followed him with equal, albeit feigned calmness, with Cruz scurrying behind them, looking nervously this way and that for a hidden spear thrust from the crazy natives around them.

"What do you make of that?" Dune asked, now joined by much of the crew of the Maiden. They had watched the spectacle from their ship as it closed in behind the Committee's.

"Don't know," Bismark said half-amused at the natives' behavior. "What was that word they all kept shouting? 'Shetani', or something? Do you know what that means?"

Surprisingly, Dune did.

"It means 'evil spirit', or I suppose 'poltergeist' would be closer. Basically, it's someone possessed by a demon," Dune said, surprised to hear the word on this strange island. It sounded remarkably like the language spoken by the oldest known inhabitants of the Narsillian area. More guttural perhaps, but definitely the same language, or a close relative.

"Hah, you'd make your father proud, Dune," Bismark laughed, not a little impressed. "I suppose you may be a half-decent archeologist after all."

"And those natives have the measure of Sade alright," Indie said. "I'd run from him too if I had any choice in the matter."

They all agreed on this and got ready to disembark for the beach. The Committee members had paused at the forest line and now waited silently for the Maiden crew. Dune could feel Sade's red gaze on him, and dreaded following him into the dark forest ahead. But he knew he had to keep moving.

As Dune, Bismark, Indie, and Alex left their ship, there was a similar reaction from the remaining natives. Many of them stood and pointed at Dune as he passed them, others ran and hid like before. Dune did not like the looks of fear and hate on their faces.

"What are they saying now?" Bismark asked.

"Baridi," Dune said grimly. "It means 'cold one' I think. Something like a zombie, I suppose."

No one made a remark at this, knowing full well it was Dune they were talking about. Somehow these primitives could sense something was off about both Sade and Dune. Something not completely human. The four continued past the frightened villages and towards the forest where the other group waited.

As soon as he saw the Maiden crew approaching them, Sade turned without a word and disappeared down what looked like a cleared path in the forest. Dehr waved at the four to follow them, and then disappeared as well, with Cruz at her heels.

"Hmph, keeping their distance, I see." Bismark remarked as they followed the Committee members into the jungle.

"We outnumber them four to three," Alex said. "They probably don't trust us to be civil out here away from any reinforcements."

"They're probably right," Bismark said with a savage grin as the four disappeared down the dark path through the jungle undergrowth.

Dune couldn't help but be excited by his surroundings, despite the welcome he had received. The jungle floor was full of exotic life, and he wondered at the ancient path that cut through it perfectly. It was actually paved with square stones. The villagers did not look like they had the knowledge to construct a road like this, much less maintain it. And yet the road was perfectly clear of plants or animals, as if it had just been laid yesterday. Dune had to admit - this island was turning out to be very interesting.

This trudging through thick jungle might have been new to Dune, but Bismark, Indie and Alex all had the same sobering thought running through their minds - This is too much like before.

Back on board the Maiden, Draco waited anxiously with the rest of the crew. He could not join the others on this part of the journey, or he would surely be recognized. It was difficult for a man of action as he was to sit in relative comfort while his comrades marched into battle, but he knew he had to be prudent or he would only endanger them all. Besides, he was a stranger among allies, and this was a good chance for him to catch up on everything that had happened to this crew recently.

While the events on shore played out, Draco sat below with Connor, one of Bismark's most trusted ship-hands, and discussed the many adventures the ship had been on over the years. He shared his own tales of adventure in his country, and found he liked the crew of the Maiden very much. They trusted and admired Captain Bismark just like Draco's own soldiers looked to him. Talking with them was almost like being home again.

One crew member seemed out of place with all the rest, however. She was a small girl that couldn't be more than 14 years old. She looked like she had been found in the middle of the street, with her wild unruly hair and wretched clothing hanging off her thin frame, but her large eyes beamed with intelligence and curiosity. She sat quietly on the floor next to the table where Draco and Connor sat, her boney legs crossed awkwardly. There was a look of rapt attention on her face as the two men talked. After a while, Draco couldn't help but ask about the strange girl.

"Oh her?" Connor answered with a smile. "She's Kite. She's sort of attached herself to our crew ever since Alex rescued her from Levi's bunch."

The girl woke from her reverie at the mention of her name, and blushed deeply. She turned her wide eyes down quickly and looked away, forcing a good-natured laugh from Connor and a few other crew members.

"Now now, Kite," Connor said kindly. "You don't have to be so shy all the time. Come here and introduce yourself to Draco."

Kite slowly looked at the man called Draco. She was always afraid of strangers, always assuming they would hate her or hurt her. Her time on board Jonah Levi's ship had been a nightmare she thought would never end, and she had been abused much during her seven years aboard that prison-ship. Even before Levi had found her on the streets of her town she had learned to fear the world.

She was an orphan, abandoned to the streets, and had known little kindness in her life. Levi had paid attention to her when most people ignored her, and at first she followed him willingly. She soon found out what kind of man Jonah Levi was, if he was a man at all. But it was too late by then. She was as good as a prisoner on his ship, and was treated no better than a dog both by Levi and by his crew of thugs. The things that were done to her she would never speak to another living soul, but she had developed a distinct fear of men that many of the crew of the Maiden recognized with sadness once they got past the idea of having a member of Levi's crew on board.

It had been hard at first, but thanks to her hero, Alex, she had managed to adjust as best she could. It was Alex who had saved her, and she knew it and practically worshipped him. Many of the crew did not like the idea of having one of Levi's on their ship, but Alex had rebuked anyone who said anything against her. It was Alex who had treated her with the first kindness she had ever known in her life. Real kindness, not the fake kindness Levi had lured her with. Alex treated her like his own daughter, partly because she resembled his actual daughter, he had admitted. And she had quickly came to view Alex as a sort of father, too.

Thanks in no small part to Alex's untiring defense of her, and also because of her own disarmingly shy nature, the crew had warmed to her quickly enough. By the time Alex had left the ship for Narsille, the entire crew had been endeared to her as a sort of lost cause. They all treated her with kindness now, and did their best to make her feel like part of the crew. Even the gruff Captain Bismark didn't seem to mind her presence, and she had once heard him say "Any friend of Alex's is fine by me. She can stay as long as she likes." when asked what to do with her.

Now she looked at this new man warily. He seemed nice, but that old fear still crept through her and paralyzed her. She tried to say something, but only opened her mouth stupidly and blushed fiercely. She was such a fool!

"Don't mind her Draco," Connor said. "She's damn shy, especially around strangers, but she's the sweetest thing you'll ever see, trust me." Connor looked at Kite and softly nodded to her to try and introduce herself again.

Kite swallowed hard and spoke nervously. "H-how do you d-do, Mr. Christophe? I'm K-kite."

Draco's heart was warmed instantly at the poor girl's efforts. "Hello, Kite. You can just call me Draco. So Alex Figaro saved you, hm? How do you like him?"

Draco was only trying to make conversation, but the subject of Alex Figaro seemed to send a jolt of electricity through the girl. She blushed deeper than ever and buried her face in her hands, unable to speak. Draco just sat there in surprise at her strange reaction.

"Alex is a bit of an idol to her, Draco," Connor explained. "She practically worships the ground he walks on. Mention him and she quivers like a young pup in love." Connor turned to Kite with stern amusement and pleaded with her. "Kite, come on, snap out of it, it was only question. It's alright, he won't make fun of you."

"Sorry...," Kite mumbled through her hands, thoroughly embarrassed. "Alex saved my life. He's...he's a great man," she finished with a monumental effort.

Draco smiled. "He is indeed. I am glad to have met him, and you as well, Kite."

Kite returned his smile. He didn't seem so bad.

"You should see her on the ropes," Connor said with an almost fatherly tone. "She's as nimble as a cat, and can run circles around any of the others. I don't know how she learned to climb like that, but it's something to see."

"Is that so?" Draco said affectionately.

"Yeah," Kite said with some confidence. "I spent a lot of time climbing up stuff on my old ship." She became quiet at the mention of her previous life. She had spend a great deal of time escaping the filthy hand's of Levi's crew, indeed.

"We know, Kite," Connor said slowly. "You're safe here, now. Don't ever forget that." Draco nodded his head in agreement. Everyone was silent for a moment before continuing with their talk of wars and sea voyages.

Kite knew they were telling the truth, but some nightmares were difficult to forget, and even now she sometimes woke up in the middle of the night screaming, unable to stop herself. No one on the ship mentioned this to her, but they knew, and hated Levi and his crew all the more because of their unspeakable treatment of the poor girl. Their only consolation was that Levi and his men were gone now, dragged to the bottom of the sea where they belonged.

Outside the Maiden, a new uproar was occurring, unbeknownst to the Maiden or Narsillian crews. A third arrival had landed on the poor villagers' shores, and their reaction to this newcomer was nothing short of pure, naked terror.

The vessel that appeared shortly after the first two was something eerily close to their own canoes. It was a small battered rowboat with two occupants. How it had managed to come this far over the wide ocean was a great mystery to the villagers, but here it was, bobbing towards them.

The rower slowly kept the vessel moving steadily forward while the other traveler stood at its prow and looked outwards to the village in silence. The haggard rower kept the boat moving even after it had reached shallow waters, and kept on rowing right up to the beach's sands. Only once the man at the prow raised his hand did the rower stop.

The man at the prow stepped off the little boat, walking with an unusual gait. He only had one good leg, and the other was wooden. He was dressed in a wretched-looking coat covered in mildewy green stains. What color it might have been was impossible to say through its tattered, weather-beaten appearance. It was the color of decay.

The ghastly man's face was even worse. His dirty-grey hair hang dankly from his head in long, thin strands, barely covering his balding pate. His one good eye gleamed with an evil playfulness, but where his other eye should have been was only a black orb, pulsing with electric malevolence. Lightning seemed to swirl and crackle inside the dark eye. His mouth was curled into a rictus grin of maniacal delight, full of rotting yellow teeth, and only widened as he saw the natives faces go pale with fear.

He laughed as he limped across the beach. It was a raspy, empty laugh, full of death. His dread laugh carried across the beach, sending the villagers running for their lives. This apparition was far worse than the previous two, and many villagers were now abandoning the village entirely, leaping onto their canoes and rowing as if possessed. Others fled to the forest. Some simply fainted.

It was as foretold - the three would come carrying death, and the world would end.

Behind the dead man came the other, as if he were connected like a puppet. This man was covered from head to toe in ragged scraps of what was once clothing, his features impossible to make out, if he had any features at all. If the villagers could see his face, they would see something that might have once been human, but now was more dead than alive. It was a skull, skin and muscle barely there at all. The eyes were cold and lifeless, sunken far into his hairless head. The man was almost too emaciated to be believed, already past all human bounds of endurance. But here he was, rowing, standing, and now following the other man as if in a trance. Phantom was no more. Now he was nothing but a slave to the overwhelming power of his master.

By this time the village by the beach was abandoned, save for the two men. The first man continued to laugh loudly and horribly all the way to the forest, his black eye sending off sparks as he went. Where the eye's sparks fell, flames erupted. Before the two men had even vanished into the forest, the entire village was in flames, and by the time the men on board the two ships could notice what was happening, the village was nothing but ashes, its people no where to be found.

Jonah Levi's hellish laugh echoed through the air still, full of death and destruction. Inside the Maiden, Kite began shivering uncontrollably, gripped by an instinctive fear she could only name in her nightmares. She screamed, and Levi continued to laugh.