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Ravages of Glory Author's Notes [Warning: Spoilers may be present. Proceed to CHAPTER ONE to begin the story] I’m not sure what compelled me to write to this story, but I’ve had a lot of fun doing it. Final Fantasy 6 is unquestionably my favorite RPG, and the only game I’ve ever come across that I’ve seriously considered writing fan fiction for. Maybe it’s the rich background and dynamic plotline that first brought my attention to writing about it, or maybe it’s the feeling of nostalgia I get every time I play through (I’ve done it at least a dozen times by now) the last of the “olde” Final Fantasy games, or maybe I just wanted a medium of practice so that I can hone my writing skills for more practical literary works in the future. In any case, I’m hooked. I chose the setting of the War of Magi for the basis of this Fic because it’s probably the most intriguing backstory element of the game. Heck, the first line of FF6’s intro is “Long ago, the War of the Magi reduced the world to a scorched wasteland and magic simply ceased to exist.” I mean, wow. There’s a kicker for yeh. This ancient war is also allegoriously referred to throughout the game as a focal point for the Esper-Human relationship that develops. Very little in the way of specifics is given about it, but it’s got enough of a premise that I felt the story just had to be told. Oh, and I wanted my interpretation of events out there too. ;-) There’s a lot of FF6 fan fiction out there and in all honesty, I don’t particularly care for most of it. That’s probably because most RPG fan fics I’ve come across are just long, drawn-out streams of dialogue or poorly conceived sequels to games that weren’t meant to have any. But there are quite a number of gems out there, almost all of which focus on events which take place before or during the game in question. I made a personal oath to myself that I would only write fics in a pre-game setting, for the above-mentioned reasons, and I plan to stick to that. What I find truly distressing however, is that the War of the Magi, the most important pre-game historical event of the FF6 world, is almost never the subject of FF-fic. I’ve seen only a handful of attempts at retelling the story that was never really told, and they’re all a pleasure to read. Maybe it’s because there’s such a scarcity in WotM fics that I decided to tackle the project, that my version would receive more attention than say, writing a story about Locke and Celes’ wedding. But don’t get me wrong; I don’t see myself in competition with other War of the Magi chroniclers. On the contrary, because the game offers so little information on the events of that millennium ago, every version of the story is different, with each author offering his or her unique viewpoint on what’s really a gripping tale, and tragedy. Granted, there is a certain degree of license taken when writing RPG history. You’ve got a lot of breathing room to work with, but you’ve still a few key objectives to end the story with. The cast of characters is likely to be almost entirely new, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make some reference to the ‘present’ RPG world; say, the ancestor(s) of Edgar Figaro, or the founding of a certain mining city on the northern continent… et al. So that brings us to my interpretation of the story, then. (I know, the fic probably won’t be finished when you read this, but I did outline the entire plot before hand.) I felt I tried to be fair and true to the premise the game gave us. I didn’t want to make any radical alterations and then somehow swing it back into the loop of things (the War of the Magi was actually fought with PUPPETS!) or try to somehow connect the plotline to a previous Final Fantasy game (you won’t be seeing the kingdoms of Baron and Damcyan, for example). I have taken one rather unconventional move in forming the story, however, which I’ll discuss: In the mountains north of Thamasa [in the game] you come across three statues built by the Espers in tribute of the Goddesses, one of which states: “The birth of magic... three goddesses were banished here. In time they began quarreling, which led to all-out war. Those unlucky humans who got in the way were transformed to Espers, and used as living war machines...” Many RPG scholars and other FF6 fans believe this line to have been referring to the War of the Magi. I disagree. I contend that the War of the Magi was a separate conflict which occurred after this incident. Nowhere in the game where is it explicitly stated that the above-mentioned occurrence was in fact, the War of the Magi. Also, we’ve heard numerous references to a time when Espers and humans lived in peace together, which would be impossible if Espers only came into existence during the war. (Well okay, I suppose you could argue that there were other Espers around beforehand, but the game does nothing to suggest this.) And lastly, I don’t really like the idea of the War of the Magi being a conflict between Espers and other Espers, Goddess a Goddess. The whole point of mentioning the war in the game was to serve as an example of the consequences of thirsting for power at the expense of another (a la magicite). General Leo even says, “How close we came to reenacting that ancient tragedy” or something to that affect. Plus, it complicates the role humans would play in the war (what side are we on again…?) and I just frankly don’t like the idea of the Espers having no free will. That’s not good for character development. So in my version of things, the Goddesses have already sealed themselves into stone, Espers and humans coexist peacefully, and only because of deepening fear, mistrust, hatred, ambition and greed on both sides does the War of the Magi erupt, as I believed the game intended it to be. I wanted to tell the story from both angles, but focused mainly from that of humankind. I also rejected any notion of a ‘good’ and ‘evil’ side to the war. I’ve seen at least a few accounts of Goddess and the humans teaming up against the dark and evil Espers of Poltergeist and Doom. Uh-uh. That’s too easy. This isn’t an RPG; there aren’t any good guys, no heroes per se. This was a war where everyone loses. (Scorched wasteland, remember?) [But don’t worry; the story’s not too dark.] I’ve tried to make more than a few ties to the time period of the game, if for nothing else a sense of familiarity. By the end of the story, I wanted a world which set the stage for the seeds of the modern FF6 setting to grow from. You’ll see chocobos and similar magic spells, towns, places, and maybe even a character named ‘Cid’. ;-) The only actual characters you’ll recognize from the game will be among the Espers. I can go along with the pretty much accepted notion that Espers neither age nor reproduce (despite the promiscuity of at least one love-struck Esper individual). So most if not all of the Espers from the game will be seen somewhere in the story. In turn, if you notice an Esper whom you don’t recognize, they’re likely my own fabrication and will almost certainly perish during the strife. I tried to be as objective as possible when coming up with Esper names (no assistance from fantasy name-generators here). Since a good number of the FF6 Espers are named after terms and individuals in Norse mythology (Odin, Fenrir, Ragnarok… to name a few) I took at least a couple thence. Others are named after simple mythological figures and beings; I’ve tried to honor that as well. Maybe that’s the most alluring part about this; having the ability to create an entirely new world and characters to inhabit it, but having an already phenomenal base on which to sculpt it. So, I hope you enjoy reading this fic as much as I enjoy writing it (as I said, I’m more than sure the story won’t be finished when you read this - but hey - if I’m still writing it, it means I’m still enjoying it :-D). And if you’re still reading this it probably means you have at least a vague interest in the subject matter, so what are you waiting for? Ravages of Glory, the chronicles of the War of the Magi, awaits thee!
Click here to begin Chapter 1
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