Chapter 14: Weapons of Light

"Kefka?" shouted Relm. "Why are you here?" She scanned the shadows, and watched as the coalesced into the infamous villain Kefka.

"To teach," was the simple truth. He stared at her. Very young. Almost

as young as he had been.

"I am not going to learn from you," she warned, stepping back a few paces.

"Yes you are." Kefka disappeared and reappeared behind her. "You will

learn everything I know. Every dark art and evil cantrip. Because you

know you're going to need them in the War."

"What war?" Relm asked, jutting her head towards the madman.

"The Crystal War. Your grandfather died to aid the cause. You father

wanders the southern realms for it. Will you not help save your world?"

Kefka grinned and laughed. Relm knew the laugh. He laughed the same way when he turned the Espers to Magicite at Thamasa.

"I'll not walk in the Shadow, fiend." Relm drew back again, this time

dropping into a fighting stance.

"Why not?" he asked, his voice an evil caress, tempting Relm to lower her guard. "You could be stronger than the Prophetess. Stronger than your grandfather. You could rule them all."

"I don't want to rule!" cried Relm, fleeing into the Darkness.

"Yes you do. Come back, little Relm. Kefka won't hurt you." She slunk

back into the halo of light that surrounded Kefka. Another memory.

Kefka atop the Tower of Corpses. Laughing, winged like an Angel. "These things I'll destroy..."

"What is this war? And you mentioned my father. Who is he?" Relm shot off the questions, staring belligerently into Kefka's mad eyes. He smiled.

"All in do time, kitten. Now listen to me. This is how you create fire."

"What is your name, Northerner," the large man asked Clyde. He was badly scarred, it looked as though he had been in a knife fight. Clyde

smiled. He liked it when little men thought they were tough.

"Shadow," he replied. "How about you, Southerner? Or are you too

ashamed?" Shadow leaned back, his muscles rippling beneath his Ninja

suit. He smiled darkly.

"You son of a jackal! You'll pay for your insult!" The desert dweller

drew his scimitar, faster than Shadow had ever seen anyone draw a weapon.

Shadow had never looked in the mirror. The man's hand dropped from his wrist, as blood spewed out from severed arteries. "You'd better get

that cauterized, little man, before you bleed to death. Heh." Shadow

turned away, walking towards the tent in which Setzer and Darryl were

speaking.

"Do you remember the cliff? We made love upon it, under the light of the stars. We flew forth in our airships, racing, competing, hurling insults at each other. We always made up in the end. Don't you remember, Darryl?"

"My name is Jaharin Selan. I am the daughter of the Sky God. I do not

know who you are, and I have never had carnal knowledge of a man. Perhaps you mistake me for a northern hussy, Ser Gabianni, but I do not

find your words amusing." Darryl stretched back on the cushion she

rested upon, sleek as a cat.

Setzer stood, pacing nervously. "Would you come north with me?" he

begged her. He dropped to one knee before her. "I ask you to do this

for me because I love you. Because I think I can help you regain your

memories."

Darryl stared at him appraisingly. "My band has tried to cross the Northern Sea many times, but the weather prevents our passage. Do you

have one of these 'airships' you spoke of? Could it carry my band across?"

"It was destroyed in the acid storm. But if you have wood and steel..."

"In a desert, Sir Gabianni? You are as crazy as I thought." At this

point Shadow stepped into the room, smiling still from his encounter

outside.

"Ms. Darryl, Setzer," he said, nodding to each in turn. "I have been

ungraciously eavesdropping outside, and I couldn't help but to hear your

difficulty. I know of a way. It is called the Madman's Path."

"How ironic," replied Darryl, smiling. "So tell us of it, Sir Shadow."

By the time Edgar had arrived in the South Figaro harbor, Cyan had just

recovered from his battle with the undead. He stood alone atop the wall, his hair flying behind him as he regarded the sunrise.

"Elayne, can thou hear me?" No response came from the mountains or the sea. Cyan smiled. "I know thou canst, my love. I believe I am coming to thee. I cannot fight the Blade much longer. Each day, the urge to feed it again grows. I must go to Zeromus. And when I do, I shall die."

The wind sighed. Cyan smiled again, wanly. "How do I know this? Never have I met a better swordsman. I can defeat anyone in a battle

of steel. But I have no way to fight Zeromus. And the Blade cannot slay

him, as it did the dead. I am cursed, then, to die."

At this the wind picked up, howling around him in a fury. He suddenly

burst into tears. "Elayne, I'm so afraid! I've never feared anything so

much. Zeromus...he eats souls, Elayne. I cannot stand the thought of

never seeing thee again. Should I fall in battle 'gainst him, he shall take me into his inferno, where I shall reside alone forever. I am afraid, Elayne, that I cannot tell thee how much I have loved thee."

[Wait for King Edgar, Cyan. Go with him to Figaro. There you will be

given the means to combat Zeromus.]

"Elayne? But thou said I would never hear thee again! Oh Elayne, canst

thou speak to me once more?"

[Nothing is written in stone, my love. We will see each other where the

train tracks end. I'll be waiting.]

Cyan leap from the wall and rushed to the harbor, where King Edgar arrived.

"King Edgar!" shouted Cyan, panting. "It is a pleasure to see thee again. I am sorry 'tis in such sad times."

"Yes, old friend," Edgar replied. "I have consulted with the Drake," he

said gesturing towards the dragon.

"The Drake?" questioned Cyan, his face showing his puzzlement.

"It embodies the knowledge of the Goddesses. It has told me much. We

are to go to Figaro."

"This I know. The Shade of my love spoke to me." Cyan looked towards the ground. "That is where we must be when the Harvest Moon rises."

"That is two nights from now." Edgar was willing to move fast, but

tactics had to be developed, forces mustered, and all of his other plans

put together.

"The Harvest Moon, King Edgar. That is when we must be there. This,

too, I know." He stared at the smoky sky, to the northwest. "Locke will be there."

"Locke? I thought he was in Kohlingen, with Celes!" King Edgar's life

was never easy. Sometimes he wished he could be in Sabin's shoes.

"I have been told this."

The statement seemed to end the conversation. The Drake, however,

stepped towards the two. "Mog, Umaro, and Gau will protect South Figaro. With the Guard here, that should not be to much of a trouble. I

can take you to the city, but then I must leave."

"Where?"

"My time has come. I go to meet the Goddess."

"I think I understand," answered Cyan, enigmatically. 'I think Edgar

does too,' he said to himself. 'We all have felt the need to leave this mortal coil.'

"The end of what I know comes, Edgar," said the Drake. "Beyond that, all is chaos."

"Take me to Zeromus!" Locke told Air.

[Go first to Figaro.]

"No!" shouted Locke. "My revenge first! Then your games of power Zeromus must pay!"

[Even now, you would fall before him. He has more than your power.]

"Then how can I kill him! Is this all a joke to you! Do you seek to leave me to die?" Locke spat on the ground. He stood three miles out of

Kohlingen, alone in the clearing near Darryl's grave.

[No. Go to Figaro, there you will learn all you need to know.]