Final Fantasy Story Chapter 7
Destiny's Call
By Nathan Jones
Relm watched through the small glass window of her bedroom. Many things were crossing her mind as she sat there quietly looking at the birds. Was Kefka really dead? If so, could he once again return to bring terror upon the world? As wonderful as the idea sounded, Relm knew in the back of her mind he wasn’t really dead. No one that evil could truly be dead. Relm remembered that fateful day when she was 10. Kekfa had destroyed her village. Her quiet, quaint little village full of honest hard working people had been destroyed at the hands of that madman. She and her grandfather were now the only surviving Magi. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered all the innocent villagers calling for help. Yet with all her power, she was not able to stop Kefka from doing what he did. If she had only been stronger! If she had only been as strong as she was now, maybe…just maybe she would have been able to stop Kefka.
“Damn you Kefka!” she screamed as she pounded her fist against the window. “I will find a way! I will!”
A maid heard Relm from down the hall and rushed in to see what was the matter. “Mi lady what has happened?” the woman frantically asked.
“Nothing.” Relm replied. “I just had a nightmare that’s all.” The woman nodded her head and prepared to leave the room. “Wait.” Relm said, “I need to ask you something.”
“Anything.” The maid replied with courtesy.
“Were can I find a scholar?” Relm asked. “
The woman stood there for a minute pondering. A bright smile crossed her face and she looked at Relm and said, “I believe there is a scholar in the library downstairs.”
“Thank you.” Relm replied as she quickly stood up. “Thank you so much.”
With that Relm walked out of the room towards the direction of Figaro’s library. She had a lot of questions for the scholar. However she couldn’t dare tell her friends what she was planning.
****************
Edgar and the rest of the group made it back to Figaro a little after sunrise. As they passed through the front gate of the castle, they dropped to their knees. They all gave a sigh of relief as doors closed behind them.
“Ahh it’s good to be back.” Edgar said as he sat down by the castle walls.
“Yes it is.” Terra agreed, “Although we don’t have time to sit around. You know we gotta make plans for our next assault.”
“Yes I know.” Edgar replied, “But first let’s have breakfast. I’m starving. It’s gonna be pretty hard to make any plans on an empty stomach.”
“Haha very well.” Terra said with a smile, “Let’s go to the dining hall. We can discuss everything over breakfast.”
There was much talk around the table as the warriors of light ate their
breakfast. Talk of bravery, talk of chivalry, but most importantly, talk
of what to do about Kefka.
“We have no idea whether or not he’s actually dead!” a monarch cried.
“That is beyond the point!” another one shouted back, “The real question is what to do next.”
“Haha I see where you are going with this Lord Braska.” The monarch replied, “But I think now is a time to relax. It is not yet the time to plan strategies for chasing ghosts.”
“I hardly think he is a ghost Thaddeus.” Braska argued, “If we sit here and do nothing, what is everyone else supposed to do if he IS alive and he decides to decimate ANOTHER village.”
“IF he is still alive Lord Braska,” Thaddeus shot back, “he will be tending his wounds. You all heard Shadow, did you not? The ninja says he mortally wounded the bastard. There is no way in hell even Kefka would dare attack another village in his condition. He’s still human you know.”
“Do you not remember Kefka six years ago Thaddeus?” Braska questioned, “I seem to remember a madman sitting alone on the top of an enormous tower, shooting down beams of light and destroying our homes! Now tell me if I’m wrong, but I DO believe he is no mere human.”
Thaddeus sat quietly in his chair fully understanding Braska’s argument. “Very well Braska.” He replied, “You have my troops if the time comes.”
At this point Edgar stood from his chair and raised his right hand. “Listen all of you.” He said, “Like Thaddeus previously stated, we are still not sure whether or not Kefka is truly dead. Although I reward my companion Shadow’s bravery, I myself hardly think that a knife would stop him. Kefka, as you all know, is a master of trickery. It is my idea that he will use our confusion as a weapon against us. Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t be ready. But I am saying that “chasing a ghost”, as Thaddeus so elegantly put it, IS in fact a bad idea. We should stay close to the castle for now. At least until we are sure.” With that Edgar sat back down, and the whole room was quiet. Edgar looked over at the Lords and monarchs sitting at the table, and all nodded their heads in agreement. “Come.” Edgar said, “Let’s at least celebrate Shadow’s actions with wine and song.”
**********
Relm searched the library with impatience. Where was this scholar? Would he be able to tell her what she needed to know? Finally Relm spotted a small old man half bent over some ancient texts.
“Niccadeamus?” she asked.
The old man slowly turned around and a smile crossed his face as he saw the young girl standing before him. “Hello child.” He said, “What brings a lady such as yourself to this drafty library?”
“Well,” Relm began, “I needed to ask you something. I need information on spells and rituals.”
Niccadeamus looked at Relm a little puzzled. “You don’t…look like a magician mi lady.” He said, “Are you sure you didn’t come here just to bug an old man?” Niccadeamus started to turn back around but halted. “Wait.” He said, “Are you Strago’s granddaughter?” Relm nodded her head and Niccadeamus literally jumped with glee. “Ahhhh!” he exclaimed, “Then I have much to tell you. Come sit down here next to me. What is it you’d like to know?”
**********
Kefka found Fosoya as always, bent over a stack of books. The old mage seemed to have been at work for hours, for his head would droop every so often to sleep’s temptation.
“Fosoya.” Kefka called.
Fosoya spun around to see Kefka standing before him twirling the long red cape on his back. “What is it Kefka?” Fosoya asked, “Is it not enough that I had to rush to save your life? Now what is it you want?”
“I thank you for what you did.” Kefka replied, “But the fact of the matter is…” Kefka hesitated before he finally spat out the words. “I was told of an ancient ritual. A ritual…that would make a man live forever.”
Fosoya’s eyes brightened as he listened to Kefka. “Yes.” Fosoya answered, “I do know of such a ritual. In fact, I have been studying it for quite some time.”
“Ahhh.” Kefka said with a snicker, “then you know of how to shall we say…prepare for such a ritual.”
“Indeed.” Fosoya replied, “I know more about the preparations than most mages. For you see, this ritual is one of the darkest black magic. We will need a sacrifice.”
“A sacrifice?” Kefka asked a little puzzled.
“Yes m’leige.” Fosoya said again, “A sacrifice worthy of such a ritual. Come. I have discovered something that you will most definitely appreciate.”
**********
Edgar stepped out of the large dining room of his castle and put a hand to his forehead. “Oy.” He said to himself, “That’s the LAST time I drink wine and dance at the same time.”
Terra spotted her companion leaning against the wall and walked over to see if he was all right. As she approached him, she saw that he was gagging. “Hahaha.” She laughed, “Edgar you may be a womanizer, but you certainly can’t hold your wine.”
Edgar shot her a not-so-satisfied gaze and proceeded to finish his regurgitation. “Ahhh.” He said, “Now my stomach feels much better.” He wiped his mouth and turned to face Terra. “Well mi lady,” he said with sarcastic courtesy, “I may not be able to hold my wine, but at least I don’t make a fool of myself like our friend Locke does.”
Edgar gestured towards the back of the dining room and Terra turned around to see Locke Cole doing some sort of weird dance on the table. She giggled a bit before asking one of the maids to get Locke down. Locke however, didn’t even make it halfway before tripping and crashing to the floor.
Everyone rushed over to help him but he bravely stood up and said, “Youz guyz don’t need to help me. I’m a famous treasure hunter. I’ll…I’ll…I’ll…”
He didn’t even get to finish his sentence before a large belch exploded from his mouth.
“Hahahaha.” Stetzer bellowed, “The poor bastard, he’s as drunk as a beggar!”
As much as the party wanted to watch their friend’s “show”, they helped the drunken treasure hunter to his chambers.”
“Nighty night.” Locke managed to say with another burp. After Locke’s little fiasco, the rest of the warriors all went to their rooms as well. Everyone, except for Shadow.
“What ails you old friend?” Cyan asked as he spotted the lonely ninja in a corner.
“Only the fact that I have a suspicion that bastard Kefka is still alive.” Shadow replied with a growl.
“Fear not Shadow.” Cyan reassured him, “If he IS still alive, we’ll get him next time.”
Shadow stabbed his katana into the ground and nodded his head in agreement.
“Come.” Cyan said, “Let’s get some sleep.”
*****************
Relm was the first to wake up the next morning. She skipped down to the kitchen, ate her breakfast, and proceeded to pack up her things. The information she had gained from the scholar had been useful. Now all she needed to do was find this sage Mortheius. He could teach her all she needed to know.
“Going somewhere mi lady?” a voice from out of nowhere asked.
Relm was startled by the voice and spun around. She gave a sigh of relief as she realized it was only a maid standing in her doorway.
“Yes.” She replied with a smile, “I’m going away for a few days but I’ll be back soon.”
“Shall I tell the others?” the maid asked. “No!” Relm accidentally shot out. She stopped to calm herself before adding, “I’m bringing back someone for them to meet. Please don’t tell them. I want it to be a surprise.”
The maid had a puzzled look on her face but nodded her head before leaving the room. Relm picked up the pace and finished packing as much as she could carry before the others awoke. As she passed through Figaro’s main gate, she turned around to gaze at the castle one last time. In her heart, she knew she might not be returning. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
“Goodbye all of you.” She said, “I’ll never forget you.”
With that the teenager once again set forth on her journey. She had to find Mortheius. Destiny had called upon her. With his help, she would at least be able to do what she had always wanted to do. With his help, she would at last be able to embrace her destiny as a Magi.