Dust in the Wind - (Ch. 7)

Battle Music! -- Joe Satriani - Crushing Day

Thankfully, that wasn't all, and I prayed fervently as my mind began to think of the best way to remedy the situation. Murmuring softly, the darkness heeded my call as sleep overcame the group of warriors, except for their leader. "Now THAT'S more like it, the odds go back to my favor now pal," I laughed, slipping Genbu's Shield onto my arm as I surrounded myself with shadowy clones from the shihei.

However, the creature merely transformed in front of my eyes, his golden eyes glowing as he assumed a much more serpent-like appearance. "Then I guess it'sssss time to reveal myself, messssssenger..for what messenger daresssss to seek out the god of darknesssssss and the desssssert?" His forked tongue flicked incessantly as he hissed out all the S sounds in each word, a habit that I found quite annoying...I already dislike snakes enough on their own before their combination with gods, dark magic, or any of that!

The battle begun, as he cast out a hand, and warped his followers...somewhere. I didn't have much time to ponder their destination, however, as his movement speed in the sand was ridiculously fast in serpent form, and it was all I could do to parry the first of his blows, and the second shredded one of my clones. Although my landing the Gravity spell helped slightly, his quickness was still superior to my own, as he dodged my crescent kick with a backhand swipe of my blade with a laugh, "Time for some of your own medicine, Aspir!" The darkness felt like a boiling acid ripping through my soul, as I felt my mana slipping away, and quickly...perhaps this truly was a god of Darkness.

But...darkness can't help you with THIS, I thought as I focused upon the winds to silence the creature. To my dismay, a forceful whip of a tail crashed into my chest, sending my flying over the sand and into a rock wall! I bounced off it, but as I went to stand, a medium boulder landed on my back, half-burying me into the desert itself. "Oh, that was SO un-graceful," I muttered, hating to waste my little precious mana on it, but inciting a thunderbolt to shatter the rock so that I could rise again.

Looking up, it had paused to begin to drain the remaining mana out of me, and with my health as low as it was, I decided I didn't have time to think, acting on pure instinct, my aura lighting up as time itself bent to my will, Cure IV remedying my injuries as Silence and Bind followed in near simultaneous succession before the serpent could react and approach. "Enough of this..." I closed my eyes but for a moment, feeling my mana replenish and my body grow weary, and marking a divine seal quickly on the ground, felt my body fully recover as I cast another Cure IV upon myself.

"Cheap parlor tricks are not the mark..." it laughed as it broke the hold of the silence, but that was all it managed before a powerful Flood washed it back into the tunnel. I spun around to see Eckardt and Val standing behind me. Eck tipped his Turban as I threw a refresh on him as well, and followed with a Thunder spell to the Creature, sparks cracking part of the wall down on him as well.

Val was the first to speak, "Titan told us what was going on, and of course we got here soon as we could...Could tell something was wrong just by the massive amounts of Antica stationed outside. Malu and some others from another realm are holding their own, but the ants don't seem to run out of reinforcements."

Eckardt added, "Of course, I also dropped that note to Doc, and he's 'rallying the troops' again, so I suspect there will be a genocide of Antica happening shortly, but for now, uhhh...that thing doesn't look to happy, and it just picked up that huge boulder that fell on it. What are we fighting, anyway?"

I could only smile at my old friends, "The god of desert and darkness, apparantly. Sutekh, the one from the South. I hope the others get here soon. Val, watch those blades of his, they have some hellacious effects on them," I chided, giving her the blessing of Protect and Shell, while my Phalanx II wrapped her in its holy protection. "Just like old times," I said softly, time returning to its own flow around me after hasting the entire group and quaffing a Hi-Ether.

Southern Winds (Ch. 6)

Soundtrack – Breaking Benjamin - Blow Me Away

I teleported out to the heated sands of Altepa, a deserted wasteland that was a far cry from the lush wilderness and harmony that once prospered there. It was now full of dunes and the underground communities of the Antica. I tried speaking with some of the nomad tribes about the Sutekh warriors, but they were all extremely tight-lipped and wouldn't even mention a general direction. They looked panicked as if an arrow might fly out of nowhere to silence them were they to even attempt to speak to me.

It wasn’t long before I’d exhausted my options seeking information from them so I rode out from Rabao, and headed to see one of the Terrestrial Avatars, Lord Titan, guardian of the earth element. Now, one thing you will learn about Titan is that he doesn’t like to wear clothes much…and walks around in an insipid thong that really inspires me to cast a Blind spell upon myself!

As I approached the large crystal where the avatar slumbered, I couldn’t help but notice the shadows that seemed to slip along the walls, and the shiver that ran up my spine. Something was near. Something POWERFUL. As I murmured to refresh my armor, the creatures emerged around me, powerful figures that appeared to be a fusion of Hume and Scorpion! One in particular stood out, wielding a pair of gleaming scimitars, one with emerald inlay, and one with black pearl. Instinctively, I knew this had to be one of the Sutekh warriors, who'd probably found out from the nomads that I was looking for them. Joy. Always good to be on your own turf, right?

His aura was cloaked in a dark shield, and it was then I realized that the only way out was through all of them. The odds of one on 5 didn't exactly look promising once I felt the power emanating from the black pearl in the hilt sear into my aura, melting away my stoneskin; the armor of the winds abandoned me as well, but I realized it just in time for me to spin and parry the blow from the other blade with my own. Not too bad, I thought to myself, as the other creatures closed in as well...

Balance and Love (Ch. 5)

Soundtrack - Alicia Keys - A Woman's Worth

Returning to the realm of the Wind Goddess, I gathered my belongings and prepared for what could be a long time away from home. I spoke with my friends and family and let them know that I was being summoned away. They seemed to understand, but I knew at that point there was much more I needed to learn before I could even consider revealing the whole story.

A convenient portal was waiting for me in the Metalworks, where Master Engineer Cid placed a hand on my shoulder. "Guan, you've got a journey before you that I would've hated when I was your age. Better you than me, son." I couldn't help but laugh and smile at the man, who had done so very much for the city of Bastok, and wonder how exactly he seemed to know everything that was going on regardless of where it happened.

"I need to get your spy network, Cid-sama. I am never unimpressed by the span of your influence." We shared a knowing glance, and he watched as the portal began to envelop me.

"May Death find you well, Guan." The familiar salute brought his hand to his chest as a Bastokan send off.

"And return my body to my homeland," came my reply, returning the salute as I vanished from the realm of the Wind Goddess again, appearing on an elegant windswept plain...that was devoid of a breeze. "Irony," I thought to myself as I headed toward the direction that I was naturally drawn.

The palace shimmered where it stood, like a crystal and hematite spell, inlaid with marble flooring. I was almost afraid to touch it for fear of breaking something and having the walls come crashing down around me. Hematite wasn't really known for its durability, you know! I'tedaal waited there, elegant in her strapless ice blue gown, stark contrast to the colors of the room. "Welcome Guan, I am going to keep this short and to the point, just your style." Her smile seemed gentle, but I noted there was almost a malice behind her soft petaled lips.

Before I could ponder what that bitterness might coming from, she continued, "Love is a vicious and jealous mistress. She will not see her own flaws before she passes an unfair judgment to those with her; when she does realize these same flaws, she will find ways that they are justified. She has been twisted by the darkness of the society and has become somewhat of a project for it to lead astray. She is like a fallen avatar in a sense, that the elemental messengers have been unable to reconcile with her natural way of being. This job now falls upon you since you have accepted the mission assigned to you from the universe."

I nodded, "It doesn't sound that bad really, does it? I help people, set the elements right, and make love pure once again in the world." No, it didn't sound bad at all...but it sounded like something I was totally unqualified to do. Even my will and power wasn't strong enough to overcome all the darkness of the realms, if it had corrupted Love herself, I worried. Dealing with the Shadow Lord, Kirin, or even Hydra was one thing...but this was a beast that couldn't be harmed by blade or spell, nor even debuffed. Confronting it directly would be like standing in front of a charging Behemoth and just seeing how much impact it would make. Not the brightest of ideas.

I'tedaal smiled, and before I even blinked she was right beside me; her voice had a venomous edge to it that compelled me to be silent and listen motionlessly, "Know that everything you come to care for, she will smile as it is lost to you, Guan. This is her revelry in the darkness, where Love has made her domain. If you take this path, you will find pain. A crystal is held by the warriors of Sutekh in the lands of Altepa, a place I understand you are quite familiar with. Go there first, and I will only warn you this once, Guan Kim. Shield your heart, lest it be wrenched painfully from your chest."

How Destiny Dreams (Ch. 4)

Soundbytes: Three Days Grace - Wake Up

Keeping my Joyeuse at my side, I nodded. “Quite kind of you actually. Thank you muchly.” Something is wrong with this picture, I thought to myself. Most often, I could estimate an opponent’s skills and feel their power with a look in their eyes, but this being was impossible to gauge!

“I’m I'tedaal, Keeper of Balance.” As black silken locks fell from under the helm, the voice softened as well to a soft feminine tone, “And that would make you Guan, who is about to travel to the realms of Vana'wrap." She put away the scythe and smiled, though there was something deeper to it. It wasn't a welcoming smile or a greeting, it was a knowing smile. TOO knowing.

"Vana...'wrap? I think you fell on those lovely dark tresses of yours, dear, this is Vana'DIEL, and well, I'm already here, so no need to get further here." I smiled in return, and guided my blade back to my side as well. "But anyway, I'..Ite...m'lady. What does you being a keeper of balance have to do with the urge to swing that farming tool towards my head?" I suddenly had a not-so-random craving for a chicken crunch wrap from Taco Bell. Gee, wonder where that came from...

"It means that I'm here as a messenger of the One, the master of the universe."

"He-Man!?!"

"No, you moron, the being who created all that is."

"Oh, you're preaching that Altana and Promathia theory again...?" I sighed...apparently I didn't pay the priests well enough, or else I'd committed some sort of unspeakable sin.

She suddenly laughed out of nowhere, the lilt carried across the mountains and I wondered if that was her meaning of balance...anger then peace, spite then compassion, hate then love. "Ah my dear boy, they are but young ones compared to the One. They're my children, nothing like what you'll be working with now."

"Maybe sane then psycho should be added to that list," I thought. I nodded, and bowed to the crazy person, "Then I think I should really be getting to work, take care, and see you again!" With that, I quickly cast warp, and found myself in front of a very familiar Mog House. "Enough insanity for the day...time to get a nap before heading up to duel Byakko and Kirin," I mused, heading inside to rest.

"Welcome to your Mog House, kupo!" The chipper moogle beamed at me.

"Any new deliveries, Kapo? You wouldn't believe the weird event that just happened," I started to explain, reaching to grab my reraise earrings from the locker where I'd left them. "And do you know what I did with my earrings, I could've sworn I left them in the locker yesterday."

"Yesterday, kupo? This is the first time you've been here, Master. I was about to explain how Mog Houses work to you." The moogle's antenna drooped as it seemed confused. "And I'm not Kapo, I'm Kipipu."

Just as I was thinking it was going to be a long day, a voice spoke inside my mind. "You may not have believed I'tedi...I'tedo... the Keeper of Balance, but maybe you'll believe me. I was the jar of marmalade that spoke to you earlier today as well."

"Damn you tasted good, hate I dropped you, sorry about that." I threw away the thought of a crunchwrap in hopes of a marmalade sandwich now.

"No..I wasn't the..." The One sighed, "Never mind. What's important is that you are to be my messenger of Love. And no, you won't have a specialty like some of the other messengers, because love needs to be able to adapt to the person it needs to help. You could be all things, you just have to prepare yourself. That is why we wanted to choose a red mage."

"So you drag me off here to randomly go around finding people and helping them live happily ever after or something?? That is mighty cliche of you."

"We offer a good benefits package?"

"Oh, for feck's sake..."

"I'm KIDDING, you know, haha? Gods can joke too you know, just ask Genbu."

"You sure you didn't mean BE a joke?"

"Well, you have a point. However, my point is that you're not just to make them live happily ever after. Sometimes you'll have to do the harder things, like help them deal with reality when all they want to do is hide away. You have to know TRUE love. To be kind is sometimes to be harsh. Such why I sent... Balance to speak with you. This is a step beyond the destiny I created for you, if you will accept it. Love is dying, her last messenger fell to the deceptions and mistrusts, and no others would step forward. Will you help her?"

I sighed, sensing the desperate times in the world, and merely nodded my head. Alright, look, what do you expect me to do when the one who created the one who created the ones who created us asks for help in keeping the world together? Love isn't such a bad thing, maybe I'd even find it for myself one day.