Chapter 19

The Harp of the Dawn

Rhodry had recently reached his rendezvous point. Xu had given Rhodry coordinates for a narrow cavern hidden within the plateau, easily hidden by air or satellite, used by SeeD and members of the resistance faction in Dollet. It was on a broad expanse of the plateau overlooking the Hasberry Plains of Dollet, close to the capital city.

Although Dollet City was impressive in its five-pointed design, tactically it was a nightmare to defend against a modern sea invasion. Dollet had discovered this the hard way with Galbadia's swift infiltration two decades ago, the move that had foreshadowed the Second Sorceress War. The capital was home to the Dollet Dukedom, which had assumed power six decades before, with the collapse of the Holy Dollet Empire. Though the small Duchy was now a fragment of what it had once been.

On the plains below Rhodry were many ranches and rural settlements. There was the occasional small, rectangular town with a broad commercial street splitting it in half. They looked like the set of a western, and many of them had been. To the northwest, before the gulf that separated the plains from the Monterosa Plateau, was the ruins of Castle Sarona. At the edge of a large forest, it predated the Holy Dollet Empire by thousands of years, and was once the epicentre of a sprawling city of the same name. Sarona had long since been consumed by the ancient civil wars of the western continent.

In modern times, the considerable castle ruins were a tourist attraction. There were several elegant hotels nearby, a towering amusement park called the Eldertree, a camp site, fishing lakes and a prestigious golf course. The forest was used for hunting competitions and there were many organised treks and hikes into the plateaus. State owned before the annexation, the holiday park was one of Dollet's main sources of income, with many festivals, archaeological digs and events previously being hosted there. Rhodry had stayed there with Glyn after they had become SeeDs. It had been repurposed for the families of imperial troops for the last two years. But it was closed now, due to the endless line of Esthari logistical craft and Lunar beasts heading west to the Yaulney Canyon.

Seifer had been instantly recognisable from a distance with his silver trench coat and Hyperion. Rhodry had not seen him in several years. As it meant so much to Seifer to be a mirror image of his former rival, he now had long hair. It was a rich brown, having not bleached his hair a kingly golden since being expelled from Garden. The mane accompanied a beard that was grey at the centre and around the edges. The scar on his forehead - the opposite of Squall's - was long faded white, an unsightly depression in his skin.

The calculating Fujin was by his side, with her misleadingly slight build and narrow face. Her prematurely white hair was now down to her elbows and tied, a small fringe covering the black patch over her missing eye. Her remaining eye was brown, but with an albinistic red tinge. A master of wind para-magic since being a junior classwoman, Fujin was junctioned with Pandemonium, one of the strongest Guardian Forces in the world. She had become known as the Cyclone after the Fall of Balamb, when she came to the defence of her old home and destroyed Esthar's entire Valkyr fleet with her GFs power, giving Balamb Garden a fighting chance of victory.

Ifrit and Pandemonium acknowledged Shiva's presence from within their summoners.

Beyond them, sitting on a flat rock inside the cavern, was Nida. The former pilot had atypical native Balambi features, with short black hair swirling around a single crown and squint eyes. The Aki clan katana rested across his knees, the sheath the colour of autumn leaves, and he had a large, high-calibre sniper rifle over his shoulder. Rhodry had always considered the veteran SeeD handsome, but as a Sorceress' Knight, Nida was devoted to Quistis, and they were nearing twenty years of marriage. It was said Nida had finally plucked up the courage to approach the Blue Mage for a dance at Garden's celebration ball following the last war, and things had snowballed from there.

In addition to being Balamb Garden's crack pilot, Nida's sniper scores had been off the chart. He along with Irvine were among those who had trained in that discipline, now members of a dying breed in modern warfare. Rhodry wondered what the rifle was for. Surely an assault rifle or captured Esthari weapon would be adequate for dealing with the nasty anacondaurs that were known to slither along these plateaus.

'Rhodry! How's it going, Boyo!' Seifer called, with a taunting grin Rhodry knew too well.

He had not forgotten the torment Seifer's posse had given him as members of the Disciplinary Committee, even if they had left Garden shortly after his transfer. On his first full day at Balamb Garden, they had caught Rhodry starting his morning run just minutes before the end of curfew. As a result, Rhodry had endured dozens of push-ups on his knuckles while Seifer and Raijin mocked his Trabian accent. Then Fujin had given him the cane for good measure. Needless to say, Selphie had stormed the Disciplinary Room after finding Rhodry crying in his dorm, which was why she had been late for her first class. Seifer's posse had not anticipated one of the new transfers being junctioned with Shiva.

'I heard you got yourself Shiva!' Seifer said. 'Tell me you gave those flashy pricks hell in Trabia!'

'Not nearly enough,' Rhodry admitted. 'It wasn't enough to save the people of Adaryn, the ones that stayed. Two of the Esthari officers had GFs. I was the sole survivor, and I fled north in the end.'

He was not ready to admit that he had fought Tyris, that he would have killed her had she come at him alone.

'Avenge,' was all Fujin said, her singular words always seeming to pierce through the wind as sharply as her indigo chakram.

'You and Shiva can carry on the fight here,' Seifer said. 'Not that I could have done the same, by running away. Discretion being the better part of valour, my ass! I'd have gone down in a blaze of Ifrit's hellfire, melting half of Trabia while I was at it!'

Rhodry was still disturbed at the rage he had displayed in Trabia, ruthlessly cutting through scores of the Esthari while Shiva's energy had coursed through him, the imperials not standing a chance. At the time it had seemed justified, and the bodies of Owaen and the rest of the brave townsfolk had pervaded his nightmares every night since. But now the memory scared him. Rhodry was afraid of himself, what he was capable of.

'I dunno if they told you, Boyo, but we're here for Siren,' Seifer spoke again, cutting through the bleak images in Rhodry's mind. 'If our other plan turns out, then Esthar will be losing one of their GFs, too.'

'How so?' Rhodry questioned.

Seifer half-smiled, nodding toward Nida. 'You'll see. It's all down to Fly Boy!'

Having heard of Irvine's demise, Nida asked, 'So, you were with Irvine when he fell?'

'I wasn't,' Rhodry answered. 'He died before I returned with Shiva. I was but minutes too late to save him or Selphie!'

'Reina?' Fujin asked with disgust.

'It was either her or General Zebalga,' Rhodry said.

'Why is Reina keeping Messenger Girl alive?' Seifer wondered.

'Don't call her that!' Rhodry snapped, finally rising to the bait. 'Sorceress Selphie is the Guardian of Trabia!'

'Sorry, Boyo, but Selphie isn't guardian of anything wearing one of Reina's crowns,' Seifer said bluntly. 'Squall and the others will probably have to kill her, and you know that.' Rhodry said nothing. 'Anyway,' Seifer continued. 'Reina wants the whole Sorceress power, right? The complete Half of Hyne, if you believe that shit. She killed Matron thinking that she was still a Sorceress. And Chicken-wuss's daughter claims that she's Ultimecia.'

'Squall believes Thalassa, Nida said quietly. 'That's good enough for me.'

'I hope it's true. I never thought that I would have the chance for some payback!' Seifer said bitterly.

Nida shot a surprised look at him, making Rhodry deduce that Seifer very rarely spoke of his manipulation by the future Ultimecia.

'Is that why you're helping us, Seifer?' he asked. When Seifer did not respond, Rhodry continued. 'Either way, Reina wants to use Selphie to bolster the invasion. With two huge land forces, it makes more sense to keep the power divided. If Reina wins, then she can dispose of Selphie immediately after.'

Nida rose. 'I can't shake the feeling that everything we're doing is foreordained. But if there's a chance we can change things, that we can save Selphie, we've got to try,' he said, walking toward the cavern entrance.

'We will,' Seifer assured him. 'But we need more power, first.'

'Then let's not tarry any longer!' Rhodry said. 'We need to find Siren! Why does Squall think she's near the Communications Tower?'

Seifer chuckled. 'Has Mr. Leader never told you the heroic story? When we were here during the SeeD exam, we found Siren trapped inside a Lunarian that attacked us at the top of the tower. It looked like an elnoyle. We drew Siren from it, and she helped us kill the big bastard. But Siren had been trapped for so long, she didn't want to junction, and that was the last we saw of her.'

Rhodry remembered from his studies that the early Holy Dollet Empire had worshipped Siren as a deity. He was familiar with the old fountain in Dollet's central plaza, carved in her image. Prospective priests used to make a pilgrimage to the plateau in tribute, and subjects of the Empire would also make the journey, hoping to witness her beauty and pray for guidance. But Sorceress Jadis had put an end to that, believing that she was the only one that her subjects should worship. Jadis had hounded Siren across the plateaus and bound her within the Elvoret, who had held her prisoner until its defeat by Seifer's squad a millennium after.

Locating the deteriorating, bricked pathway leading up to the Communications Tower, the four of them begun ascending. Although the lofty tower could have theoretically been reused after Adel's Tomb fell from space, communication technology had vastly improved. Now, it was merely an anachronistic landmark, an eyesore on the picturesque plateau, visited only by daring hikers that were willing to brave the local anacondaur population. Of which they had seen no sign.

Rhodry assumed that if they neared Siren, she would be able to sense their own GFs and it would be her choice whether to reveal herself to them. No doubt that was the simplicity of Seifer's plan, which he made no hesitance in taking credit for. Fujin had just given a sharp bark of laughter.

'So, where's Raijin?' Rhodry asked. 'Have you finally kicked the family man out of your posse?'

'Of course not!' Seifer said. 'Rai's my brother for life!'

'Wilburn,' Fujin said.

'Ifrit's there, too,' Seifer elaborated, referring to his son. 'Rai's going to meet us later, as soon as his son gets there to watch over Elle and Edea. Before the Dollet force crosses the border.'

Rhodry nodded, recalling that Raijin's youngest daughter had been named after the late Sorceress. Although he noted, as always, that the relationship between Seifer and Fujin was unusual. They did not overtly act like lovers, but Rhodry knew they had two children. He had heard Fujin lost her eye during a failed SeeD exam, that Seifer had also failed when he had disobeyed Xu's orders and refused to leave her side. It was speculated that this was when the Cyclone had first developed romantic feelings for the Bloodhound, but Seifer had been seeing Rinoa at the time.

The mention of their son inevitably brought Rhodry's thoughts back to Tyris. It was though Fujin could read his mind, her solitary eye now fixed on him. For the first time, she said more than a single word.

'Which GFs did you face in Trabia?'

'The Golden Chocobo.' Rhodry hesitated, then said, 'and Ramuh.'

Fujin stopped abruptly, as did Seifer and Nida. 'Tyris!' she gasped.

There was a tense silence as they both stared at him. Nida looked awkwardly between the three of them. For the first time since Rhodry had known her, Fujin looked fearful. Her eyelid wavered and her lips parted. Diffidently, she voiced the inevitable question.

'Did you kill her?'

Rhodry replied cautiously. 'No. I fought Vlahos in single combat. I bested her, but Tyris interfered against the Colonel's wishes. I won't deny it, I was maddened at seeing all my townsfolk cut down, and wouldn't have thought twice about killing her. Tyris used Ramuh to smash through the village defenses. Evidently, Adaryn wasn't important enough for her to blow her cover!' he commented bitterly. 'If not for that, I could have held them off with Shiva long enough for SeeD to reach us! Their blood is on her hands!' Rhodry stated coldly, then remembered his own butchery in that bloodbath, blind to the hard stare Fujin was giving him.

'So, she's fine?' Seifer asked.

'As far as I know. Tyris is a fine warrior, as good as we all were at that age, if a little impulsive, and overambitious.' Rhodry looked at Seifer. 'Although she is your daughter.' Seifer remained silent, and Rhodry gave a short laugh. 'I gave her spear back to her before I fled!'

Fujin did not speak again, Rhodry seeing what might have been a tear in her eye before turning to continue up the pass. Nida followed, but Seifer remained, looking undecided as to whether to say more. He lit a cigarette, offering one to Rhodry, who shook his head once.

As Seifer took a long drag, Rhodry asked, 'Haven't you seen Tyris since she was taken?'

'No,' he replied. 'Thalassa said she doesn't want to see us. We're hoping that will change one day, when she finally switches sides.' The Bloodhound sighed slowly and turned, looking over the edge of the plateau. 'We should have left Tyris with Rai and Elle when Balamb got evacuated, not Matron. If we had, she never would have been taken, and we'll never forgive ourselves for that. There's nothing we could say or do that would make up for what happened to her. But if we could see her just one more time, it would be enough.'

'Well, I hope you get the chance, one day,' Rhodry said truthfully.

They neared the entrance to the tower and found what they were looking for. Siren was in her material form, sitting on a large rock and playing a soothing melody on her golden harp. The GF had the appearance of a comely, half-naked woman. The curves of her golden-brown body were flawless, her toned legs crossed. She had flowing golden hair and high cheekbones with a ravishing face. Her nose was small and straight, her lips full and her eyes multicoloured around the irises. Rhodry realised that the feathered white wings rising and falling softly at her side protruded from her head.

Siren recognised Seifer from twenty years ago. With a grin, he was about to call out, but Fujin kicked him in the leg. His shins were doubtless hardened, but the blow was firm enough to silence her lover. It was Ifrit, Pandemonium and Shiva that silently communicated from within the mortals as they waited respectfully some yards away. It did not take long. In a musical voice, Siren arose from the rock and addressed Nida.

'You wish to become my bearer, Autumn Knight?'

Nida bowed his head with his left hand on his katana. 'If you consider me worthy, my lady. The Azure Sorceress and I want only to protect you from the demonic Reina, if you'll lend us your power in return, to help us stop her tyranny and free your brethren.'

Siren closed her hypnotic eyes. 'After spending a thousand years trapped within Elvoret, unwittingly feeding that Lunar demon with my power, I desired naught more than to spend eons in tranquillity. It has indeed been peaceful, as mortals rarely venture to the plateaus anymore.' Her eyes were open again. 'Alas, twenty of your years is but a blink in the eyes of a Guardian Force. I remember Ryu's Rebellion as though it were only under the previous sun. But from what my brethren have said, a much greater threat looms, one that will bind us to the will of a Descendant of Hyne until the end of time. They assure me you are a noble warrior, Nida. I shall be become one with you.'

'It would be an honour, my lady!' Nida replied. 'On the honour of the Aki clan, I shall be a worthy summoner!'

At first Siren seemed to vanish, but Rhodry made out the haze of a purple cloud as it moved from the rock, towards Nida. It enveloped the veteran SeeD and vanished, his eyes momentarily glowing with purple.

'Lucky bastard!' Seifer exclaimed with a chuckle. 'What most men would give to become one with Siren! Or Shiva, for that matter! Don't forget your vows, Fly Boy!'

Nida just scowled. Rhodry knew the indigenous Balambi people still took honour and duty very seriously, even many generations after the Albatross Archipelago's annexation by Dollet.

'Well, Part A was a success!' Seifer said jovially. 'Now, let's put that rifle to good use!'