Chapter 83

The Temple of Hyne

Some miles offshore from the south-eastern tip of the western continent, visible over a narrow strait, was the relatively unspoilt Nanchuket Island. This was the home of the Temple of Hyne, with the World's largest place of worship on crags overlooking the entire island. It was a staggering cathedral more than a hundred and fifty yards long and half as wide, with two cupolas flanking the entrance and one at the rear, each dwarfed by the most impressive tower above the nave, which reached seventy yards high.

Selena was presently standing in its forecourt, her and Admiral Ramius waiting to be received by the Archmaester. They were accompanied by a handful of former Boat Troop personnel who were no less loyal to Ramius, and who, like he and Selena, were making their way between particular statues. The only others present were some devout worshippers, unperturbed by the presence of imperial soldiers, come for their daily prayers at the cathedral from the neighbouring city of Nanchuket itself.

The aforementioned statues, fifteen in all, were of the all the known Descendants of Hyne past and present, which was actually a modest number when considering this covered a span of five thousand years. Perhaps more unnerving was that one third of their number had Succeeded within the past sixty years. It must be appreciated that the Original Four had been very long-lived, as had the ones who had received their powers – the last of these Successors, Adel, had died only twenty years ago. For this reason, the previous Archmaesters had not had much need of skilled stonemasons for many generations.

The current Archmaester had been a young and dutiful Maester when news reached him of the death of the Holy Dollet Empire's last ruler, Jadis. He had been internally elected Archmaester during middle age, and it had been but months year later when a Galbadian army officer named Edea Almasy had revealed herself as Jadis' Successor. Edea's statue faced the twelve-foot high one of Adel, who would become her nemesis during the First Sorceress War. Though the depiction of a teenaged Edea in a Galbadian army uniform had long since been replaced with a more malevolent one, one of Edea Kramer, reflecting the charcoal dress with the metallic half-circle and flowing drapes she had worn during the Second Sorceress War.

When the Archmaester had been over sixty years old, he had seen the unprecedented Succession of four more Descendants. The statue of Rinoa Leonhart, with her angelic wings and the odd sun-shaped projectile on her left wrist, had been finished before the end of the year 5001. The Divide had happened the following year, as had the emergence of Reina Vlahos, and so the forecourt had seen three new additions. Now, statues of Quistis Aki and Selphie Kinneas were situated either side to the one of Rinoa, while one of a more human-looking Ultimecia had previously stood next to the one of her mother, Adel.

In the midst of them all, towering higher even than the statues of Adel and Zenobia, was the Great Hyne. Whole and with His skin, as He had been before the Fall and the Second Coming. Yet not as one of His self-centred Tools born in the current generation might expect, as Hyne was dressed in flamboyant robes, high boots and was wearing a fascinator, which the white marble did not do enough justice. The faith did not deny Hyne had been highly materialistic.

Selena was now standing before the incomplete statue of Ultimecia, which was being completely replaced by newly contracted shumi. The general shape was done, which would eventually reflect the changes to Her Grace's new avatar. The sidelong 'hair-horns', as Selena thought of them, were already splayed out, and the marble looked so pointed one could impale themselves on them. One focused shumi was carving the raven wings, while another was squatted and chipping away intently but gently on the lioness paws that grounded it. Another was behind the statue, working on the gown.

'None shall remember how the Empress used to look,' Ramius commented.

Selena murmured, then replied, 'I think many within the Empire have already forgotten.'

Ramius had only just returned to active duty since the death of Krysta, surprising Selena, who had suspected he would want to retire. The Aged Admiral wore his medal-adorned sailor's uniform, though the characteristic twirled and oiled moustache he had always worn so proudly had since become droopy and bedraggled. He had also grown a straggly beard since his daughter's death, and had a generally distant look about him.

'Empress Adel,' he sighed, looking now to the larger-than-life statue next to Ultimecia's. 'Her transfiguration has been immortalised here, although she only looked like this in the final century of her life. My grandmother said she retained her classical beauty until then, but alas, I was born too late to behold it.'

Next, they passed the statue of Sorceress Thalassa, in all her majesty with her intricate scales, trailing fishtail and trident. The namesake of the Zell Dincht's daughter, who now captained White SeeD and was leading the approaching enemy fleet.

Selena had heard unconfirmed rumours of General Zebalga's death at Jericho, corroborated by Galbadian and Dollean news outlets. She had always felt like there was a superior force protecting Zebalga, and how that death would never greet him on the battlefield; even recently, he had been responsible for the deaths of notable SeeDs such as the Blonde Buzzard and the Torama Fang. But Selena had heard nothing from the Empress, no word that she was to succeed him. She knew the Empress was in the middle of a pivotal campaign, and taking Jericho had presumably fallen to Reinhardt and his son, but all the same, it would have been very easy for the Empress to get into contact with her. That Selena had heard naught from her only living relative was a further gesture of contempt.

Selena glanced at Ramius again.

'How was your trip to the Grandidi?'

The widowed Admiral just smiled, his face creasing like old paper. His affair with Ialantha was probably the worst kept secret among the armed forces, and that the Praetorian had been granted annual leave at the same time as Ramius' compassionate one had not gone unnoticed.

''Twas splendid, thank you,' he said.

They stopped before the three statues grouped together on the western side, presently covered in the long shadow of the immense statue of the worm-like Queen Zenobia. The present threat to the Empire, with two of them being still alive. The one of Quistis had recently had 5021 AH inscribed beneath the year of her Succession, rather than her year of birth.

Ramius' vacant look had returned, and he was gazing at the faintly smiling face of Rinoa. Despite not desiring it, Ramius had been given credit for killing Fury Caraway personally, even though he had told Selena the truth of what happened. He had also confessed to suffering a reoccurring nightmare, in which a black-winged Rinoa always came for him; the cycle of death and retribution never ending.

The Archmaester finally showed himself in the forecourt. Now at over eighty namedays, his lance-thin body was mostly obscured by his gold-hemmed robes, though he appeared to be in sound health and stood with impressive posture. The octogenarian wore a matching mitre and was clean shaven, possessing a long, hooked nose and handlebar-shaped mouth made him resemble a goblin. Selena recognised the scent of citronella emanating from him as he neared.

He flanked by four of the Temple Knights – mostly veteran soldiers from all nations who lived with their families in Nanchuket. Such a service meant these men – and only men – could remain as soldiers, rather than spend the rest of their working lives in the police or security forces, even if they were just flamboyant dressed bodyguards. They were silent and dutiful, with white cloaks over light grey uniforms clasped with golden crests. While they rarely spoke unbidden, the hodgepodge of nationalities has resulted in an accent that was unique to Nanchuket, replete with dialect words and unlike any other in the World. The Temple Knights had a well-disciplined army of around five thousand, the same size of an imperial legion.

'Thank you for receiving us, Your Radiance,' Selena said respectfully.

'It is my pleasure,' the Archmaester returned, then said, 'Although I trust you have come in peace, weapons are forbidden to all but the Temple Knights within a place of worship.' The Archmaester nodded to the two handsome brown-haired Knights, possibly brothers, who both had grey showing at their roots. 'Can any who wish to walk within our walls please part with any offending items.'

'It will be just the Admiral and I,' Selena clarified. 'The rest of us will be remaining here.'

Ramius had just his old yet not dull cutlass at his waist. Selena unclipped her two gladius sheaths and her plasma pistol from her bodysuit. Then she handed over the latest addition to her arsenal, the single-bladed axe formerly belonging to her mother, Freydis. Selena sometimes used it in homage to her Trabian side. She had opted for it in the coming battles, as she knew she would have to face Rhodry Blaen's reckoning before long, and knew she could not best the Abadon at the sword. Feigning a goodwill gesture, Selena also took out the thin, concealed dagger sheathed on the inside of her left gauntlet, offering it by the blade to a grey-haired Knight. However, neither knew about her hidden magicite, and with Carbuncle's power alone she could topple the cathedral and everyone inside.

The two brown-haired Temple Knights wrapped arms around the loads, holding them to their armour as they walked away. The elder two remained with them.

'Thank you,' the Archmaester said. 'Now, please follow me to my private chambers.'

They did so, keeping a respectable behind. While Selena had never beheld the majesty of the cathedral's interior before, Ramius said he had once, as a young gubernator, but even he had to marvel at its wonder. The flooring was an alternating white and tawny veined marble bordering pentagram of mosaics, which remained unspoilt despite centuries of pilgrims' footfall. At the apex of similarly tiled arches were smaller mosaics of sun, moons and stars surrounding rose windows. Dozens of rows of oil-darkened and hand-carved redwood pews lay before the golden altar, in which another statue of Hyne was seated on a golden throne, except this statue had been painted in uncountable colours.

In every candlelit alcove were murals of Hyne's journey as Creator. Hyne seated before his earlier creations; the elves, the dwarves and the gigases, whom had predated the humans. His old kingdom where the Kakashbald was now, with its golden pyramid at its nexus. His triumph against the 'evil' deity Amaterasu, and His preparations for the Long Slumber. The Ancestral Sin of the human race, when the Tools of Hyne had united with the 'false gods' and the 'sub-races' to overthrow their lethargic Creator. A skinless Hyne's 'reluctant' alliance with Xande and the Cloud of Darkness. His Second Coming, seated on a throne of gnarled roots at the Eldertree to await the 'blasphemous' Warriors of Light. Some centuries later, His complacent Tools in terror as they witnessed the first Lunar Cry.

The remaining murals depicted all the Lunar Cries that followed, the final one showing the red pall over Esthar City. Selena and Ramius needed no reminder of this, as it was seared into their minds as clearly as it had happened that very morning.

The Archmaester led them to a solid wooden door at the western side, also carved from redwood. He took an old mortice key from his robes and opened it, leading them up a spiral staircase to an identical door. This led to his personal living space.

It was lit by two lancet windows depicting the same ostentatious image of Hyne as the largest statue in the forecourt, though like the one on the altar, no effort had been spared on the colours, resulting in a myriad of shades and tones illuminating the rest of the broad space. The huge rug covering most of the tiled floor looked to be in the style of the Dingo nomads. There was a single armchair next to a gigantic unlit hearth but little else in the way of personal comforts, and most of the tomes on a nearby bookshelf looked to be religious texts. There was a roll-top bureau between the two stained-glass windows.

The Archmaester walked to the hearth and sunk into the armchair. There were no other chairs, speaking of how little the Archmaester received visitors in these chambers. The two grey-haired and silent Temple Knight took places either side of him, standing rigidly, leaving Selena and Ramius to stand before him.

'Please state your business,' he said matter-of-factly, placing spindly hands on his lap.

'Not to presume you are ignorant as to current events, Your Radiance,' Selena began. 'But Fisherman's Horizon was attacked by Allied forces yesterday, as a springboard for a move on our western Provinces. As I speak, White SeeD and Centran royalists sail for Nanchuket and Redwood. I have only three legions at my disposal with which to defend against an amphibious invasion. As you pledged allegiance to the Empire two years ago, I would have you consign your Temple Knights to a defence of Redwood.'

The Temple had considered Nanchuket to be its own country throughout the first three thousand years of its history. Two thousand years ago, it had been absolved when the Holy Dollet Empire completed its domination of the western continent, albeit more willingly when a Sorceress had seized its throne, remaining this way until the old superpower's implosion sixty-five years ago. While a newly-breakaway Timber – and subsequently Galbadia – had respected the sovereignty as its closest neighbour, the Empress had expected capitulation after Timber's annexation. The Archmaester had collaborated, holding that the Temple was subservient to Hyne and those of His Descendants who sought to rule over common mortals. Despite being allowed to govern autonomously, without an Esthari-appointed Governor, it was now technically apart of the Empire.

It would help Selena somewhat that the Temple was particularly biased against the Centrans, as their monarchy had unceremoniously split from the Temple centuries ago, with the reigning king seizing all places of worship across the Nine Shires and stealing their coffers.

'The heathens will be here this afternoon,' Selena mentioned. 'With their false gods. Presently, our main force is engaging the breakaway Dolleans, while the Empress and her Knight await the Children of Fate.'

The Archmaester remained silent for a time, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

'The Temple is subservient to the Descendants that seek to impose the Great Hyne's will,' he replied.

'And it won't be a problem that two of the Great Hyne's Descendants still fight for the Allies?' Selena asked.

The Archmaester shook his head very slowly, then looked to the nearest image of Hyne on the stained glass.

'Despite our obligation to commemorate all of His Descendants, the Temple teaches its followers to hold in contempt those Chosen who have been unwilling – or worse – have attempted to conceal or exorcise themselves of their divine power. The Divide is seen as a huge sacrilege! It is no coincidence that our three newest statues are in the shadow of others at all hours of the day.' Suddenly, the Archmaester leaned forward, his gaze becoming unfocused, and his voice took on the vigour of a much younger man. 'Sorceress Ultimecia is the one! The one who will unite the Great Hyne's whole Half and offer herself unto Him! Only then shall the Great Hyne return to the Planet, and only then shall we be forgiven for our Ancestral Sin! We humble Tools will witness His Rejoining, the event we have longed for the past five thousand years!'

There it was. Selena had just heard it from the chocobo's mouth. They Temple cared little for the outcome of the war. Becoming an ally of the Empire merely furthered their own ends. And in reality, she knew the Archmaester was sadly mistaken. The Empress, she was sure, would seek out the disembodied Hyne one day, whether in Selena's lifetime or another. Yet she doubted Ultimecia would be offering Him anything – much the opposite. Still, the defence of Redwood was a present and earthly problem, and she needed the Temple Knights if she was to have any chance of holding the city.

The Archmaester leaned back into his chair.

'And how do you propose to hold them?' he asked.

Ramius audibly inhaled, signifying his intention to address the Archmaester for the first time.

'We know how and when they will attack, Your Radiance,' he said simply. 'The false god Leviathan is powerful, but his manipulation of the tides is no exception to the laws of physics, and even the largest of sea creatures can be snared by a big enough net. The heathens' navy – if it can even be called as such – is haphazardly assembled and being trained by sailors from FH, as we understand it. Moreover, the enemy have largely forgotten about an older form of our technology, one we have not yet employed during war. With geography being in our favour, we can employ our hologram curtains, showing the heathens exactly what they will expect to see. By the time they realise the illusion, they will be trapped. With your leave, Your Radiance, I will keep the majority of my fleet on your shores until our trap is sprung.'

The Archmaester simply stared into the middle distance.

'If all goes to plan,' Selena continued, 'they will have no choice but to try and force their way onto land, lest they be sunk to the ocean bed. And I will not be making it easy for them, even with the,' she caught herself, 'false gods at their disposal. The Centran army is more of militia; they have spent their entire lives as hunter-gatherers and have only recently been unified, largely basing their methods on second-hand anecdotes of modern warfare. They are ill-trained and equipped, and many even wear steel armour.'

As the Archmaester continued to stare vacantly, Selena looked between the still and silent Temple Knights, who had been listened with interest. While she knew nothing about them, they were tall and remained powerfully built in middle age, and she believed their talents had largely been wasted in the Temple's service. She would take five hundred of these Knights over a whole legion of conscripted imperial soldiers.

'So, Your Radiance,' Selena said, looking back to the Archmaester. His tired eyes finally met hers again. 'May we begin preparations to escort your Temple Knights across the strait?'

The Archmaester smiled, stretching his lined face across his prominent cheekbones in an expression that looked anything but pious.

'You may,' he said. 'And may the Great Hyne be with you.'