"That's very interesting, I have never traveled to any desert region but have heard it's a very unforgiving environment" Laurel acknowledged Corel.

"I personally haven't done much traveling myself except to Midgar and Junon, my parents kept me busy working in our shops when I wasn't in school" Jacob admitted.

"You went to school? What are you doing here?" Doran asked a bit incredulously.

"I had to get away, my sister and I were always busy with the shop's needs. My uncle and his wife had one in Junon as well" Jacob said as he noticed a group of four of the other candidates were led away.

"What kind of shop was it?" Laurel asked taking note of what was happening as well.

"They are mainly general stores, sundries, some clothes, and of course tonics that are Shinra made we sell to civilians"

"So you grew up in Kalm your whole life?" Laurel ascertained.

"No, I was born in Midgar, but Shinra had a huge sale for cheap real-estate. According to my dad, we left for entrepreneur reasons. Kalm had old architecture that looked new if that makes any sense; but for all of Kalm's grandiose looks and architecture there is a dark history, but today it's probably one of the best towns to live in" Jacob declared as he began to tell his tale.

Jacob Wheeler

Jacob Wheeler grew up in Kalm which was a mid-sized town full of mostly middle class and upper middle class families. The biggest industry was that of the mythril mines. During this time the Midgar Zolom had not revealed itself if it was there during that time, and many miners used good strong chocobos with wagons to get the ore back to town. Jacob and his sister came from a well to do family of merchants. In addition to going to school, Jacob and his sister Susan helped out at the shop. Both helped with stocking the store, unloading trucks, being the store clerks, and janitorial duties. Susan really enjoyed the work as it was a break from academic pursuits, while Jacob loved to read books on history, mythology, and fictional stories. Their uncle had a store in Junon which he, his wife, and three kids ran. His father was a shrewd businessman, while his mother was actually a school teacher. All through primary school Jacob and Susan had the privilege, or curse in some cases, of having their mom teach certain subjects for them.

Jacob and Susan had both lived an advantaged life with a fairly good education and a guaranteed family business should they choose it. Susan was more interested in pursuing that family business as were a couple of her cousins. While Jacob had a good sense of business, he found it rather boring. He was interested in his books on the various subjects and as time went on, he began to develop a bit of wanderlust. His father had allowed him to learn swordsmanship in exchange for his academic excellence. While Jacob wasn't the top swordsmen in his class, he did rank among the top five. His teacher could see the potential there but knew something else occupied his mind, and that was materia, or rather magic.

Jacob would always have a book with him when he would end up having to run his dad's shop in Kalm. The books were on kingdoms of times gone by, magic, the ancients, and the fae. Susan would ask her brother about what he learned that was so interesting, and Jacob was more than happy to share. Over time, Susan began to develop a mild interest in the mythology of the world; but was more realistic when it came to ambitions.

"You should read more books about business and money management!" Jacob's father would say, but Jacob would just shrug his shoulders. Jacob had the personality of a dreamer, but for all intense purposes had an instinctive pragmatic side.

After Jacob had turned sixteen Jacob's wanderlust had reached a peak he wanted to go outside the city and do his own exploration. His mother was opposed to such wandering especially alone without a chaperone. His father too was opposed.

"You know outside the town is full of dangerous creatures that lurk in the shadows ready to strike any unsuspecting prey. We are not on top of the chain outside these city gates, you understand?" Jacob's father explained.

"Yes father, but couldn't you be our chaperone?" Jacob asked hopefully.

"Do I look like a warrior to you?" his father spread his arms out revealing his average frame standing at barely five feet and ten inches.

"But what about those stories of hunting you used to tell me when we were kids?"

"Those... were mainly exaggerated" his father trailed off.

"You lied to us?!" Jacob gasped.

"No, I just stretched the truth... I'm mediocre at best" his dad admitted.

"That's still lying... so the story of your boar hunting, search for a cacteur, and capturing chocobos, all 'exaggerated'?"

"No, but I just didn't play hardly an active role, and I only shot my rifle a handful of times, regardless, I don't have time to indulge such flight of fancies" his father said with a finality in his voice walking out of the room.

Jacob was determined to go outside the town walls with a couple of his classmates who wanted to test their skills. Jacob's next swordsmanship class would be the next day which after training he had one friend who was interested in venturing outside the town walls as well, but would not go until they got a third person. Jacob's class rank out of the twenty in his class was 4th. His friend James was 7th among his classmates.

"We should probably find someone higher ranking than ourselves" James suggested.

They asked the top three students, and all of them refused as they were being actively recruited by Shinra with a huge incentive. They were already on their way to a prestigious career in Soldier. The 5th ranking class member wasn't interested as she had other interests. The 6th ranking member had the interest and agreed to join them.

He was even more slim than Jacob was, but his quick reflexes helped him earn his spot. Most of the classmates either had the standard class issued sword or a longsword. The standard sword was about six inches longer than a short sword but six inches shorter than a longsword. This classmate had a nice well-balanced longsword.

"The name's Brian, nice to formally meet you Jacob, James" he said brushing his long blond bangs out of his eyes.

"Great, so when are we going to do this?" James said eagerly standing the same height as Jacob with orangish-red hair.

"I need a few days to prepare" Brian quickly informed.

"Why?" James quickly interjected before Jacob could respond.

"I need to gather my materia and prepare it"

Jacob had practiced with materia and found it quite simple to use as it was the typical esuna, cure, fire, and ice, but knew there were many more other types of materia that existed. He had read an old book he bought in a Midgar bizarre, was book based on "magic". He gleaned from it that magic has been around for thousands of years and at one time the ancients were the only people who could use it keeping its secrets from outsiders until scholars little by little began learning the secrets. The magic used to require components and knowledge of symbols and an archaic language no longer spoken. Materia was created by the ancients as a way of making magic more accessible to the common folk over time.

"Do you practice spell casting?" Jacob asked with a bit of interest?

"Bingo! Hopefully all of you do too"

"I don't need any stinking materia, strength and skill should carry a warrior" James said haughtily.

"This is real James, we won't be under the protection of our instructor or the town guard" Jacob warned.

"Maybe I'll carry a cure materia, but no more than that" James gave in.

"Make sure you can cast it, otherwise the materia does you no good" Brian narrowed his eyes.

"We will, so after class next week then" Jacob smiled eager to test his skills.

Jacob had butterflies in his stomach and could not contain the excitement. He collected all the materia he had which included the following: lightning, esuna, cure, ice, and fire. They were the most basic ones which his father had purchased for his sixteenth birthday and were a must have for any would be adventurers.

"Where will we go once we leave the city walls?" Jacob thought out loud as he sat in his room taking a break from reading, little did he know his sister heard him as she passed by his room.

He continued to read the book titled Magic and the Ancients. According to some anonymous sources of written parchment paper, gaia was comprised of many kingdoms and principalities. One kingdom in particular became quite powerful, and that was the Kingdom of Junon which ultimately became the Republic of Junon. The reason they obtained so much power was because there were a group of Ancients who had shared the recorded forbidden knowledge of their language and symbols to manipulate the energy and lifestream around them. As a result over time, non-Ancient magic-users began to sprout up. By using the symbols and the right components, the magic was more potent than what using a materia offers.

During that time, materia was a rare commodity which was only made by the ancients and sometimes found in nature. This act was a bit more taxing on the magic-user but it yielded more power. A group of sages of legend who were called "The Keepers" had mastered the language of the Ancients and had recorded and created many spells. They were a group of powerful wizards and witches who would decide who would be a good candidate to learn the craft.

As the Ancients began to slowly retreat from the world over time, the power led to wars and tyranny. The knowledge eventually spread to other kingdoms until a great war was fought thus leading to the downfall of many kingdoms and many of the tomes and grimoires were lost to destruction or time. They say some still exist, but that is another mystery.

This was Jacob's confirmation that wizardry existed in the traditional sense as well, but where would he even begin to look for these tomes? Outside of Kalm there were old buildings that were used by shinra and private companies for various reasons and then simply abandoned. Nothing like that would be found in places like that; however, there were a few ruins. Some were claimed and owned by individuals or Shinra itself. throughout the week, Jacob engrossed himself in these old urban legend books, some that were old and out of print. The night before Jacob was to meet with his classmates for their adventure outside the town walls had come. He could barely sleep he was so excited. Jacob stayed up reading into the wee hours of the morning until sleep overcame him.

Jacob woke up the next morning preparing for his last day of school and couldn't wait until his swordsmanship lesson. His parents were already up and about. His father was watching the morning news as he always does when something caught his eye. An ad for Shinra recruitment enticing would be recruits with promises of good pay, bonuses, and traveling around the world. The ad became even more interesting when a young man close to his age with short silver gray hair appear with a long katana blade executing moves that only a top class instructor would be able to do.

"There is the rest, then there is the best...soldier" the narrator introduced. Jacob stood there entranced.

"Do you have what it takes to join our elite? Soldier? The risks are higher and the skills required are much higher, but so are the rewards" the narrator said almost in a seductive way. The words "higher pay" and "Bigger Bonus" flashed across the screen.

"Call us today or stop by your local Shinra watch precinct" the ad finished as the young short gray haired boy did a back flip several feet into the air and landed on a higher platform.

"Jacob, your breakfast is going to be cold and you'll be late for school" his mother scolded.

Jacob sat down and ate breakfast without saying too many words. His sister seemed to be paying a bit more attention but said nothing.

"Come on kids let's go" their father motioned as he put on his green hat.

Jacob and Susan got in their small car which was burgundy. The ride was short, less than three minutes by car they arrived at the school. They said their good-byes to their father and got out.

"See you after school" Susan told her brother nonchalantly.

"Ok..." Jacob shook his head.

The classes dragged on. Jacob tried to pay close attention but his mind was somewhere else. By two O'clock he was finished and he went a block down straight to swordsmanship. The class was fairly uneventful with sparring and practicing more defensive maneuvers except at the end of the class they had an unexpected guest show up. A couple of Shinra grunts came in raising the tension a bit, but relaxed once the instructor raised his hand.

"Now class Shinra wanted a chance to share a message with you about their recruitment and benefits that may come as you rise through the ranks...and the further improvement of your skills"

The twenty students stopped and stood attentively as they always had when the instructor spoke. The two Shinra grunts dressed in full uniform walked up to the front of the training room with their helmets still on not revealing their identities. One smiled preparing to speak while the other stood sliently without expression sentinel like.

"Now I don't wish to take up too much of your time, but your instructor has allowed us to make all of you aware that we are looking for recruits" the Shinra grunt spokesman got straight to the point.

"As all of you know, Shinra is expanding and is the most powerful company in the world. We are constantly looking for new blood to come and be the next generation of leaders, generals, and special forces. There are many benefits to working for Shinra such as high bonuses. If you are looking for a quick entry, our infantry can branch out in many different directions as they advance. Those who make it through the four week boot camp training will receive a 2,000 Gil bonus" he stopped for a moment as every student stood stoically listening intently including Jacob.

"That's a nice amount of extra gil to start and the beginning salary of 30,000 Gil a year; but that's one option. The other is soldier, perhaps some of you have seen the advertisement on television with our top soldier Sephiroth?" he pauses while some nod and other raise their hand. The other grunt continues to stare indifferently and the instructor observes quietly.

"This program is even more rigorous, it requires a seven week boot camp where the standards are a bit higher than those of the infantryman. There are three classes, many will only be a third class, and some who are lucky may advance to second class, while maybe one out of a hundred will be considered for first class. The sign up bonus if you pass the boot camp is 5,000 Gil and your salary will be 50,000 Gil a year" the grunt paused again to the sound of the students surprised whispering among themselves.

"Yes, and there are certain privileges once you become part of this branch" the first grunt concluded.

"So think about it, discuss it with your families and expand your world" the other grunt finally spoke up in a deeper sounding voice. The two infantryman nodded to the instructor and he led them out. Many of the students were talking amongst themselves.

"That's a lot of money!' one shouted.

"Traveling sounds great, lots of girls!" one student chuckled.

"I heard you are subjected to experiments" one of the three female students in the class suddenly said drawing a bit of disquieting silence.

"Now let's not go spreading unconfirmed rumors... but it is a choice that you should not take lightly and discuss with your families. Remember to continue to train, a swordsman's training is never finished and there will always be someone better than you, so keep learning and improving, DISMISSED!" The instructor said catching the last comment.

Everyone began to spill out into the streets as Jacob and James began looking for Brian. He stood near the bulletin where locals could post job requests and anyone who had the necessary skills could inquire. It was an overcast day and a slight chill seemed to hang in the air. Since it was the beginning of the weekend, many people were out and about. James and Jacob quickly join Brian as he seemed engrossed in the list of requests.

"How did you get here so quickly?" James asked a bit amazed.

"I have my ways" Brian shrugged as he continued reading until he finished.

"A good paying job?" Jacob asked a bit curious.

"Yes, a request to dispatch a violent band of orcs that has been terrorizing outsiders who travel here from beyond the grasslands"

"How much is the pay?" James said with a bit too much enthusiasm.

"10,000 gil... but this job is probably beyond our skill' Brian asserted.

"Aw we could probably do it" James insisted.

"You want to take that chance? Be my guest, but I won't be tempting the fates, hopefully your life is worth more than ten thousand gil" Brian dismissed him.

"Um...so where should we start?" Jacob cut in ready to move forward with their plans.

"I heard there were some ruins about a few leagues due east of here... perhaps that should be our destination" Brian said in a very organized way. Jacob knew Brian came from an even more well to do family than himself as he was the nephew of the mayor. His attitude is a little condescending which put him and James at odds, but Jacob overlooked it.

"Fine, than lead the way" Jacob nodded.

The three young adolescents made their way through the crowded town square to the gate out of town. As usual on the weekend, there was high traffic in and out of town. The Kalm watchman were busy with vehicles coming in and going out to be bothered to pay attention to all the foot traffic until someone called out to them as they got a little distance out of town.

"Don't wander too far out boys!" someone from the town watch warned.

"Just keep walking, they aren't going to come chasing after us" Brian said confidently.

"You seem to know an awful lot around here" James said a bit resentful and impressed at the same time.

"Being related to the mayor has its advantages"

"So you had some where in mind?" Jacob redirected the conversation.

"I remember my uncle telling me about a set of ruins that were being investigated further inland due South of here"

"Can you point on a map for sure which way we need to go?" Jacob said taking out a scrolled parchment unrolling it for Brian. He glanced at it for a moment and nodded.

"Yes, south we go"

The trio sat out for nearly a half hour without saying a word, the grasslands spread out as the land began to be a bit more hilly. They passed some mako pipes that seemed to go on forever heading towards Midgar. As they marched further south and started climbing up into the hills, they could see the monolithic pillar of Midgar in the distance.

"What a place!" James remarked as they all stopped to look briefly.

"Let me see the map again" Brian suddenly began to look a little confused. Jacob did so as Brian poured over it for a minute looking up and looking back down.

"I think we should start heading more west now"

"Wait!" James suddenly interrupted.

"What is it?" Jacob whispered.

"You hear that?"

"I don't hear anything..." Brian looked puzzled.

"I don't..." Jacob started to say then could hear off in the distance a rhythmic sound. "I do hear something now..."

"What direction is it coming from, I can't really tell" Brian strained his ears.

"Let's just keep moving for now and not make too much noise" James suggested.

The trio began trekking further west for another hour until they came upon an area full of old ruined structures which lied up a head. There was a cluster of ruined walls, chimneys, towers, and other various debris.

"So this is it?" Jacob asked with a bit of amazement.

"I do believe so..." Brian nodded with satisfaction as he began leading them through the ruins investigating each building they came across.

"I think this one was a small cottage... the fireplace has stood the test of time" Jacob remarked touching the wall.

James quickly drew out his blade raising the alarm of Brian and Jacob.

"What is it?" Jacob whispered as they too drew out their blades leaning against the wall. James pointed to the other side of the stone exterior.

The three youths slowly edged to the corner and jumped out when they saw at first was a hooded person, then the hood was blown back and they could see an adolescent girl trying to duck behind a pillar of stones.

"Who is that!?" Brian asked a bit shocked.

"Susan!" Jacob rolled his eyes. His sister came out with a dark green cloak on to blend in with the grasslands.

"What are you doing here?"

"I heard what you were planning and I wanted to see"

"This is not a place for girls!" James scolded.

"Are you armed? and do you even know how to use it if so?" Brian continued.

"Just a bow and a dagger" Susan revealed under her cloak.

"I don't remember you ever using a bow or a dagger" Jacob seemed a bit surprised.

"Um... I did go with dad on a hunting trip with some friends" Susan said as if Jacob should have known.

"I don't remember you ever going with us on a trip"

"I went a couple of times, once when you were sick and another while you were out with your friends"

"Ok guys, we're in the middle of some old ruins" James cut in.

"Yeah, don't know who or what could be around here so stay alert" Brian agreed.

"You stay close to me alright?" Jacob said suddenly feeling responsible for his sister.

The group of now four continued for almost a couple hours combing through the various ruins finding little to nothing until they finally decided to investigate one of the three crumbling towers.

"Just old rusty discarded weapons and decayed furniture" James said with much disappointment.

"So what was this place?" Susan asked a bit surprised once she saw the spiraling staircase was still in tact.

"Who knows... there were a lot of little hamlets that existed under various lords of the land. A lot of the smaller kingdoms or villas faded into obscurity because no records were made or survived" Jacob said remembering what he had read.

"This tower must have housed someone of importance" Brian surmised.

They climbed the stairs of the open roof tower until they reached the third floor leaving the top of it unreachable as the stairs were no longer there. A sudden movement startled the group as a flock of doves went flying above.

"That spooked me" Susan sighed in relief.

"I'd imagine if there was anything of value it's probably long gone" Brian assessed seeing nothing of value. Jacob inspected the wall on a corner on the third floor.

"Wait a minute, there's something here" Jacob said noticing some symbols carved into a stone.

"What is it? Code or something?" James looked a bit intrigued.

"More like ancient language" Brian said insightfully. James' expression suddenly changed as he looked up and behind them.

"What is it?" Jacob demanded but suddenly heard it, a louder steady rhythm of a drum beating off in the distance louder than before.

"We'd better find some where to hide until we know what we're dealing with" Brian suggested.

"We'll be sitting ducks up here if "they" whoever they are, decide to come up here" James said a bit aggravated. The tower concealed their presence from the outside, but the floors had big gaps leaving very few places to hide. They raced down the stairway to the bottom floor. Just as they were about to leave to find another hiding spot, Jacob noticed some markings under a rotted table.

"Hey wait! I think I found something" Jacob called out.

"Hurry, those drums are getting louder" Brian said a bit anxiously.

"I'll go look from the second floor where there was a window" James offered as he dashed back up the stairs.

"Help me move the table over a bit" Brian and Susan barely was able to get the big heavy rotted table over several inches, but it was enough to see underneath.

"There's something written here but I need light!" Jacob said a bit excited ignoring the impending danger.

"I don't have a light source" Susan frowned. Brian noticed an old torch sconce still hanging on the wall and he quickly grabbed it and used a fire spell to light it.

"Here" Brian said shining the light on the floor. The floor yielded a bigger tile of stone with more strange symbols and a space below.

"What is this? An ancient language?" Brian asked a bit confused.

"Not sure..." Jacob said trying to think pressured by the sound of a drumbeat getting louder and seemingly drawing closer.

"Where are those drumbeats coming from?" Susan said trembling visibly now. Jacob continued observing the symbols until an idea hit him. He got up and immediately began running up towards the floor where they found the other symbols drawing gasps from both Susan and Brian.

"Just wait, I have an idea!" he said as he disappeared up the stairs. Almost simultaneously James came barreling down the stairs with a terrified look on his face.

"We got to go right now! Orcs! Lots of orcs!"

"How close are they?"

"We probably have less than a few minutes before they pass by here... where are you going?"

"Go on down and join the others, I'll be down in a few seconds" Jacob disappeared on the third floor. He could hear the patter of rain drops beginning to fall as he looked at the symbols again focusing on them trying to burn their image in his mind. He could hear his companions below shifting nervously. He took another couple seconds to concentrate on the symbols until he felt like he had memorized all six of them, then he dashed down the stairs.

"We got to find somewhere to hide" Brian said with a desperation in his voice.

"Hold the torch over the stone on the floor again" Jacob demanded.

"What's that going to do?!" James gasped. Brian did as he said but could now hear footsteps not too far from the tower.

Jacob examined the stone as it had many more symbols but had a blank space at the bottom. He suddenly began using his finger to trace over the blank the six symbols he concentrated on.

"What are you doing!? Are you trying to get us killed?!" James growled in a lower voice.

At first nothing seemed to happen, but quickly he did it a second time only this time the symbols that he merely traced with his finger from memory began to glow on the stone a soft golden light.

"What the!?" all three of his companions gasped.

The six symbols glowed for a moment and then the stone slab began to slide on its own revealing a hidden passage with a stairway that led into the darkness.

"How did you know?" Susan looked in disbelief.

"Let's go! We can discuss how, what, and where after we're hidden. James let's pull the table over the passage as we descend" Jacob said keeping his composure in an uncanny way. They hid the entrance as Brian led the way with the torch. After they all descended into the passage, the stone slab slid shut behind them leaving them in the cold dark secret chamber.