Start Date: August 18, 2023
Windwillow
Final Fantasy V: War of the Crystals
Chapter Ten: A New World, Battle on the Big Bridge
Galuf's world was a world in crisis. Despite being at peace for thirty long years, the return of Exdeath to the planet has caused upheavel across the globe. Now, Exdeath's armies have begun to wreak havoc on every inhabited continent, and several nations have already fallen to the demonic hordes that the warlock commands. Only a few brave nations remain standing: Bal, Surgate, and the werewolf village of Quelb. With obliteration on the horizon and hope difficult to find, the Big Bridge leading to Exdeath's castle is now the most important place on the planet.
As the combined forces of Bal and its surrounding neighbors' remnants gather, the King of Bal - Galuf Bal Haldesion - has now assembled the most potent military force in world history, personally led by himself and his granddaughter, Krile. However, defeat is all but certain: Exdeath's forces are at full strength, while Galuf's forces are skeletal at best. Even so the fight must be fought, and the war must be won. While overseeing his military might, however, Galuf's troubles will multiply soon...
Scene One
Although his forces were meager, they were all that remained against the forces of Exdeath and his minions. Galuf silently strolled through the ranks of his army, picking out the weak and incompetent and placing in command those who had strength and merit. While doing so, however, an astral projection created by Exdeath has become visible on the horizon. Now standing in front of a prison cell with three of the four Warriors of Light being held captive, the evil warlock has commanded that Galuf's forces stand down.
"Those idiots!" Galuf heaved. As he watched the astral projection fade, the king's patience quickly whittled itself down to the red zone. After taking in a deep breath, he turned his eyes first to Krile and then to the wind drake that was ever at her side. She immediately knew what he was about to say, but had doubts that it was viable. "Can I borrow your wind drake, Krile?" asked Galuf brusquely. Krile bowed her head and sighed, and Galuf quietly relented.
"He's really sick..." Krile said sadly. She ran her head along the dragon's head, petting its scaly skull. Krile began to speak in a strange, guttural language, one that the wind drake seemed to understand. When it responded in kind, Krile quietly lifted the reins and gave them to Galuf. "It has enough strength for a one way trip," she muttered, and shook her head in disgrace. Asking this of the drake was almost too much. Seeing Galuf's relief, however, the young maiden etched a smile on her face as Galuf mounted the wind drake. "Go and save them all, okay? I want to talk to them when you get back to the castle..." she tittered, as if to disguise her concern.
Galuf quietly nodded and laid a hand on the wind drake's head, petted it, and patted it on the head shortly before it unsteadily lifted up. The two traveled across the Big Bridge and navigated the wastelands of Exdeath's domain, finally reaching the fortress known as Castle Exdeath. The wind drake wobbly hovered over one of the balconies, and when Galuf jumped from its back it nearly toppled. Galuf silently gave a salute to the beast, and the dragon began to head back towards its master. Galuf's eyes lowered as the wind drake departed; he knew that even one trip was almost a death sentence, and knowing Krile's fondness for the drake it pained him to ask this of the both of them.
Scene Two
Exdeath's prime lieutenant wore heavy samurai armor, the reddish-orange Genji Armor, and stood to an impressive height that surpassed any of the Warriors of Light. He wore thick black sandals, had a heavy helmet whose color matched his armor, and carried a pole arm as his weapon of choice. The sturdy, if questionably competent commander had been ordered to guard the captive Warriors of Light, and sat in a nearby chair picking his nose in boredom.
"What a lame task... It isn't like anyone's coming to save them..." muttered Gilgamesh. When Galuf broke open the door to the jail and brandished his sword, however, Gilgamesh's opinion changed and his eye began to twitch. "Or not, whatever..." he squeaked. Gilgamesh staggered to his feet and grappled his pole arm, confidently daring Galuf to attack.
Galuf did so and lashed out, though his attack was parried. The two engaged in a fairly lengthy exchange of blows, though eventually Galuf's sword was shattered. Scenting victory Gilgamesh lifted his weapon for the finishing blow. Galuf, however, had another trick. He threw out his right arm, causing the bracer he'd been given by the Earth Crystal to burst out into a blinding light. As he clenched his fingers the air around him began to concentrate into a sort of distortion, and as Gilgamesh lashed out with his pole arm Galuf slashed back and a black sword formed between his fingers. The strike shattered Gilgamesh's weapon, and after a brief moment of contemplation the demonic general quickly fled, leaving Galuf to turn to his friends with a clear look of disdain.
"You're all damned fools, and you know it," Galuf said coldly.
"What, you aren't happy to see some old friends?" Bartz said with a cheeky grin. Galuf's face relented and he turned towards the cell, then shattered its lock with his strange blade. As he and the two princesses hurried out of the cell and Galuf dispelled his blade, Bartz put his hand on his hip and smiled even wider. "And that thing is?" he wondered. Galuf frowned and raised his hand again, and as the bracer shone the black sword formed between his fingers.
"The Earth Crystal's boon: the power to control gravitational forces. My old sword was based on magnetism, but this one is thrice as powerful," explained Galuf. He dispelled his blade and folded his arms over his chest with a huff and cracked a bitter smile. "Now, get your sorry asses out of there. We need to hurry to the Big Bridge ASAP and reunite with my army," he said calmly. His eye began to twitch when Bartz smiled again. "And that means as soon as possible, if you didn't remember," Galuf snapped, much to Bartz's displeasure.
Scene Three
Thankfully there weren't any monster attacks on the way from Castle Exdeath to the Big Bridge, which had been built long before Exdeath ascended to power and once bridged two continents to connect two kingdoms together. Exdeath had risen thirty years prior, razed that kingdom to the ground, and constructed his own dominion, however. By the time that the four of them reached the entrance to the Big Bridge, they were met by five monsters, five monsters that sickened them to their core.
"Oh, yuck!" Bartz hacked, sickened by the sight of the creatures. "What the hell are those?!" he screeched. Galuf silently formed a blade from his gravitational element and put his hand on his hip. They would be seeing a lot more of these in the near future. It was humanoid, but at the same time inhuman. Exdeath's foot soldiers were great, hulking beasts wielding battleaxes and shields, with horrific faces resembling eastern Noh masks.
"Exdeath's rank and file," said Galuf plainly. As Lenna began to quake and Faris followed suit, he had to admit to himself that seeing them made him want to wretch. "There are two types: fighter and mage. Here we have four of the former and one of the latter. I'd watch out for the mages first... they have command of all three elements and are probably the bigger threat..." he said shakily.
Like its soldier counterpart the sorcerers of Exdeath's army were both humanoid and inhuman at the same time. These were slimmer than Exdeath's soldiers and were draped in robes that alternated between blood red and solid black. As the soldiers lifted their axes and the mage formed a crackling storm of electricity between its fingers, Bartz and Faris reluctantly drew their weapons and Lenna feebly lifted her dagger. The four warriors let out a gut-wrenching screech as they charged the party, while the mage remained behind the scenes as backup.
"I'll deal with the mage! You deal with the grunts!" Galuf shouted sharply, darting forward past his friends. Bartz angrily attempted to slap him but failed when he vaulted over all four troopers and lunged at the mage. "Look lively and keep on your toes!" he warned as he brandished his blade. As he stared at the mage, quietly preparing its attack, Galuf began to waver. Not only was it ugly, but it smelled like carrion.
The four foot soldiers lifted their weapons and swung them down, clashing with both Bartz and Faris. All four of them had struck, two per each warrior, and the two only barely managed to keep from buckling. As Bartz broke out of the clash and swung his sword at one of the four, Faris detached from her battle and formed a thick mass of lightning in her free hand. Bartz's slash narrowly missed the soldier, but because it was projected it continued on and cut a hole through its heart, killing it. The other soldiers prepared to attack but were repelled by a field of white lightning from Faris that scattered them, allowing both Bartz and Faris to slay the three remaining grunts with three mighty swipes.
"Oh, God!" shrieked Lenna, falling to her seat as her dagger dropped from between her fingers. She stared at the rotting corpses of Exdeath's minions, her hands went to her mouth, and she vomited between her fingers. After washing the bile away with a gush of water, she skittered back and her shaking continued to accelerate almost to the point of hysteria. The sight of those... things... attacking had chilled her to the bone, and seeing them lay dead seemed to be even more horrifying.
"Lenna, get a hold of yourself!" Bartz begged. He fell to one knee and reached out his hand to catch her own just before it could retreat further. While Lenna continued to struggle Bartz dropped his sword and clapped both hands over her quaking fingers, and the warmth of his flesh immediately eased her fear. When Lenna turned her teary eyes to her friend, who showed no fear or anything negative, she immediately stopped shaking. "You can do this, okay?" he said softly, soft enough to calm Lenna down. He slowly pulled her to her feet, and she grappled her dagger as she rose to a standing position.
"B-Bartz... You..." stammered Lenna, her thoughts accelerating until she finally gathered herself and staggered to her feet. The more she stared at him, the warmer she felt, and the courage that he gave to her was enough to force her back to consciousness. She slowly reached out with both hands and laid them on Bartz's own, and he could feel her own warmth begin to seep through her fingers. The two exchanged a short smile, awkward as it was, as Galuf turned back to the trio having beaten his enemy. A slim smirk crossed his face and he put his hand on his hip, then began to chuckle.
"Young love... How long has it been since I felt like that?" mused Galuf.
Scene Four
That wasn't their only confrontation at the Big Bridge. It took three more chambers and three more stretches of bridges to advance, and they had to fight their way through every inch of the Big Bridge in their attempt to find safety with Galuf's army. At the end of the fourth chamber there was one final obstacle: Gilgamesh, who had armed himself with a new, bladed pole arm and stood defiantly in their way. The only way that they could advance would be to fight and defeat him, and with their stamina drained that was no easy task to handle.
"Come at me, kiddos!" Gilgamesh snarled, as he twirled his weapon around himself several times before defiantly brandishing it at the Warriors of Light. This time he certainly seemed to be more confident. After taking in a deep breath Galuf prepared to form his sword but was stunned when Bartz charged past him, drew his sword, and lashed out at Gilgamesh's blade. The two immediately clashed, seemingly inconclusively, and Galuf was unable to hide his disgust.
"Damned idiot! We need to fight together!" Galuf shouted angrily. Bartz seemed to pay him no attention and continued to clash with Exdeath's general, prompting Galuf to finish forming his sword and dash towards the pair in preparation to strike. "Children need to know their place sometimes..." he growled. Before he could reach them Bartz had already managed to break Gilgamesh's weapon and launched him into the wall behind him. "Cool the testosterone, kid!" groaned the old man, grabbing Bartz by the shoulder and whirling him around. When he felt a great rumbling, however, he took Bartz by both shoulders and shoved him towards the door. "Get inside! Now!" he roared desperately.
Although the four of them hurried towards the door leading to the next chamber, Gilgamesh stubbornly blocked their way, even though he had no weapon. Bartz angrily lifted his sword and raised it in preparation to attack, but Gilgamesh simply waved goodbye and slipped inside the door just as Exdeath's barrier hit and propelled them far into the distance. By the time they awoke the four Warriors of Light found themselves on a high cliff, surrounded on all sides by empty plains. Galuf wearily dragged himself to his feet and surveyed the lay of the land, and he wasn't happy with what he saw.
"Gloceana... the middle of nowhere. Splendid," Galuf said angrily. Lenna began to heal her friends' injuries, leaving Galuf to fall to his back with a deep grunt. He grit his teeth and nearly chipped one, outraged by their audacity and foolishness. There was no way for them to return home now. All they faced here was death, adversity, and hopelessness. "Did I tell you how stupid you three are? 'Cause if I didn't, allow me to say that you three have lost your damned minds!" he roared furiously.
"What, so it isn't good to see us? Or do you wanna keep mouthing off at us?" Bartz grinned cheekily. When Galuf shut his eyes again he said a couple of different prayers, one for himself and another for the three fools who had sacrificed everything to help him. The old man cracked a bitter smile and dragged himself to his seat with a grunt. Then he began to laugh, hearty and proud, and turned to Bartz with a grin.
"It's good to see you," said Galuf softly. His smile faded and he clapped a hand to his face. "Now, let's get the hell out of dodge... Gloceana is a dangerous place. There ought to be a town called Regole to the east... Let's hurry there before anything eats us up..." he muttered darkly. He wasn't kidding; the local wildlife was rather vicious.
Scene Five
Galuf hadn't been kidding. The fight through Gloceana was long, brutal, and tiring, facing off against everything from earth-crawling abominations to flying pigs, oddly enough. By the time they reached the town of Regole several days later they were in rough shape, so they immediately checked into the town's Inn. Lenna was still nauseous from the battle with Exdeath's troops, so she and Faris decided to share a bed to keep her safe and warm. Bartz, however, was unable to sleep. His first thought was to visit the local pub, where he found Galuf already halfway through a bottle of wine. With a smile, he took up a seat next to his friend, ordered a drink, and stared closely at Galuf; even if he'd been drinking, he was stone cold sober.
"Don't say it... We'd have been wiped out by the barrier if you three dumb asses hadn't butted in," Galuf said plainly. He turned to Bartz with a somber frown and narrowed his eyes. "Your damned fool crusade saved me and all my men... So, half of me wants to thank you. The other half wants to slug you for being so reckless. You do realize, I presume, that you'll never return to Lix?" Galuf asked softly. Bartz smiled and took a swig of his beer.
"Friends always help friends... even if it's a 'damned fool crusade.' You've saved us often enough that there isn't a chance in hell we wouldn't return the favor," said Bartz plainly, before he took another chug. Galuf groaned and slammed his head on the table, but when he lifted it he extended his hand, Bartz took it, and they shook hands with a smile. "But, you are paying for all this... You know that, right?" he grinned.
The next morning the four Warriors of Light reunited and met together at the pub for one final drink. Although Lenna declined to drink alcohol, she did accept a glass of orange juice, much to her friends' amusement. With no other options the party left Regole and headed to the northeast, where they found a large expanse of forest that they entered. When they set foot in the woods, however, they found a peculiar creature: a white-furred little sprite with an orange pom-pom on its head.
"And what's that?" Lenna tittered curiously.
"A moogle, of course. They live in the forests, and sort of serve as their protectors," Galuf explained. After a bit of thought Lenna put a finger to her lips and nodded. There was only one thing to do.
"Shall we go talk to it?" Lenna wondered.
As soon as the moogle overheard Lenna the creature jumped, and began to run around wildly around the forest until its foot got tangled and it fell into a large sinkhole. While Lenna immediately moved to its aid her friends moved past her, and she flashed a smile that her friends had already guessed how she would react. They dropped down into a large cavern, a strange waterway. Although there weren't any monsters around, the atmosphere was... less than inviting.
"Ouch! The things I do for you jokers!" Galuf shouted, as he gripped his injured knee from where he'd fallen on it. As he dropped to his back he found, much to his satisfaction, that Lenna had already begun to heal the wound. Once she was finished, Galuf and the others continued on through the waterway until they again found the moogle... plus a "friend." The prehistoric beast had seen better days. Its ribs and chest cavity were both hollow, as well as the bones that comprised its four limbs. It was its terrifying undead skull that stood out most, screaming "I'm a zombie dinosaur and I'm gonna eat you."
Almost immediately, as the moogle cowered before the onrushing Tyrannosaur, Bartz, Faris, and Galuf moved to its aid. Lenna was much more reluctant, but quickly followed suit. The zombie dinosaur lifted its tail and swung it, an attack that Bartz only narrowly repelled - and it propelled him into a wall. Lenna and Faris exchanged only a brief glance before initiating their counter attack. A large burst of water exploded from Lenna's fingers and doused the Tyrannosaur, then Faris electrocuted it with a massive burst of lightning that caused it to fall dead to the ground.
As the undead beast's corpse burst into flames Lenna hurried to Bartz's side, and began to heal his injuries. While she restored Bartz's health, Galuf hurried over to the nearly catatonic moogle and cradled it in his arms. He withdrew a small potion from his pack and placed it at the moogle's lips, and when it finished drinking the creature was fully rejuvenated. The moogle immediately jolted and shoved Galuf to the side, and Lenna quickly moved towards it.
"Are you alright, little one?" asked Lenna. She stretched out her hand to the cowering moogle and, against its better judgment, the moogle took it. Lenna drew it to her chest and threw her arms over the moogle's squat body, and with a large shock wave her magic mended the moogle's wounds and restored it to health. Immediately the moogle jumped out of Lenna's arms, but this time it was noticeably calm, and solemnly pointed up towards a step ladder that led outside the underground waterway. "Do you think he's inviting us home?" Lenna wondered. Galuf nodded.
"Like we have anything better to do. Let's follow the little bugger and see if we can get a bite to eat..." Galuf muttered.
Scene Six
Castle Bal was more or less all that remained of the kingdom, all its towns and cities having been razed to the ground by Exdeath's forces. Only a handful of ragged survivors had weathered the storms of war and they'd retreated, under Krile's direction, after the battle at the Big Bridge. After roosting her wind drake, Krile fell into bed exhausted. She heard a strange noise approach her, and as Krile opened her eyes she watched as a moogle popped its head inside her bedroom. The moogle chirped out a few bits and bloops, soon responded to by Krile in the moogle's primitive language.
"Grandpa and the others are at your village? And you'll take us there?" a weary Krile asked the moogle. The creature nodded fervently and Krile quickly threw off her bed covers and ascended the steps to her wind drake's roost. When she arrived, however, the wind drake had been shaking and coughing for several minutes, its breath coming haggardly, much to her horror. "Oh... I'm sorry. I won't-" Before Krile could finish speaking the wind drake responded in its own language. The message was clear: she could make the trip. With tears in her eyes, Krile mounted the wind drake and hurried off to the Moogle Village to retrieve Galuf and his friends.
Krile and her wind drake departed to the Moogle Village, where they met up with Bartz and the others, giving them safe passage back to Castle Bal. Once there Galuf, to his friends' astonishment, assumed the throne. He asked a nearby soldier for an update, but it wasn't cheerful. Not only had the barrier been erected, but most of their forces had been eradicated in the aftermath. More reluctantly the soldier whispered something into Galuf's ear, immediately jolting him. The old king slowly nodded and dismissed the soldier to return to his barracks.
"I can't believe that you're a king!" Bartz laughed.
"What, don't I look like king material?" chuckled Galuf. When Bartz barely contained his laughter, Galuf angrily smacked him over the head. "Idiot! The answer was 'yes,' you little nincompoop!" he hissed, although Bartz seemed unrepentant. Galuf sighed and turned his eyes to a nearby staircase. When he returned them to his friends, the three of them could see the clear sorrow in his eyes. "We have business at the wind drake's roost..." he murmured softly. On the way up to the roost was Krile's room, and they found her crying in bed, something that immediately halted their advance.
"Krile? What's wrong?" asked Lenna. Krile only began to sob harder. As she reached out to her Lenna quickly felt a hand grip her shoulder and turned to find a solemn Galuf staring back at her. "What is she crying about...?" Lenna whispered. Galuf shook his head and sighed.
"The wind drake is dying," Galuf said plainly. Krile took her pillow and stuffed it over her head, and screamed into the bed with enough force that her grandfather nearly jumped out of his skin. Startled, he approached Krile and stretched out his hand. Although she took it, Krile lifted her head to reveal her tear-streaked face to her grandfather. He already knew what the situation was, but seeing her so torn up made Galuf feel sick inside.
"She... pushed herself too hard... When it went to the Moogle Village and back it was sick, and now, it's... it's almost ready to die..." sobbed Krile. Krile's tears again accelerated, but when Lenna clapped her hands on her shoulders the young lass ceased her tears and lifted her face to stare at the princess's oddly calm demeanor. It befuddled her, but it was a welcome kind of relief.
"Does your world have Dragon Grass?" asked Lenna softly. Krile finally managed to wipe away her tears and moved to the edge of the bed before staggering to her feet, then nodded. Lenna smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God! Where is it?" she wondered. Krile's eyes dropped again, however.
"Dragon Grass grows where wind drakes roost, so Drakenvale... but... there's never been a single soul that survived the mountain to say for sure..." Krile sobbed. This time it was Bartz who took her hand and clutched it tight.
"That means the four of us will be the first," he said resolutely. Krile gave a feeble smile and embraced Bartz tightly, her warmth filling him and rippling her pain through his own flesh and bones. He broke off the embrace and laid a hand on his sword, stretched his neck, and flashed a toothy grin. "We'll leave right away, okay?" Bartz said softly, and Krile again bowed her head and sobbed. Bartz turned towards the door and prepared to leave, though he stared at Krile one final time before sharing a smile with Lenna that almost immediately flushed her cheeks. The wider he smiled, the hotter her hope became, and with a soft grin she nodded her head and sighed.