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Final Fantasy VI: The Sands of Time

Book 2: The Goddess War

Chapter 9 - The Wanderer

Part 9.3 - Antissa

As Maduin arrived at the foot of the great Narsillian mountain range, he expected to see the village of Antissa abandoned, under siege, or perhaps in flames. The shadow of the giant snow-capped mountains could be seen rising beyond the town, and between two peaks the colossal mythril gate of Narsille still glittered in the distance, steadfastly shut ever since the day the city fell. Nothing went in or out of those impenetrable gates now.

What Maduin saw as he approached Antissa, however, was a very different sight than he had prepared himself for. Everything looked...normal. Maduin didn't dare go barging into the city in broad daylight, looking like he did. But from his safe vantage point he could plainly see people busily moving about their regular affairs, talking, shopping, tilling crops. He could hear the laughter of children running through the streets, the bleating of livestock in the fields, the general hum of a healthy town. If this town was being attacked each night by some vicious giant beast like Kumiro had suggested, they showed no signs of it at the moment. The only monster here now was Maduin himself, and he didn't like the idea of disturbing the peaceful world with his unwanted presence.

Maduin knew all wasn't as calm as it seemed, even without the dark rumors of a wandering creature of the night. The downfall of Narsille had had a ripple effect across the entire region, reverberating its destruction throughout the continent. A city of millions, the technological center of the civilized world, and a major force both economically and militarily, Narsille's sudden disappearance off the face of the earth was only beginning to be felt in the months since the disaster. Maduin had removed himself from the human race, but even in his seclusion he could see the coming tide of chaos ebbing closer each day.

The most immediate concern was the never-ending stream of refugees that had managed to escape the city. Many lives had been lost, but a seemingly impossible number of survivors were still spreading into the wilds outside of the fallen city's walls every day. Small towns like Antissa couldn't hope to support these throngs, and most people were turned out, forced to wander ever further away from their former home. Even now, Maduin could see small refugee camps dotting the plains outside Antissa. He was sure such makeshift communities filled the land from Antissa all the way to Jidorik far to the south, and beyond. Maduin had even seen some desperate people attempting to live in the same icy reaches as himself. As far as he knew, none of these sad souls survived for long in the unforgiving landscape he called home. In time, there would undoubtedly be ex-Narsillians inhabiting every corner of the globe, each one assimilating into their new culture. Narsille's own history and culture, its great accomplishments, would fade away and its very name forgotten. Maduin wondered if he would live to witness all these changes, an eternal outsider like Genju, watching the world move on while he stayed the same. It was an unpleasant thought.

Another lingering consequence of Narsille's destruction was the vacuum of power it left behind. Narsille had been a bastion of peace in its time despite its isolationist tendencies, keeping the entire continent in relative stability with its overwhelming technological superiority. The deadly long-range missiles of Narsille could reach any city on the continent, and wipe them out in a single day. They had never actually been used, but no one dared to disturb the sleeping giant, and all quarrels were kept local, and settled quickly and quietly. The heavy-handed treaties Narsille's extinct Committee for the Preservation of Peace had forged with the many competing city-states of the volatile Doman continent to the east and the ancient empire of Cremona on the southern continent would be meaningless as well without the power and resources of Narsille to back them up. All the lesser nations of the western continent that had been protected under Narsille's aegis were fair game for foreign powers now, and they would soon all descend on the weakened continent like vultures.

The worst fighting by far had been in East and West Jidorik, far from Narsille, but even they had kept up the appearances of peace until the recent civil war instigated by the power-hungry Prince Ralse of East Jidorik. With Narsille gone, the uneasy truce following Prince Ralse's defeat dangled by a thread, and full-blown war might erupt across the region at any moment. Maduin had an interest in what was happening right now in those cities, since he knew the ruler of West Jidorik, Draco Christophe, was now an Esper like himself. An Esper fueled by rage and despair, but still determined to be a king and a bringer of justice. Maduin did not know where Draco, now the dragon-like Esper Bahamut, had gone after their battle in the skies of Narsille, but his homeland of West Jidorik seemed the most likely destination. With the fallen Master Maduin had come to know as Doom guiding Bahamut's thoughts and actions, he shuddered to think what the dragon king's homecoming might be like.

Maduin didn't dare follow Bahamut, since the maddened Esper had sworn to destroy him, and very nearly succeeded. Maduin still had a deep scar along his stomach where the dragon's powerful blast had wounded him. He knew the other remaining Espers were surely still out there as well, slaving under the influence of their own Masters and spreading the false gods' magical war across the planet. Despite this, he remained hidden; free, but exiled. There was nothing to be done on his own, and, looking at Antissa, he wondered if anything needed done after all. The town seemed to be running normally, but he couldn't be sure from this distance. He had to get closer and find out what was happening not only here, but in the rest of the world while he had been away.

There was only one place in Antissa Maduin could hope to go and not cause a panic, and fortunately it was the only place he wanted to see at the moment. Quickly and quietly, he made his way down to the wall that surrounded the town and leapt over it with the ease of a giant hare. From a distant memory of happier times, Maduin traced a route by memory through back roads and alleyways towards a small cottage he knew would be there. Narsille may have had mile-high towers of shining mythril, paved roads filled with automated buses, and all manner of technology and machines at every corner, but there was something special about the earthy one-story houses of plain brick and wood, with thatched roofs and only cobblestone paths between them. Places like the humble Antissa had a soul that the sterile, closed off world of Narsille lacked.

Wandering the streets of the town again after so many years, even if they were only the hidden back-roads, somehow made Maduin feel a little more human again. It was here he had first met the beautiful raven-haired Mae Karn, then Mae Laperdeau, here he had fallen in love with her, and here he had asked her to marry him. A strong and very human urge to find the secluded hills and sunlit paths where Mae and he had shared their most intimate feelings welled up inside him, but he knew he could not be seen. That was another life, another person.

"Who's there!" a tiny voice yelled from directly behind the reminiscing Maduin.

He had seen no one, heard nothing, but standing directly behind him at the other end of the alley he had hidden himself in was a small waif of a girl, no taller than Maduin's knee. She was alone, and despite yelling in his direction, her eyes were unfocused and looking right past him, to some unknown point far in the distance. Maduin whirled around, expecting to see something even more hideous than himself on his other side, but the two were the only living things standing in the narrow alley. He looked back, perplexed, where the girl still stood tapping her bare foot impatiently, and seemingly not bothered by the sight before her. Surely she could see his ten foot frame blocking out the sunlight across the entire alleyway?

The two stood across from each other in silence for almost a minute, the girl waiting for a response, and Maduin not daring to give one. If the sight of him didn't faze her, his rumbling, feral voice surely would.

"Well?" the girl finally shouted, her little hands curled up into fists on her hips and her long brown hair swishing as she turned her head sharply to the side in frustration. "Quit being mean! I know you're there! I could hear you breathing from a mile away, and you stink like a vomammoth! Say something!"

Maduin was unsure what to do. For some reason, the girl couldn't see him, but could apparently hear him...and smell him. He had never thought about how he smelled, but he supposed a monstrous body must have a monstrous odor to go with it.

"Uh...hello?" Maduin mumbled as calmly and quietly as he could. It still sounded horribly inhuman to his ears.

The girl jumped at the sound, but didn't seem frightened. "Well that's a weird voice you got there, mister. I don't recognize it but you sound big. You one of the wanderers from the north?"

Maduin suspected she meant all the Narsillian refugees that were surely descending on the town night and day for aid. "I suppose I am. Who are you?"

"I thought so! They all smell bad too. Like rotten chocobo eggs or something, pew! And they talk funny, but not as funny as you.." The girl continued talking in her innocently frank way, unconcerned with the very confused giant looming over her.

Maduin wasn't sure what to make of this strange apparition. He looked closely at her, studying her up and down, staring intently in a way that most people would be bothered by, even if he were just a human. She didn't move an inch or even acknowledge that he was looking at her. She just stood there, hands on hips and her doll's face curled up in a scrunch of displeasure as she babbled on about the smelly Narsillians.

Cautiously, Maduin took a step away from her, wondering if she would even notice his absence. He was eager to find the house he was looking for before the sun set and the rumored creature of the night made its appearance. He wanted to know what it was that was plaguing the town before he took any action that might make things worse.

Suddenly she stopped and turned her face straight at the receding Maduin. "Whoa there, mister! Hold it! Just cuz I'm blind doesn't mean you can walk away while I'm talking. Man, you're funny-sounding, stinky and rude too!"

Now it made sense. Maduin almost wanted to slap himself for not noticing the strangely glazed eyes earlier. No wonder she could hear and smell so keenly. He stopped backing away and began to walk towards her, much less afraid than he was before.

"I am sorry. So what's your name, little girl? And why are you here all alone? Where are your parents?"

She didn't budge as Maduin walked towards her, his heavy step shaking the ground and sharp taloned feet clacking against the cobblestones. Anyone watching this scene would think the girl about to be devoured by a demon.

"The name's Elphis. Don't have any parents, and no one has time to notice me now that the wanderers are everywhere, hogging everything." She lowered her voice and put her hand over her mouth like she was telling him a secret. "And there's a big dog that's been bothering us lately, too! It smells just like the stinky wanderers from up north, like rotten chocobo eggs! I think it came from the same place as them! When I smell it coming, I hide quick. If I were you I'd hide too, mister...?"

"Oh sorry, I didn't tell you my name, did I?" Maduin felt oddly at ease. He hadn't enjoyed a normal conversation with anyone ever since his transformation. "My name is...," he paused, unsure what to call himself now. It felt wrong calling himself Dune. That man was gone.

"Call me Maduin." He said finally, deciding to stick with the name Doom had given his Esper form. It was who he was now, after all.

"Maydune?" the girl said, giggling. "That's a funny name, but I guess it fits a funny person like you. What kinda shoes are you wearing anyways? Sounds like you have claws on your feet like a dog. And boy, you must be really big the way the ground moves when you walk!"

"I, ah..." Maduin hesitated. The more they talked, the more likely it was that she would realize he was not quite human. But she seemed to know what was going on around here despite her disability. He decided to take a chance and see what she knew, brushing off any comments about his Esper form. Besides, he liked the girl. She was brimming with youthful vitality and optimism, despite her surely unhappy and difficult existence, and Maduin felt he could learn something about making the best of his circumstances from her.

"So, Elphis, you're an orphan? No one takes care of you? How do you survive?"

"Ah, it's not so bad." Elphis said nonchalantly. "Never knew my parents, and no one else seems to know who they were either. They say I was just left here one day as a baby, no note, no nothing. Been alone on the streets for most of my life. Nobody wants to take care of a blind kid for long, you know?"

She stopped and smirked, and Maduin expected her to be upset at the way her life turned out, but she was just smiling and chatting happily.

"Anyways, I learned how to survive, stealing fruit or bread or even meat when I could. People never suspect a little blind girl. It's too easy!" She laughed, a high tinkling laugh that made Maduin smile despite himself. "And now that there's all sorts of strange people around, it's even easier. I've never ate so well!"

"What about this big dog you spoke of? Aren't you afraid of it?"

"Nah, it stinks, remember?" Elphis said, puffing up. "I can smell it coming even before the rest of the town knows its here. They try to see it in the dark, but they can't, so they get caught. And it makes a lot of noise too. Kinda sounds like you, actually. But bigger, and with four clacky feet. It makes a sound like a whole pack of lobos when it howls, too. Kinda scary, but it hasn't noticed me yet. I'm good at hiding. You didn't notice me either when I came up behind you."

"But what is it, and where did it come from? What's it doing here in a place like Antissa?"

"Boy, you ask a lot of questions mister! And where did you come from, hmm?"

Maduin wanted to laugh at the girl's precociousness, but he did his best to stay serious. "I'm from the city in the north, Narsille. Do you know what happened to it?"

"Yeah, they say a big fire burned it down or something. A volcano, or an earthquake, or a big storm happened, too. Nobody knows for sure, but nobody can get in and find out now that the gate's shut." The girl lowered her voice to a whisper again, and stood on her tip-toes to get closer to where she assumed Maduin's lofty head must be. "And they say that big dog guards the gates, too! They say anyone who gets too close gets eaten up!"

"Really? Has anyone seen this dog? Why is it attacking Antissa?"

"More questions! Well, I don't mind. Nobody ever wants to talk to me except to tell me to scram, anyways. This is fun! But yeah, people have seen it. Obviously I haven't, but they say it's as big as house, and all black. Plus, get this - they say it has three heads! I don't know about that one, but it sure sounds like it might when it howls all night."

"Three heads? How's that possible?" Maduin wondered about such an abomination. Was this nightmare really another result of the wild magic flowing over the world now, or something else? The vaporites were small, simple-minded, and mostly harmless in small numbers, but this creature was something else entirely.

"How do I know! That's just what they say. Most of the people that see it are the ones that get taken away, so it might not be true."

"Taken away? Where?"

"Don't know. Nobody does. It comes in the night, grabs whoever it can find, and then vanishes until the next night. The people it takes never come back. Some people have talked about trying to group together and fight it, but how do you fight something like that? If everyone just hid like me, it would go away. Grown ups can be really stupid sometimes."

"Will it come tonight?" Maduin's questions were persistent, but the girl didn't seem to mind. She liked having someone to talk to just as much as Maduin did.

"Probably. It's come every night for the past two months. Everyone tries to act like nothing's wrong during the day, but they're starting to get really scared. Not me, though. I'm just gonna keep hiding, and sooner or later it will go away." She stopped and craned her neck back to peer up into Maduin's face with those unseeing eyes, a hopeful smile on her face. "Hey! You seem like you're a pretty tough guy, Maydune. Why don't you join the grown ups that're gonna try and fight the dog tonight?"

Maduin chuckled to himself. They would just as soon try and fight him if he offered to help. But, he didn't come here to hide.

"I definitely want to have a look at this creature tonight, but I think I'll do it alone. I can take care of myself in a fight, don't worry about that."

"You're stupid." Elphis said with the perfect bluntness of youth. "You might be big, but he's way bigger, and meaner. He may have to take a couple bites, but he'll eat you up just like everyone else. If you won't join the rest of the grown ups, I would just hide. Besides, I like you. I don't wanna see you get eaten, Maydune." The girl's honesty was touching.

Maduin felt his chest tighten as he looked down at the girl's sweet face staring up at him with its big blue eyes and promises of friendship. It was true, too. The two had taken a strange liking to each other in the little time they had spent talking to each other. Now he had one more person on his conscience to protect here. But how to protect the poor abandoned girl when no one wanted her?

"Elphis, do you know where the Laperdeaus live?" Surely Mae wouldn't turn out the girl?

"Yep. They live right over there. Their daughter just came back, and she's real nice, but a little sad. The mom's really mean, though. I wouldn't stay with them if I were you."

Now Maduin laughed out loud, a deep and rich laugh that boomed through the alley. The girl giggled too at the odd sound his laughter made. "Yes, Mrs. Laperdeau can be tough to handle, but I think we should both go there tonight. I'll make sure they take you in and keep you safe, you have my word." Without thinking, Maduin put his clawed hand out and patted her affectionately on the head, forgetting her acute awareness of his body's sounds, smells, and movements.

If the girl noticed the sharp claws and the stone-hard hand that was cold as ice, she didn't say anything this time. She just let him touch her like any kind-hearted adult, and spoke in the same light-hearted tone as before.

"I dunno. People don't like taking in the wanderers nowadays. Some think it's their fault the dog's been attacking us. Like, they did something to make it mad or something. I don't think they'll let you or me stay with them."

Maduin wasn't sure either, but he had to try. He couldn't go blundering into their home like he did his apartment when he tried to rescue Mae, scaring them all half to death. No, he had to be more subtle this time, and perhaps Elphis's presence would make things easier. The little girl was right about Mae's mother, though. Mrs. Laperdeau was a tough old woman, set in her ways, and not afraid to speak her mind. The thought never crossed his mind that Mae would rebuff him once she realized it was truly her Dune, but her mother was another story. But...he had to try. This was what he came here for, and even if he had to drag Mae away from her home kicking and screaming - again - then that was what he must do. It might not be the best course of action, and he hoped it wouldn't come to that, but night was coming fast, and he had little time to convince the whole family that his intentions were pure.

"Come, Elphis," Maduin said softly. "You may be surprised to know this, but the Laperdeaus are old friends of mine. Once they recognize me, I'm sure they'll help me, and I will make sure they help you too. No one should have to live like this."

"Really?" Elphis's blank eyes were wide with hopes of being cared for again. Without a word, she searched for and grabbed Maduin's beastly hand like she would any human adult, squeezing it tightly. "Will you stay with me, no matter what?"

"No matter what."

And Maduin meant it.