In the stories of old, dragoons didn't ride the skies alone. Instead, the legends told of the extraordinary bond between a dragoon and their dragon, raised together since infancy, as close as blood siblings. Being a dragoon was not something a person decided on a whim; one had to be born into it, paired with a dragon egg just as their mothers' bellies began to show.
It was an inheritance passed down through the generations, creating a sense of reverence for those privileged enough to be dragon riders. In battle, they were like gods astride their fearsome companions, striking in terrifying tandem, claws and teeth joining lances and spears, tearing all asunder. Together, they were both deadly and beautiful, slicing through the sky with an unparalleled grace.
The story goes that the first eggs were offered freely. It is said the Dragon Queen happened upon a man who was hunting in the wild. She watched him as he stalked his prey, then struck it down with a single, precise throw of his spear. His efficient kill both impressed and inspired the Dragon Queen, who found herself admiring the noble hunter. She revealed herself to him and invited him to join her on a real hunt. The man obliged, sitting astride the Dragon Queen, clinging tight to the hard scales of her spine as she took off into the air.
Together, they hunted through the sky, riding through the winds in search of prey. In some versions of the story, the Dragon Queen transformed into a human woman, and they coupled midair.
They would have continued forever, but the Dragon Queen heard a trumpeting call, beckoning her back home. At the same time, the man heard panicked cries below, shouting out his name. The Dragon Queen brought the man back to the earth, where his betrothed waited with relieved tears and open arms. Overhead, a dark shadow circled the sky, letting out another thunderous bellow – it was the Dragon King, summoning his wife back to his side.
Forlorn, they parted and did not meet again until many years later, when the man was again hunting, now teaching his young son. The Dragon Queen, flying overhead, spotted them, and recognized her beloved hunter despite the years. Descending on a wild whirlwind, the Dragon Queen presented herself to the man again. Only this time, she was not alone, a shy drake at her side, who peered out curiously at the boy.
It was the boy who first recognized a heart kinship, approaching the drake with open arms, calling him brother. From that moment on, they were inseparable. The Dragon Queen and man realized their bond right away and agreed then that their childhoods would be spent together, alternating time between dragons and humans, to learn from both. They would learn how to fight, hunt, and fly together, and become more formidable than any dragon or man alone.
When the boy grew to manhood, he brought his son hunting, as his father before him, and together they met the Dragon Queen, who found the son similarly noble and worthy, and bestowed an egg to hatch and raise.
Whether the legend was true, and the first dragon eggs were indeed voluntary, no one knows for certain, but contemporary dragons have always been aggressive to any near their eggs or den. If a dragoon wanted his child to have a dragon, they'd have to steal one in stealth or face a dragon mother's wrath.
Family stories passed down tales of epic hunts, searching for well-hidden dragon dens, hoping to secret an egg out before the mother returned. They told of dangerous battles, sometimes having to kill a mother to get access to her eggs. There were attempts to breed them in captivity, but the resulting offspring were sickly and weak at birth and did not survive their infancy. Only wild eggs could produce a strong enough dragon worthy of a dragoon.
Gradually, over the generations, the eggs became scarcer. Either the dragon mothers had found better places to hide their nests, or they simply migrated to other lands. The result was the same, there were fewer dragon-rider dragoons every year.
Eventually, there were no more eggs, and dragon riding became a myth of the past. Richard had once spoken of his grandfather, who told a story about his grandfather being the last dragoon to successfully hunt an egg. It did not survive, however, and the Highwinds lost their claim to the sky.
It was the invention of the airship that brought dragoons back up into the sky again, giving them back the freedom of the winds. Richard told Kain about his first Jump from the deck of an airship with a nostalgic awe that stirred a desperate yearning in Kain for the same, fueling his ambition to be just like his father.
"You're dead," Kain croaked, suddenly terrified that the figure before him was the result of dark, unholy magic, some twisted undead creature he left behind on Mount Ordeals. "You died in an airship crash eleven years ago," Kain fought to keep his voice neutral, but the words came out as an accusation.
"I Jumped away from an airship crash," Richard corrected Kain, his expression now sober, the humor gone.
"Over the ocean!" Kain countered, desperately drowning in a dangerous mix of anger, relief, and utter confusion. "How did you survive? And if you've been alive all these years, why didn't you…" Ultimately, it was hurt that won out; Kain was suddenly ten years old again, his first night alone in Baron castle, his heart gnawing itself raw with grief, with years of loneliness stretched out before him. Kain found himself unable to finish, his newfound sorrow too overwhelming for words.
Is this what betrayal feels like? Kain wondered at this new wound.
"There is much to explain," Richard said through a clenched jaw. Then, he peered up, squinting against the bright sun overhead. Kain followed Richard's gaze and saw an airship, circling high overhead, its red hull bright against the blue of the sky. "But first, we need head back to Baron."
"They cannot land here," Kain said, turning around in a circle, observing the jagged mountain peaks that crowded together. And even if they could navigate the narrow space between mountain ranges, there was no safe place to land, with all the broken earth and rubble.
"They won't have to," Richard remarked, now grinning again. He lowered his helm's visor, then turned to the strange golden woman, who had been watching their exchange without comment. "Shall we, Barbariccia?"
"It's too high up to Jump," Kain protested, this time exasperated.
The woman ignored Kain, stepping forward to take Richard's hand in hers. She offered her other hand to Kain, who stared at her dumbly, uncomprehending.
"You know me, Kain Highwind," Barbariccia said, her voice surprisingly gentle, like a soft, tickling breeze leaving lazy footprints on the surface of calm water. "Think about it," she suggested softly. A light breeze drifted in, lightly pulling at Kain's hair, sending the blond strands streaming to the side.
Kain blinked hard and in that instant, he remembered and knew – she had permeated every dream he'd ever had of open, blue skies, the lure of freedom on each distant horizon. He had always been alone in those dreams, exhilarated yet desperately lonely. He yearned for autonomy over his own life, but also for the confinement of company, and knowing these wants were at odds. But weren't all Kain's desires in perpetual conflict? Now Kain knew otherwise – he hadn't been alone.
Even outside of dreams, Barbariccia had been there, drifting in on the wind, filling his lungs, guiding him through the currents, untangling his messy thoughts and leaving them behind, giving him a rare clarity of mind. He knew her soft sighs and screaming gales, her teasing playfulness and her angry demanding pushes.
Kain could only stare at Barbariccia, wordless and dumbfounded.
Barbariccia smiled, and it was not like Rosa the beaming sun or Cecil the dazzling moon, with Kain's heart caught hopelessly between them. Instead, it had the hint of something wild, with just a slight peek at her pointed teeth. "And I know you," she said, offering her hand again.
She did know him, Kain realized. For a moment, he wallowed in mortified shame, rethinking every whispered confession he'd given to the wind; his lonely nights on Cecil's roof and seeking relief in the cool fingers of the night's breeze; even his time on Mount Ordeals with Rosa, the wind rattling the branches of a nearby tree.
But Barbariccia still stood there, her hand outstretched. She knew his guilt and shame intimately and did not turn away. It seemed a marvel to Kain, this unconditional acceptance of his flaws and sin. Inexplicably, he thought of his mother, and he wondered if she would have loved him this much if she knew the depths of him, originally hollowed out by her own greedy darkness.
Taking Barbariccia' s hand was the easiest decision of Kain's life.
Beside them, Richard's black helmet watched them, saying nothing.
"Jump!" Barbariccia commanded, and Kain both heard and felt it all around him, like a loud clap of thunder too close by. Kain's muscles obeyed before he could really think about it; he crouched, then took off into a Jump, leaving the broken earth behind.
The wind overwhelmed him, launching him high into the sky, faster than he'd ever Jumped before. He fell artlessly through it, fumbling, but then felt Barbariccia' s careful grip on his hand, pulling him back upright. She was all around him, ruffling his hair, soothing his anxiety, encouraging him to go higher, faster, to never turn back…
Kain hit the deck of the airship hard, distracted and unprepared for sudden landing. He rolled to his back, staring up at the sky, too stunned for words. Barbariccia looked down at him, offering him a grin. "You'll get used to it."
"Not too used to it," Richard muttered in a low voice.
With a groan, Kain pulled himself to his feet, blinking hard to clear his mind. Barbariccia was looking at Richard with an arched brow but saying nothing. Around them, the Red Wings crew worked without comment, no one looking surprised at their arrival.
"Let's go inside and talk," Richard finally said, sounding less terse this time. He did not wait for an answer, only turned around and headed for a nearby cabin door.
Barbariccia trailed behind Richard, but glanced back at Kain once, beckoning him with her eyes alone.
Still in a stupor, Kain followed.
Kain knew the airships, not as well as Cid or Cecil, and not in the same way. Kain knew the ships by the currents they left in their wake, in the outward ripples from the roaring engines, by the tilt of the deck under his feet as the ship dived into the wind.
Inside the Captain's cabin, it was the last detail that finally stirred Kain from his dazed stupor, recognizing the ship by how it began to move, the engines shuddering into use. He blinked hard, trying to clear his head, and looked around the Captain's Quarters, realizing he knew them well.
This was the Scarlet Prelude, Kain realized. This was Cecil's ship, but Cecil wasn't here.
"Did you find Cecil?" Kain asked, then quickly corrected himself, "Captain Harvey? Did you find him?"
Richard didn't answer right away, instead taking his helmet off, setting it carefully aside on a desk that was tucked into the cabin's narrow corner. It used to be Cecil's desk, but now it was cleared of his few personal effects – a miniature mechanical model of Cid's first airship; an arrow from Rosa's quiver; a black chocobo feather, a token said to protect travelers in the sky - so said the nomadic merchant when Kain had bought it for Cecil when he first became a pilot. Now, Richard put something on Cecil's desk that didn't belong there and that action unnerved Kain.
"We haven't found him yet, but he's a trained soldier. It's expected that he survived and will make his way to Kaipo. From there he can request assistance getting back to Baron, and report back to Lord Golbez." Richard said, the tone dismissive. "What happened in Mist?" he continued, before Kain had a chance to reply. "Was the earthquake the result of a summon? Did any summoners survive?"
When Kain said nothing, Richard frowned; he looked strangely alien to Kain, as if Kain's memories of his father were cast in a strange light that made Richard look different than he actually was.
"Report, Commander Highwind," Richard said tersely, his jaw tight, the expression uncomfortably familiar to Kain.
"To whom?" Kain countered, his grief evolving into anger. "Just who are you here, on a Red Wings ship? And how are you here?"
"There have been many changes since you were last in Baron," Richard said. "Including a new Captain of the Red Wings, who has sent me here to deal with fall out of the Mist Operation."
"Operation?" Kain asked, full of bitter sarcasm. "Is that what you're calling this unprovoked attack? What happened today is a war crime. Baron must answer for this genocide."
"Boys," Barbariccia cooed, reminding them of her presence, both turning to look at her as she drifted through the room, coming up to stand beside Richard. As she passed Kain, she shook her head, tossing her long hair against his arm. Kain still wore his armor and did not feel it, but the effect still tickled the hair on the back of his neck, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine.
Kain tried not to meet her eyes as she now stood next to Richard but could not help himself; her obvious amusement made her yellow eyes sparkle to gold. "There's plenty of time to explain the how and the why of things. But first, Kain, we need to know: Are all the summoners dead?"
"No," Kain answered immediately, his anger suddenly evaporating. "There was a young girl. When we tried to approach her, she summoned the giant who caused the earthquake. One of the tremors threw me one way, the girl and Cecil another. She might still be alive."
"Could they be together?" Richard asked, voice of uncertainty. "And will Cecil follow through and execute her, as ordered?"
Kain hesitated, then looked to his father. "Cecil and I agreed not to harm her. It is not the Dragoon's way to murder innocents outright."
Richard cursed, low and dark under his breath, then turned to punch the wall beside the desk. His black gauntlet left a splintering hole behind as he withdrew. "Go quickly," Richard said, flexing his fingers within the gauntlet, turning back to Barbariccia, "and report to Lord Golbez. He'll need to send soldiers to Kaipo to intercept Cecil and kill the summoner."
Barbariccia did not hesitate, blinking out of existence abruptly, an urgent breeze trailing in her wake.
"Now, your turn," Richard declared, taking a seat at the desk. "Where do you want me to start? The day I left Baron for the mission?"
"No," Kain said. There was a stool in another corner – Cecil kept it specifically for Kain, usually to review maps and chart the next day's course together. Sometimes it was just for company, sharing a drink after a long shift. Kain sat on it, tucking his long legs in, the position familiar. "Start at the beginning."
"That is the beginning," Richard said, sounding slightly impatient.
Kain shook his head. "No, it's not," Kain stubbornly insisted. "Start with Joanna. What were you two fighting about before you left for the mission?"
Richard's eyes went suddenly wide, full of surprise. "How did you…?" he hesitated, not finishing the question. Then, realization dawned, and he narrowed his eyes in accusation. "Albert told you."
Kain nodded, not trusting himself to convincingly lie if he opened his mouth.
"It was nothing," Richard said, frowning. "Roland had just returned from deployment and Joanna did not want him to leave again so soon."
"I'm not going to stay here and listen to you lie," Kain said, his deep voice low as he stood up. "I know you and Joanna had an affair. I also know that my mother was secretly a dark knight, and Joanna knew but did not tell you."
Richard looked briefly surprised again, but mastered himself quickly, his expression neutral. But some of the color had also gone out of his face, making him look pale. He said nothing, merely watching Kain.
"Why be angry at Joanna?" Kain asked, shifting his weight uneasily between his feet, unsure if he wanted to stay or go. "Would you have acted differently if you knew my mother was undergoing dark knight training and how vulnerable she was? Do you somehow think you would have been more honorable if you knew?" Kain shook his head, answering the question for Richard. "I think you would have acted the same."
"I was angry at everyone," Richard admitted quietly, sounding strangely subdued. "I was angry at Joanna for knowing and not telling me. At Odin for pushing it in the first place. At Roland for…" he hesitated, looking conflicted. "For existing, I suppose. It was not really any of their faults, and I know that now. Elena killed herself because she was deeply unhappy. I…" he paused, considering his next words. "I didn't make her happy, and that is my fault."
Kain thought about telling his father that Elena's true cause of death had been her own fault, an accident while trying to summon up her dark knight magic. If anything, it was Kain's fault, his infant cry startling her, causing an unfortunate slip of her knife. But Kain found that he liked the idea of Richard agonizing with guilt over Elena's death, thinking that the discovery of his affair with Joanna caused Elena to take her own life. It was fitting punishment, Kain decided, for the man who would betray his wife and abandon his son.
"Did you… kill Roland? On the ship?" Kain asked, the question small and unsure. "Did you steal Cid's explosive so that you could kill him and have no witnesses?"
"No," Richard said quickly. "I had the explosive, yes, but under Odin's orders. There'd been recent activity at the Tower of Babil, and Odin was worried that Eblan might have discovered airship technology and were launching their own ships. The explosive was if we came across them, I was to use it."
"But how did it go off? On the ship?" Kain pressed.
Richard sighed, his shoulders deflating. "Roland and I fought. About… the affair. The fight got nasty, the captain separated us, brought us both to his quarters for a lecture. But it got heated again, and Roland and I began fighting in the captain's quarters. He threw me into the wall, and I landed on the box the captain had the explosive stored. I must have set it off when I fell." Richard looked aside; his gaze distant. "The timer is set just long enough for a dragoon to Jump away from a ship." Richard closed his eyes, wincing. "So, I did."
"How did you survive on the open ocean?" Kain asked.
Richard opened his eyes again, and this time was smiling. "Barbariccia saved me and brought me to the Tower. To Lord Golbez."
"But why didn't you come back to Baron?" Kain asked, trying hard not to sound like a hurt little boy. "Why would you leave me alone? Who is this Lord Golbez you'd betray your ideals and kill innocents for? What does he offer you that you'd abandon me in exchange?"
"Dragons," Richard breathed the word, his eyes full of awe. "Lord Golbez can get us dragons."
Kain's heart skipped a beat, his mouth suddenly dry. He thought of the open sky all around him, the rhythmic beat of a dragon's wings, working in concert with the fierce wind currents, his own heart beating in tandem. It was a childhood fantasy suddenly come to life.
Kain sat back down on the stool. Kain met his father's eyes, and even in the dim light, could see the same excitement there. It ignited a childish hope in Kain that he had not indulged in years. In that moment, he forgot the smell of burnt hair and cooking meat as he ran through Mist, the falling ash stinging his eyes, the flicker of bravery in Cecil's eyes as he said he would finally defy the king.
"Tell me everything," Kain said, with a greedy new hunger.
On the flight back to Baron, Richard did not reveal much more about Lord Golbez's plan to bring dragons back to dragoons, or why that involved the summoners' deaths, only that Golbez himself must tell Kain. It left Kain frustrated and bitter; he was being left out yet again.
As Richard got up to leave the captain's cabin, Kain had one more question. "Why didn't you come back for me?"
The questions stopped Richard in his tracks, turning to face Kain again. "Truly? Do you want an answer?"
Kain nodded, suddenly afraid of what Richard might say next.
Richard sighed. "Odin wouldn't have let me come back; he blamed me for the crash. I know there were survivors, but…" Richard shook his head. "Captain Darklighter thought he saw…" He stopped again, still shaking his head. "I was a scapegoat, Kain, I couldn't come back."
"But—" Kain tried to protest.
"But even with all of that," Richard spoke over him, not letting Kain interrupt. "The reason I never came to get you is that I needed you in Baron, as Commander of the Dragoons. For all the plans to work, you needed to be in that position of authority. Only you can convince the Dragoons to stand with Lord Golbez."
"The Dragoons?" Kain sputtered, trying to imagine standing before them, to tell them that others must die for them to regain dragons. Would any be convinced? Kain was not fully sure himself, only that the promise of dragons, even just the potential, intrigued him too much to not learn more. Would that be enough for the Dragoons to serve under an unknown Red Wings Captain, who encouraged the new bloodlust in King Odin?
"All will make sense after you meet with Lord Golbez," Richard said, not for the first time. "Try and rest until we reach Baron. You've been though much." And with that, Richard left, not allowing Kain to ask anything else; Kain felt overwhelmed by all the unanswered questions.
Kain looked around the captain's cabin – Cecil's quarters – and felt a pang of deep loss. "Where are you?" Kain asked of no one, the worst unanswered question of all.
Feeling like a failure, Kain stood on the deck of the Scarlet Prelude as she made her descent to Baron Castle. Kain tried not to look for Rosa in the gathered crowd of soldiers and engineers awaiting the ship's return, but his traitorous eyes found her, her white mage robes making it too easy.
As the ship landed, Rosa's searching gaze found him. At first, she smiled, her relief palpable even from this distance. Then, she looked to scan the deck again, sorting through the Red Wings uniforms, but failing to spot Cecil's familiar black armor; her smile gradually faded, a confused frown replacing it.
"Let's go," Richard said, lowering the visor of his helmet, now anonymous to the soldiers and citizens of Baron. "You'll report to Odin and then Lord Golbez will explain everything and make you understand." The crew worked together to lower the gangway lowered; once in place, Richard walked to it.
Kain followed, dropping his guilty gaze from Rosa.
There were more castle guards here than usual, Kain realized, as he followed Richard off the gangway and onto the dock. The guards formed a line on either side of the dock, blocking access from all sides. As Richard and Kain stepped off the dock, the guards' formation shifted, the two lines now on either side of them.
"What is this?" Kain asked Richard, who did not stop, continuing to walk along. The guards followed in unified step. Kain already knew the answer – a security detail, like the personal guards of the king. But the better question was, why?
"Kain!" Rosa called out somewhere to the side of him, sounding faint over the mix of a dozen booted footsteps moving in sync. "Let me through," she demanded of one of the guards, who did not respond. Kain could see her now, trying to stretch up on her tiptoes to peer over the guards' helmets to spot Kain.
"Wait," Kain said to both Richard and the guards. "Let me talk to her."
"We don't need healing," Richard said, pitching his voice loud enough for Rosa to hear.
Rosa trailed behind the last guard pair, her hands in tight fists, holding up the fabric of her robes as she ran to catch up and keep pace. "Kain, where's Cecil?!" she called out after him; the question made Kain's blood run cold.
"Lord Golbez is waiting," Richard said, but he stopped, nevertheless. He turned around, looking at the last guard in the line. "Encourage the white mage to return to the infirmary," he said, the command quiet but still sounding sinister. The guard broke off from the formation to approach Rosa as she trailed behind them.
"I just need to talk to him—" Rosa started to say but she was interrupted by her own surprised yelp as the guard grabbed at her. She twisted out of the way, recoiling back, but the guard had the benefit of her stunned shock. He lunged for her again, this time catching her by the wrist. He twisted her arm, maneuvering behind her, then pushed her bent arm up against her back.
"Get your hands off of me right now or I…" Rosa started to say, but the guard pushed on her wrist, forcing it further up her back, twisting it at an unnatural angle. Rosa hissed through her teeth in surprised pain.
Kain stopped abruptly at her sound of distress, his heartbeat fast and erratic against ribs, sending roaring blood in his ears.
"You are surrounded by the king's guards," Richard said, and this time, it was a warning. "Do nothing stupid. Rosa Farrell can wait. Your report to the king cannot. Meeting Lord Golbez cannot wait either." Richard paused and seemed to consider Kain. Whatever conclusion Richard came to, Kain could not guess, Richard's black dragon helm revealing nothing of the man inside. "You'll have time for her later," Richard said the last with emphasis.
Kain looked back and saw Rosa had been released. She cradled her wrist to her chest, her eyes bright with unshed tears but overall seeming unharmed. The guard stepped away from her, then back into formation with the others.
"Go home, Rosa!" Kain called out to her, even as he scrambled to catch up to Richard. "I'll find you later!" As they left Rosa behind, Kain could not help himself, and looked back at her once more.
Where's Cecil? Her eyes accused, full of betrayed hurt. You promised, they needlessly reminded him.
Kain looked away, unable to bear the sight any longer. With his eyes downcast, as if he feared Rosa might suddenly appear before him, Kain hurried to catch up to Richard.
Kain did not see the engineers who had gathered in silence to watch Rosa's interaction with the guard. He did not see how one took her gently by shoulders, leading her toward the infirmary. A look was exchanged by the remaining engineers; one gave a wordless nod, then left at a brisk pace toward the Chief's workshop.