The Sorceress War Part I, Chapter XXV

Julia was half asleep when she heard the large stone door slide open.  Quickly waking up the rest of the way, she peered over to the door, despite how dark it was, and tried to see who had just entered.  Just as she had expected, it was Virados.  Though his unmistakable shoulder length red hair and reddish brown leather armor were hard to identify in the dark light, she knew it was him.  

    He went over to one side of the room, and with a flick of his wrist was able to cast a weak fire spell on a row of torches along each lengthwise side of the room.  This light spread out, and finally she could see better.  He tossed her a glance, and saw that she was awake.

    "Good, you aren't unconscious.  I was afraid I would have to wake you up." He said dryly, walking slowly over to her.  After a few strides, he stood right in front of her.

    "Yeah, no thanks to you, you stupid bastard!  What's the big idea about all of this?!  What'd I ever do to you?!"  Julia yelled back angrily, trying to break free of her chains and attack him.

    He sighed and shook his head.  "I'm sorry I had to restrain you, but I was afraid that you would react just as you are now.  You shouldn't be trying to fight me, you should be trying to aid me."

    "Aid?  Aid?!"  Julia shot back incredulously.  "Well, what a really good way of motivating me to join your side.  Capture me and tie me up, and worst of all you took away my grenade launcher."

    He smirked as he said his next sentence.  "Tu trahir le Mysidian domicile?"

    "Why would I do that?  I'd never betray the Mysidian home...."  she stopped herself quickly.  "Whoa.  How in the bloody hell...?"

    He chuckled softly.  "As I thought.  It's called a suppressed memory. You learned how to speak the ancient tongue when you were about three years old, as all of us do.  Somehow, though I myself don't know how exactly you did it, you forgot everything about us.  Only by reminding you, you seem to learn it over again.  I suppose it is some sort of amnesia."

    Julia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion but said nothing in return.  She was already too obsessed in her thoughts as to what he was getting at.  Instead, he spoke again.

    "Your unexplained magic casting ability?  I have the explanation. You, my compatriot, are a Mysidian.  Just like myself.  We can all cast magic.  Then, at certain ages-- usually anywhere from 17 to 20-- we can begin to summon our wings to travel quicker.  I guess you haven't been able to yet, I haven't seen you do it."

    "How?  I've lived here as long as I can remember, and even more so, my parents aren't Mysidian.  They nearly fainted when I casted a Fira at our fence and nearly burnt it down."

    "They are not your real parents."  He said, leaning against a nearby table to rest.  "I knew your mother and father.  I still know your father, I work for him."

    Julia raised an eyebrow.  "Lord, is my family in the world-domination business?"

    "Not exactly.  Our motives shouldn't be known to you, until you swear loyalty to the country again.  You are a very important person to us, do you know that?"

    "Tyraduna?"

    He smiled.  "Well, well, well.  You aren't as dumb as that Edea woman keeps claiming.  Yes, you are the Tyraduna, but that is not necessarily why you are important.  You, my liege, are heir to the Mysidian throne."

   Julia's eyes bugged out.  She shook her head wildly.  "No, no, no, no!  My parents are presidential aids to Vinzer Deling, not rulers of a country."

   "Planet really, not country.  I think it would be best if I told you the story of what happened after the fall of Hyne, during the Centran Wars."  And with that, Virados once again started to reveal a missing link in Terra's history. 

   "When Zeren Darknight, savior of Mysidia, struck down Hyne, the demon god swore revenge.  With his dying breaths, he used his powers to summon the very first Lunar Cry.  This Lunar Cry would hit the Mysidian continent, and destroy the entire empire.  But, little did Hyne know that the Mysidians were more clever than he realized.  During the war, they invented an enhanced kind of Warp magic.  This magic would transport the population of Mysidia to some other location, out of harms way.  Little did they know, they would be sent farther than imagined.

    You see, this galaxy we reside in is shaped closely to a sphere.  Thus, no matter where you are, there is a planet equal to yours on the opposite side of the galaxy.  These two planets are tied my dimensional thread, letting people pass freely and instantaneously between the two if you found the portal.  Well, the magic the Mysidians made somehow tapped into this portal... and sent them to the twin planet on the other side of the galaxy.  There, they were trapped and had no hope of returning.  The magic was made to be used only once.

    Here, the survivors of the Lunar Cry and the transportation rebuilt Mysidia to the best of their abilities.  This planet, which they named Gaia, was barren and virtually a wasteland compared to Terra.  To replicate the Terran landscape, they were forced to build domed structures that protected Terran plants from the harsh Gaian atmosphere.  Despite that, the Mysidians were able to move around freely.  

    The descendants of Zeren still remained as rulers of the empire.  For many centuries, they rebuilt the empire and maintained peace within the Gaian world.  The time came when the Queen of Gaia, Trinitaria Darknight, fell in love and married a stranger from unknown parts.  Her two guardians, Ultimecia and Dante, were strongly against the marriage, claiming that they felt an evil aura around the man.  His name was Devin Striker, and he quickly gained support of the Gaian Senate along with the support of the people.  The people had wanted to remake the original Warp magic that had sent them there, and return to Terra to take back what was theirs.

    Trinitaria had been against the transubstantiation to Terra, saying that the Centrans would have populated the entire planet, and that there would be no more room for the Mysidian Empire to exist.   None the less, many of the senators wished to return, and eliminate the Centran population if they had to.  The leading senator for this movement was Senator Aurius, a well renowned diplomat and strategist. In secret, Devin Striker and Aurius allied with one another, hoping to return to Terra and wipe out the Centrans.

    Then, quicker than anyone could deal with, the Gaians split into two factions.  One wanting to invade Terra, the other wishing to remain on Gaia and live out their days so no one would get hurt and war would not erupt between the two races again.  Soon, there was an uprising and a coup de tat by those that wanted war.  Since Devin was the king, and had sided with the Returners, he had the entire army at his disposal.  The pacifists didn't stand a chance.  The Queen, Ultimecia, and Dante fled into the surrounding forests with the Queen's daughter, Mira.  They were trying to escape to Terra and shut down the portals that led to the planet.

    But, they were cut down.  Only Ultimecia remained in the end, still clutching onto the terrified Mira.  Using her last magical energies, she sent Mira through a Warp spell into Terra.  When Mira was safe and on Terra, Ultimecia was captured by the Returners.  After the successful coup de tat, Devin revealed himself as none other than Hyne.

    The god had apparently broken free of his sleep that Zeren had put on him when he had slain the god.  He once again sought power, and did so by seducing the Queen in human form and obtaining a seat in the Gaian government.  He also planned the birth of Trinitaria's child.  If he were to mate with a Mysidian and impregnate her, once the child was born he could kill the current Tyraduna and transfer the power to the infant.  When Mira was born, that was exactly what happened.  He, though considered evil, now held all power of Gaia, and the support of billions of Mysidians."

    After he had finished the tale of the Fall of the Darknight family, Julia took a moment to try and have it make sense to her.  Dante, Trinitaria and Ultimecia had all been in the vision she had only a few hours ago, and they had seemed so familiar.  But it couldn't be, could it?  She had to make sure.  "How long ago did this happen?"

    "Roughly 20 years ago." He answered back with a smirk.  "I was but a lad, and I witnessed your birth, Mira."

    Slowly, as if saying that name to her had triggered memories, it all returned to her in a rush of emotions.  Now her first vision was making sense as well.  During that vision, she had been running through a dense forest being chased by some strange warrior.  This would have been when she was escaping with Ultimecia to Terra.  She had also seen herself fighting with Raine, who was the Shaduna.  The Tyraduna and Shaduna were usually destined to fight each other.  The name Mira Darknight brought back so many memories to her, it was almost unbearable.

    Then, she felt a pang of terror.  Devin Striker, the King and her father, had been Hyne!  Hyne of all people, was the last person she would expect as her father.  She laughed suddenly, causing Virados to give her and odd glance.

    "So what you're saying is, I'm the kid of the leader of the enemy forces?" When he nodded back, she laughed even harder.  "Well gee Obi-Wan, maybe I should go home and grab my lightsaber so good ole Darth and I can have a family duel!  Jeez....how cliché."

    "This goes a little bit deeper than Star Wars, mind you.  You've got to return to Gaia and help your father with the invasion plans... either that or you can remain here with me and help run the Sorceress War.  All this war really is you know, is a way to take out as many Centrans as possible before the invasion begins.  Adel is actually a subordinate of mine."

    "Screw you, I'm not going anywhere!" Julia yelled back.  

    Virados sighed impatiently.  "Please don't be difficult."

    "I'm a woman, I'm supposed to be difficult."

    Virados turned and began to exit the room with a frown.  He opened the large stone door and began to step out.  "Very well, then I suppose Hyne will have to come and get you himself."

    "Wait!"  Julia yelled, now feeling a pang of remorse.  While she had loved her mother dearly, Dante and Ultimecia were also like her aunt and uncle.  When he said Ultimecia had been captured, she grew worried.  "What happened to Ultimecia?"

    "Hyne jailed her and abused her for being a traitor.  He twisted her psyche until she was so ill, she sided with him and swore to defeat all of the Centrans.  The Gates of Ragnarok, which is the portal between Gaia and Terra, open for a short time every ten years.  She came through with me ten years ago, but somehow she manipulated them into sending her into the future, where she could attack the past without worry of death.  She is to attack if I should fail."

    With that, he exited, leaving Julia all alone with her new thoughts.  

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    Edea slowly walked down a hallway of the Valhalla, occasionally throwing an awe-filled glance out of the windows beside her as she saw the landscape fly by at high speeds.  She had to admit, the Centran landscape was in an odd way beautiful, despite the fact that it had been destroyed by a Lunar Cry 60 years ago.

     Eventually, she reached who she had been looking for.  "Raine!  I need to talk to you."

    Raine, who had just been exiting the bridge to go into the crew quarters, shot her a glance.  "Why now?  We're almost over the Centran Ruins, Edea.  You should be preparing for touch down.  We have to go fast once we hit the LZ, remember?"

    "I'm already prepared, and besides, this is more important."  Edea began.  When Raine told her to go on, she did so.  "A person should know of how they came to be, Raine.  Julia doesn't know how she got to Deling.  We should tell her."

    Raine gritted her teeth and sighed.  "Edea, didn't we decide on this years ago?  She doesn't remember that day, and she thinks she's a true Heartilly.  If she's happy with that, we shouldn't go fouling it up for her."

     "Put yourself in her shoes, would you?  If you had forgotten all about the Leonharts, and had the Canons actually treated you right and you were happy with them, wouldn't you still want to know where you came from if someone else knew the truth?"  Edea countered, crossing her arms and giving Raine the sternest look she could.

     Raine looked down to the ground and thought for a moment in silence.  Looking back up, she answered.  "Yes... I suppose I would.  Fine, we will tell her about that day in Deling, but she won't like it."

     Edea smiled and began to walk away, "Oh, she hates everything, so what's one more little thing?"

     Raine shook her head and smiled as well.  Those two will always be the same.  They do a nice thing for one another while the other is away, then deny everything and try to stop them from hearing about it.  If the world is ending, hell freezes over, and pigs fly, these two will still act incredibly stubborn and decline all knowledge that they were ever friends.  Rivals to the end.

      She turned and walked towards the window.  The eccentric shape of the Centran Ruins was now very close.  Lilliana would be landing on the opposite side of a nearby large hill to mask the craft, leaving the Pack to hike about a mile to the ruins and free Julia.  In fact, they were so close, Lilliana was already beginning the landing phase.  The ship was starting to lower and slow down to a hover.

      "Everyone, I'm about to land, get ready at the boarding ramp to get off!" Lilliana shouted over the intercom.  

      Raine turned and went towards the main boarding ramp, where everyone was beginning to gather.  The crew's quarters weren't very far away, and most of the Wolves had already gathered there (the Wolves on the ground being picked up right after they had taken off from the research base).   Corin and Epsilon looked to Raine with a pleading glance.

     They pointed to Lancer and Celeste, who were softly kissing in the back of the group.  Corin wailed,  "Raine, will you please for the love of god, make them stop!"

     Epsilon added on.  "Yeah, they've been all kissy-facey since we got picked up by the Valhalla.  Now, I'm all one for romance, don't you know, but not when it doesn't involve me!   This is so sweet it's sick!  It's been going on for I don't know how long!"

     Lancer and Celeste parted for a moment, Lancer rolling his eyes and Celeste sticking her tongue out at the two men.  Then, Lancer smirked and shot back with a remark.  "You're just mad, Kinneas, because you can't get any."

      "Whoa!"  Epsilon yelled, "Now that was a shot below the belt, man!  I could get a girl like that, just watch!"  He went over to Andraia, who gave him a warning glance that said don't-you-come-near-me-boy.   Despite that, he swung his arm around her shoulders and spoke.  "Andraia, baby, you have got to be the sweetest little thing on this ship.  Don't you love me, babe?"

      Andraia literally growled.  "No!" Epsilon then received a quick kick to the shins.  

      When the airship had landed and Lilliana joined them as she lowered the boarding ramp, he approached her as well.  Before he could she held a hand up, "Don't even think about it, Kinneas."

       Lancer laughed and kissed Celeste quickly again, causing Corin to let out a disgusted groan.  He spoke afterwards, "See, what'd I tell you?"

      "Will you guys knock it off?!  Do you remember Heartilly trapped in there by her lonesome? Let's move out, people!"  Raine ordered, and at once, all the Wolves shut up readied their weapons and they began to march down the ramp towards the Centran Ruins.  Hopefully, Virados had not been aware of them yet.  

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     AN:  All right, yes that thing with Hyne and Julia is a bit cliché, but then again, that's why I had her make fun of it. 

Chapter 26

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