Chapter 13 - Bevelle

Tara and Gian reached the far end of the Bevelle Highbridge. Gian stopped to take a look around.

"Tara, here we are. The Palace of Saint Bevelle. The heart of Yevon, and the largest city in all of Spira. The place I used to call home. A lot of good memories. And, some not-so-good ones as well."

Tara gave Gian's hand a gentle squeeze.

"I know you don't want to be here. Let's just do what we need to do, and move on, okay?"

The pair entered the palace grounds and took a look at their surroundings. Tara spied a gift shop she really wanted to check out.

"Gian, let's stop in here for a few moments, I want to take a look around."

"You go ahead. I have a quick errand I have to take care of. I won't be long. I'll meet you back here, okay?"

Tara looked at her guardian. "Will you be alright?"

"Yes. I just have a quick message to deliver, that's all."

Gian surveyed the courtyard and found the person he was looking for. A tall gentleman, wearing a long white flowing robe, who was seated at one of the lunch tables. Sitting next to him was another man in a long red coat. He approached the table.

"Excuse me, but are you Braska?"

"Yes." The man replied.

Gian continued, "I have a message for you. Larissa says she misses you. She hopes you will visit again soon."

The news made Braska smile. "You've been to Home, I take it?"

"Yes, I was just there an hour or so ago."

This surprised Braska. "And now you're here? I'd love to know how you managed that. Please, have a seat. Join us for lunch. It's on me."

Gian politely declined. "I can't, but thanks anyway. I'm sure the guards have already notified Kinoc that I'm here."

The man in the red coat spoke. "What's Kinoc's problem with you?"

The guardian took a deep breath. "What's Kinoc's problem with anybody? If you know him, you know what he's about."

"Watch yourself," the man in the red coat muttered, "and watch your summoner."

Braska spoke one last time. "You are guardian to Lady Tara of Kilika, yes? Word gets around. I wish you luck."

Gian caught up with Tara who had finished looking around inside the gift shop. He looked at his summoner.

"Are we ready?"

"As ready as I'm going to get," the summoner replied. She clearly did not want to be here any more than he did.

The pair crossed the courtyard and made their way to the path toward Bevelle Temple when Gian heard a voice that was unfortunately all-too-familiar. It was the voice he knew he would not escape Bevelle without hearing.

"You have some nerve showing your face here again. Why have you come back?" Gian turned to face the Bevelle Guard's junior commander, Wen Kinoc.

Tara was not in the mood for any of it. She glared at the man she suspected of being responsible for more than a few of her guardian's headaches.

"Is Bevelle suddenly no longer open to the citizens of Spira? What's it to you?"

"Who the hell are you to talk to me like that?" Kinoc raged. "Do you know who I am?"

Tara met Kinoc's anger. "I have a pretty good suspicion that you're the man who made Gian's life miserable for far too long. And for what reason? Just get the hell out of our way, Kinoc."

A junior guard huffed, "That's Sir Kinoc!" Gian shot the man a look that suggested silence would be the best option. The junior guard got the message.

Kinoc laughed loudly, "Really, Gian? Gonna let the little woman fight your battles for you, eh?"

"Kinoc, she's way out of your league," the guardian chuckled. "Do yourself a favor. Quit now, while youthink you're still ahead."

Kinoc was amused. "You disappoint me, Gian. You could have had everything. And now look at you."

The guardian shrugged. "Alright Kinoc, I'll take the bait. Yes, look at me. I gave Bevelle ten years of of my life, and ten years of exemplary service. I wasn't going to accomplish anything more here. So I decided to move on with my life. I have a home now. A home on a beautiful island." He took hold of Tara's hand and smiled. Tara smiled defiantly as well. "I have an absolutely wonderful woman who loves me. Do you have any idea what that's like, Kinoc? You say I could have had everything. In every way that matters, I do have everything.

Kinoc just shook his head.

Gian continued, "Let's have a little truth here, Kinoc. I gave Bevelle everything I had to give. I wasn't going to accomplish anything else here. You would have seen to that personally. Why? Because I questioned you? Any good officer would have done the same. I wouldn't want to serve under someone who considered their own intellect beyond reproach. There was nothing more for me here. So I decided to move on with my life. I never did anything to stand in your way, ever. I just moved on. Is that really so terrible?"

"I can see I'm wasting my time here. Go on. Go. Get out of here! Go home to your little backwater island and take your smart-mouthed little whore with you!"

Before Gian could react, Tara stepped forward and leveled Kinoc with a right cross that knocked the self-important commander squarely onto his rear end. It was a punch that would have made any of the warrior monks proud.

Kinoc sputtered and fumed with rage. He began screaming at the guards.

"What are you waiting for? Get them!"

Gian quickly moved in front of his summoner to meet the rush of the guards.

"Tara, run! I'll hold them off and meet you at you-know-where!"

The fight was not going in Gian's favor as he was greatly outnumbered. Suddenly, the mysterious young man in the red coat appeared and leveled two of the guards with a couple of well-placed sword strikes. The remaining guards quickly fled, knowing now that they were the ones who were over-matched. Kinoc was nowhere to be found.

The man in red surveyed the area.

"I know a less-obvious route to the temple. We must hurry. Come."

The pair quickly and quietly made their way through Bevelle's back streets.

"Thanks for the help," the guardian offered. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Auron," was the reply.

Being unfamiliar with Bevelle Palace, Tara had no way to know she was moving in the wrong direction. She ran through hallways, up staircases, through more hallways, doors, chambers, and finally, she burst through a door that she hoped would lead her into one of the city's back alleys. Instead, she found herself high atop the bridge that lead to the Altar of the Grand Maester. Shoot, Tara… now you've really done it! Tara kept running, hoping there would be an exit on the other side of the bridge. Unfortunately, there was no exit to be found. Six guards burst through the same door that she had come through and they were intent on making their capture.

Tara got an idea she thought was so crazy that it just might work. Tara ran straight towards the back of the altar with every ounce of strength that she had. If there really is some sort of heavenly deity watching over us, please be watching now, and let this work! Tara approached the edge of the altar and jumped, leaving the guards in stunned silence.

As Tara plummeted towards the Bevelle streets, she reached out and began to summon. Valefor, I need you! Hurry! The wondrous bird-like aeon emerged through a beautiful silver-white burst in the sky. With blinding speed, Valefor swooped underneath and caught the summoner in her outstretched wings. Still shaking with fear, Tara offered her thanks to the aeon, which flew her straight to the entrance of Bevelle Temple.

Gian and Auron arrived at the temple shortly afterwards. The warriors quickly made their way through the trials and ended up in the antechamber. The fact that Bevelle Temple was adorned with forbidden machina was not lost on either of the warriors. Gian quickly moved towards the door leading into the Chamber of the Fayth. He tried to lift it with all his might but was unable to. The door would not budge.

"What are you doing? Auron exclaimed. "You can't go in there. It is forbidden!"

Gian looked directly into Auron's eyes.

"Forbidden by who? By Yevon who routinely lies to its own people, and who betray their own teachings? You saw everything in this temple that I saw, and you know what it means just the same as I do. Auron, there's only one thing in this world I care about, and she's on the other side of this door.

Gian resumed his attempt to lift the door open. Auron lent his strength and together, they managed to open the door to the Chamber of the Fayth. Gian smiled and clasped Auron's shoulder in a simple gesture of appreciation and friendship.

"Thanks again for the help. You might want to get out of here before you get caught. Give Braska my best."

Auron returned Gian's gesture and nodded. "I will. You be careful." The warrior was then gone.

Gian took a long look around. He had never seen the inside of a Chamber of the Fayth before. Neither had anybody else who wasn't a summoner. He saw Tara praying to what appeared to be a little boy with dark skin who was dressed in purple shorts, top, and a hood.

The being hung in place for a moment and then floated directly into Tara's body in a blinding flash of light. Tara lost consciousness. Gian turned to carry his summoner outside the chamber, when the little boy in purple appeared once more. He spoke to Gian directly.

"One day, we will talk."

Gian emerged from the chamber with Tara in his arms. He was not surprised to see more guards waiting for him. Before the guardian could react, there was another blinding flash of light. The awe-inspiring aeon Bahamut appeared. The guards were so terrified at the sight of the dragon, they failed to notice Gian sneaking out the front door, with Tara still in his arms.

Gian wondered how the aeon had appeared, when Tara was still unconscious, unable to summon him. He quickly hurried through one of the secondary doors and into a dimly lit hall where everything appeared to look the same. He heard several footsteps, then the click of the door's lock. He expected it, and he knew he would not leave this location the same way he entered.

When Tara awoke, she hurriedly flew into her guardians arms.

"Gian! I've never been so scared in my life!" the summoner cried. "Are we safe now?"

Gian comforted his summoner, who had laid her head upon his shoulder and was still sobbing. "Yes, we're safe for the time being. But we're not in a safe place. This is the Via Purifico. This is where Bevelle sends its prisoners to die."

The Via Purifico was filled with undead creatures. It took quite some time for Gian and Tara to fight their way to the exit, but they finally made it out. As the pair left Bevelle, Gian remained silent.

Pausing at the entrance to the Calm Lands, Tara spoke.

"Gian, what is it? You've been pretty quiet ever since we left Bevelle."

"I've just been thinking about Yevon's teachings," the guardian replied. "I saw an awful lot in the temple that would betray those teachings. It just makes me wonder. Stenn said something about 'living in the dark ages forever' and it really just made me re-think a lot of things. If Yevon would lie to us about machina, what else would they lie to us about?"

"I can't answer that. All I know is that we still have each other," Tara smiled. "And if you ask me, that's all we need."

The pair shared a long hug. Tara's word sunk into Gian's heart as he looked at her and returned her smile. She was right.

Taking Tara's hand, the pair made their way into the Calm Lands.