Final Fantasy Tactics - Of Kings and Nobles

[RedWorld]

((This title is here until I can either think of something better. Planning is here if you would like to, say, get or create a character!))

Aida felt alone. She hadn't heard from her brother in what seemed like weeks. She had never been away from her older brother for so long and she was worried. Very worried. She hugged her uribo, who she called Zhen-Zhen, and tried to decide if she wanted to go after him or not. Of course, she wouldn't be alone. She had her uribo to protect a delicate cleric like her. It's all she ever knew how to do. She did have to heal the knights that were injured during the Fifty Year War. It was tough on her, but her brother was always there to motivate her, which she was thankful for.

She looked out the window wondering what he was doing all alone out there. She was worried for his being. She knew how horrible he could be to other people. But she was almost the exact opposite, minus the stubbornness they shared. Unlike him, she gave her heart out to people. She would give a poor commoner at least 5000 gil, provided she had it. There was maybe, perhaps, just a time or two when she was selfish, but that was because she was pushed to be so. But all in all, she was a kind person who never thought of herself for long.

Like she was doing now for her brother. She decided that three weeks was three too long. She needed to find him, and soon. She had heard rumors that he was based out at Fort Zeakden, a week's travel away, and held hostage of a commoner girl. That sounded like him. Yes... He was always about the commoners staying in their place. Aida didn't agree with it, but she never said anything. She always wanted to see him happy in some way, even if it was just a small smirk. Besides, he was her older brother. She wasn't going to tell him what was right or wrong. It was wrong of her, especially if it is true that men are the image of God.

For days, she walked. With Zhen-Zhen by her side and her staff in hand, she continued on. Battles with the monsters were the least of her worries, as she did her best to fend herself, her uribo defending her at all costs. After the battle, she forced herself to take a break of walking and fighting as she healed herself and Zhen-Zhen. It was an hour later before she continued. If there was a town she would sleep there. If not, then she camped out, trying to find caves as more safer and comfortable places to sleep. Aida was the least comfortable while the uribo was sleeping on her stomach.

Her feet ached and she was weak. But she was ale to make a week's time fairly well with the condition she was in now. And it was cold. So very cold... She shivered and continued walking that night when she saw a fire in the distance. She began to wonder. 'What is that...?' She picked up her pace and she almost ran to the fire, despite her legs kicking up the white fluffy snow as she ran. The fort had to be nearby. It must be! But if it was what she thought it was, she didn't know if she would forgive herself. What if her brother was dead for good...? What if she never saw him again? She was terrified... Even though their name went down the drain, everyone what still kept to the house, which was almost no one now, watched her. And it wasn't the same. It would never be the same...

Eventually, she finally arrived to the burning light and noticed that it was indeed a building. "...Oh no...! Zhen-Zhen! We must hurry!" She climbed the small hill that overlooked the fort and saw it burned down in pieces, still burning brightly and with no one running or alive. She quickly scanned for any bodies and after a few times, she saw him. Her brother, laying on the ground with blood all over him. Thankfully, he was far enough from the fire that he wasn't burnt. She gave a cry out and she ran to him and quickly kneeled down, not caring how dirty her dress got and examined him. He was badly wounded, blood all over him. It was the work of someone killing him, she was sure. She sobbed, clentching tight onto her staff. Dead... He was dead...

But wait... She was a cleric... If she could heal knights from terrible wounds, and if she learned how to raise them from the dead if they did die, then maybe she could do the same for her brother! She closed her eyes a little and focused on the magic she could do. That was the first step. Once she was focused, she opened her eyes and began to cast a raising spell she learned. She watched with misty eyes as she did her best to focus, but all she could think about was how she was going to be alone for the rest of her life. She was terrified of being alone, minus Zhen-Zhen. No one could replace her brother...

She worked her raising magic until she was too tired and cold to do anymore. Her power diminished and she eventually layed next to him, sobbing and holding his limp arm. She wanted to "enjoy this quiet moment" with her brother, one last time... Zhen-Zhen followed suit and oinked in dismay and sadness. She could tell how upset her owner was and she cried right along with her. Aida was thinking about what she was going to do after this final moment was finished... Go another week, traveling to the castle and reporting his death? She couldn't... She wanted nothing more than her brother to be alive. She closed her eyes, her tears feeling cold against her face. They felt like they were going to freeze.

"Algus... No... I don't want you dead... I want you to live... I don't want to be alone..."

[Dokurider]

Not even cold snow molding itself into a gaping wound matched the sting of defeat. That finishing blow was visceral enough, spewing blood everywhere and penetrating deep into the bowels, leaving an awful wound. And yet somehow, it was just barely not enough to end Algus Sadalfas.
Perhaps by luck or divine intervention, Algus now lay there on the hard and impacted pink snow alive. The once pristine and uniform blanket of pure white snow was now dirty and torn asunder by thundering rage and raw emotion, fueled by loss and betrayal, confusion and helplessness, versus a losing fight for survival and shattered arrogance and superiority trying to repiece itself desperately.
But this luck was nothing but the curse of false hope; he would be taken by the cold wind and the cold ground instead of cold steel. Even if he had the strength to move, he could still hear those two milling around by the wooden bridge leading into the fort. Were they talking? He couldn't tell and he didn't care. All he could do was lay there and let his blood and heat bleed into the tundra.
Suddenly, a powerful blast shook his entire body off the ground. Mustering some power into his limbs, he managed to lift himself off the snow enough to turn his head to the direction of the fort; it was on fire. For a moment, Algus, dreary and temporarily dumbfounded,  tried to piece together why the fort was on fire and how could have this happened. Then it hit him:
"The black powder! That dog of a Death Corp actually lit the fuse!"
Mustering the last of his strength, he stumbled over the piles of snow that hindered his already faltering steps. His leg muscles quivered like tightening ropes. To his horror, he found he could only run at speeds that matched the nightmares of running away. No matter how hard he frantically ordered his frozen body to move, it would only move at half speed.
One misstep and his wound gaped open, causing Algus to re-experience his finishing blow again. It was an explosion of pain through his body, sending him crumpling to the ground with a sharp cry of agony. All he could was lay there, clutching his side, breathing and screaming in agony as the fort finally exploded behind him.
The world was growing darker around him. This was death now. He can't even feel his petrified fingers anymore. He was growing smaller and lighter as the world underneath him tilted, flipped and warped around him. Time itself had slowed to a trickle. With his arms and legs vanishing, he felt less and less of a need to breath. Darkness had consumed him completely. Then, he had become completely still as his heart had stopped beating and he stopped breathing. He was dead.
"Or not...?"
He un-vanished? He tried to breath, it took everything just to take that breath. He took another breath and he choked on the drool that had slid into his throat.
"I think...I'm being...held?"
In and out, breathing took everything he had. He couldn't even move his fingers right now, but he had to at least open his eyes because he couldn't hear anything except his own weak heartbeat in his ears. With all of his might, his eyelids let the light of day through. What greeted his eyes was his sister, his precious sister, crying over him.
This wouldn't do at all. He had to say something, anything. Slowly, he worked his lips partially open, then shaped air he forced out of his body with his tongue, and whispered to her, words soft and deathly quiet:
"Don't cry. Please."
Somehow, over the howl of the raging blizzard and the roar and crackle of what was once Fort Zeakden, now a towering monument of an inferno that stands to defy the nature around it, that second sun in the night's horizon, that quiet sigh of life was the loudest sound of them all to this little girl in the empty, bleak world.

[RedWorld]

Aida couldn't take being alone without her brother. She didn't know what was going to happen with her family name, and she would rather have her brother see for, or at least, with her. She wasn't good at taking charge. It's why her brother was there, so she could survive. Without him, she was nothing, and him without her... Well, she couldn't even tell at times. Even if he did think poorly of her, even if he thought she was annoying and didn't want her to exist, she still wished she could've taken the blow instead of him. Then the burden of worrying wouldn't be as much as she normally worried. In fact, it wouldn't exist. She sobbed and continued to hold him, thinking it was the end.

But eventually, she heard words coming out of his mouth. Aida widened her eyes and sat up, looking down at him. He was a living bundle in her arms! Well... barely anyway, but in her eyes, an alive brother was much more appealing than not. Seeing his royal blue eyes was a miracle to her and she was overjoyed over the outcome of her raising magic. She barely could do such a spell during the Fifty Year War, but seeing how it worked, she couldn't help but to feel more confident in her healing spells. Even Zhen-Zhen seemed to be giggling and jumping for joy in its little pig body. But Aida's internal self boasting would have to be saved for later.

"A... Algus! You are alive! I... I thought I lost you! I'm so glad I haven't lost you..."

As she was thinking of her healing capabilities, she did her best to mend the wound with them, the blueish green glow contrasting with the flames in the distance. She tried her best to continue the mending process until she wasn't able to anymore and she collapsed from mana exhaustion next to her cherished brother. She couldn't even lift a finger, let alone her staff. Thinking it was some kind of game, Zhen-Zhen layed right next to her owner, oinking happily. As she waited for Algus to get up, Aida began to tell the stories of her battles as she came here. The monsters, the undead, the perverted squire in town... It was nice to finally talk to him once more. When he did get up, her light blue eyes slowly looked up to him as she smiled faintly. The question had to be asked.

"What shall we do now...?"

Whatever happened, someone wasn't happy with him... Whoever this person was, she didn't know if she would ever forgive him. And if she found this person.... Well, she really couldn't do anything. She was a cleric. A caring, yet weak and fragile cleric with barely any fighting experiences. These were her first. She believed that maybe her brother could do it. She could help him along the way. But honestly, killing wasn't in her genes. She couldn't possibly kill a person. But looking at Algus for now, she knew he couldn't right now. She wasn't going to let him out of her sight for the time being. He needed rest. She needed a night's rest if she was going to heal him anymore than she did, which was just enough the close the wound up and stop it from bleeding. For now anyway. If anything, with the healing she did do, he was going to make it through the night.

"Perhaps we should stay here and wait for the sun to rise again... And then leave for Limberry in the morning? It's your choice though..."

She eventually was able to stand too, but not without leaning on her brother for support. He was warm now, which she burried her face on his shoulder as she closed her eyes. The fire from the fortress was warm too as she slowly lifted her eyelids and head and brought a weak shaking hand to it. It wasn't too far away, but it was still amazingly comforting. She could fall asleep, especially with all the tears she cried. She was always exhausted after she cried, and with seeing her brother dead, she really needed a break. In fact, she closed her eyes and eventually her grasp slipped and she began to fall onto the snow, some melting already from being so close to the fire and its heat.

[Dokurider]

For weeks, Algus laid infirmed in his room, physically and mentally devastated. His defeat stung harder than his frostbitten limbs. But as the months passed, his frustration became outright rage over his unchanging condition.
"Why haven't I been getting better?" Algus demanded an answer from his attending physician one day at his bedside. "You said I would be better 6 months ago!"
"That was before we discovered the sheer extent of frostbite your body has suffered." the Doctor patiently stated. "These treatments over the past year have been to recover as much damage as possible and you have seen significant improvement in movement and feeling. "
"But they haven't done enough! I can barely swing a sword anymore. I can barely even run! What good have you really done?!"
"My liege you have been receiving the best treatment money can buy and we've been doing the best we possibly can. We have restored you so you can live the rest of your life in relative normalcy. It's...actually a miracle you didn't end up losing any limbs. Most people in your position would have bedridden for the rest of their lives. But the truth is, your muscles have been too severely damaged to ever engage in any strenuous activity ever again, let alone fight on the battlefield. You have been as fully cured as modern medicine can possibly make you."
"'Normalcy'? You dare call this 'normalcy' or a 'miracle'? How am I supposed to fight now?!" Algus' roars now rattled through the family manor in Limberry countryside. "It's been a year and this is the best you can do?!"
"I'm sorry, Algus, but this is all we can do for you." The Doctor solemnly informed him.
"Get out, you worthless quack!" Algus yelled with all of his might. "I don't ever want to see you again! Get out! Get out! GET OUT!"
The doctor hastily packed his equipment and left Algus' bedroom with little fuss. Algus was alone again. "Ramza, Delita, you two will pay for this..." he cursed under his breath.

[RedWorld]

Aida was there for Algus, doing anything and everything she could to try to make him as happy as his condition would allow it. She tried to make it easier, even if it was something simple to pass the time. Even she was getting frustrated with the way he wasn't healing, but she was not nearly as angry as her older brother. When the physician left, Aida tried to cure her brother's limbs to the point where they wouldn't hurt. She knew it wasn't helping as much as she wanted him to be helped, but it was something she could at least do, and it helped her feel more confident, even if it was just a slap in her face that she couldn't make him happy.

Aida was about to enter Algus' room when she heard him yell at the physician, which made her almost tip the tray of soup and red wine and crash to the ground. Luckily, she caught herself and instead of entering, stayed outside, her body tense and shaking. Even the shaking was making her almost tip the tray over. He was just getting more and more angry, and she felt uneasy that her brother was almost screaming at the top of his lungs. He didn't like his yelling. It scared her to death and she just knew that he wasn't happy. Whenever he did yell, she tried to calm him down and tell him not to yell in her presence. Technically, he wasn't now, but it still terrified her.

She watched the physician walk out of the room and she bit her lip. He was fired? But he was the only shot of her brother ever being healed. Eventually, she reached a clammy hand to the door and slowly opened it, seeing Algus in his bed and fuming. She made a slight whimper to him as she approached him and once she was there, she gently placed the tray of soup and wine on his lap, making sure he didn't drop it before she let go. She sat on the seat next to the bed and she gave a very shakey sigh. He nervous breathing was making it a bit hard for her to talk.

"S...S...S---o... Is... there anythi-... Thing I can d-do....?"

Aida knew she couldn't work miracles. She was only a lowly cleric. Nothing spacial at all whatsoever. She grabbed onto part of her dress and played with it, squeezing it and pulling it gently. At least she could try to do something. She could attempt to make him feel better, maybe not physically, but mentally. For him to feel better physically, she knew she had to use some of her cleric abilities, and then some. Not even what she knew would help him move around and fight, and she knew that. She decided to think a bit. There had to be someone who could help...

Or would it have to be up to Father Time to make him feel better? She honestly hoped it was the case; Maybe she could give him some kind of treatment that she could do. Maybe some kind of curing method, where she uses her mending abilities for a certain amount of time and afterward she would collapse from mana exhaustion? No... If it wasn't going to heal, it was going to help neither of them. It would make him more frustrated and her exhausted all the time. She needed to think of something but... She physically couldn't do the healing herself if that was the case. She would have to do small tasks for him.

"There... Has t-t-to be... something..."

[Dokurider]

Despondent to Aida's pleas, Algus flung an envelope at her feet.
"It's Lord Elmdor." Algus stated while staring through the wall facing his bed. "He's calling all the families to war against Hokuten. This war is going to be the biggest war of my life and I'm sitting here a broken MESS!" Algus punctuated his frustration by kicking his nightstand over.

"It's over. We're ruined. I can't fight." Algus quietly lamented. "There's only one thing left to do. Aida, gather up the last of our money and pack your things. Take only what you need because we aren't coming back. We have to go to Ordallia and clear our grandfather's name."

[RedWorld]

Aida stopped fumbling when Algus threw the note to her. As she was hearing him explain what was going on she read the parchment. Indeed, it was a call to arms to every family Lord Elmdor acquainted with around Ivalice. Their name was included, but... Didn't he know about Algus' injury? Maybe it was for her and she had to heal the knights once more... Before she could pounder more, Algus caught her attention by kicking the nightstand over, bringing back the fear she felt before. She listened to what he said and stayed silent. It's over? It couldn't be... In fact, maybe he couldn't fight physically, but maybe he could fight as a wizard would. That way he didn't have to move as much and he would be able to fight somehow. Before she could even mention it, Algus told her to pack up. They weren't coming back? They were going to clear their grandfather's name? That would be impossible! But...

"Yes Algus... I will do that right away."

Aida left her brother's room and went to her own, looking around to see what she needed. Goodbye to her familiar chambers. Goodbye to her huge bed with the satin and wool sheets. Goodbye to some of her various and beautiful dresses. She sighed a bit and she looked to Zhen-Zhen, patting her head. The uribo knew something was wrong. She followed her owner as she took as much as she could that didn't seem like too much. After she was finished she went to find the money that they had left. Once she had gathered it all, she returned to Algus' room, Zhen-Zhen following her. Her bags were packed and she was ready.

"I'm ready... Do you need any help with your things?"

[Dokurider]

Under the cloak of night, Algus and Aida slip out of their family estate, each step away from home getting heavier and heavier. Once their mansion disappears on the horizon, they make pace on foot to Limberry, the flat open fields affording them no cover to hide from prying eyes. They arrive at the wharfs at daybreak, exhausted and relieved that their nerve racking march is over. They catch the first boat bound to Port Monnummu, Ordallia.

It was a boring trip on a dull and worn ship, nothing to really do except stare at the horizon and watch the seagulls fly. So when a stringy piece of a man came up and started talking to them, even the dismissive Algus welcomed the sudden conversation somewhat.

"So, enjoying the view, guys?" he brightly quipped.

Algus gave him a not so subtle look over and decided to allow Aida do the talking, seeing that Algus had been unresponsive to Aida's attempts at starting a conversation so far.  The current flow of events weighed too heavily on Algus to even pretend to care about what Aida has to say like he usually would. He was content watching this inanity unfold.

[RedWorld]

Aida was upset to leave the comfort of her own home that night. Sure, they were going to clear their grandfather's name, but what of that next? Would it mean that they would go back into the glory of their name. It would be nice, however, she was unsure that it would change anything. She honestly didn't think any of it mattered at all. Still, she followed her brother without hesitation or question, the night getting darker and her ability to see weaker. At times, Zhen-Zhen had a hard time keeping up with the two, so Aida had to carry her at times. The only problem was being seen... Which she hoped wouldn't happen.

Once they finally reached the wharves Aida had a very hard time staying awake. She just wanted to go to sleep, but if they were going to wait for the boat to Ordallia, she had to stay awake. Instead, she decided to lean her head on Algus' shoulder and ask him questions: "When we clear grandfather's name, what will happen?" ""Will everything be set right once again?" "Are you hurt?" "Is there anything I can do for you?" All without answer. It made her frown. Why wouldn't he answer her? She had so many questions about everything and he was her only source of answers. Was it all secret...?

Once finally on the boat towards Ordallia, Aida could only sit and lean against the wall, falling asleep and holding her Uribo. She was usually a light sleeper, but being up for almost more than 24 hours made her completely exhausted and she had a chance of falling into a deeper sleep than she was now, but before she could even do so, she heard the man which snapped herself right up. She looked around, first at her brother to see if he was alright, then the man. He was, but she was sure he was annoyed by the man. He did seem like a commoner, but she didn't mind. She loved to speak with all kinds of people. Being a bit too tired to stand, she scratched her eyes and brought a weary hand to him.

"Mmm... Yes, I suppose it's very nice... We don't live too close to the water, so I don't ever see it... But alas, my name is Aida, over there is my brother Algus, and here is my uribo, Zhen-Zhen..."

The uribo oinked, happy to meet another person. She usually was nice to anyone, just as long as they weren't threatening. She was only used to Algus being as such. Aida smiled a bit tiredly and yawned heavily, trying to wake up, but nothing seemed to work. She just wanted to sleep, but at the same time, she didn't want to be rude. This man seemed quite friendly and honestly, she was getting bored of talking to someone that represented a brick wall. She missed talking to her brother honestly, even if he did just pretend to listen to her.

[Dokurider]

Aida and the slightly hunched over yet bright eyed man talked for what seemed like hours. They talked about the sea breeze and how it compares to other breezes. They talked about the formations of the clouds and other cloud formations. They talked about the seagulls and the myth that seagulls explode when you feed them Hi Potions. They talked about the ship, the crew, the shared room they all sleep in, and the general lack of liveliness, and so many other pointless minutiae that wondered how they aren't falling asleep mid conversation. Maybe it was the point because sleeping is the only thing to do on this disheveled floating wreck they call a ship.

"...Oh! I don't believe we even introduced ourselves! >_< I mean, we've been talking this whole time, this whole time, and we didn't think to just go 'Hey! What's your name? Alright, that's a pretty awesome name. Thumbs up. d ^_^ b But yeah, you can call me Scrawny: it's what my friends called me since I was a kid. Yeah I was always pretty small. In fact, when I was..."

Algus tried to focus on anything, anything else except listening to this man gibber. He focused on the afternoon horizon for the 5th or 6th time today. Still the same boring sky blue space over sea blue space as it was 10 minutes ago. It was a welcome break from digging at the dirt in between planks.

"Well, I'm headed to Ordallia because, I want to start a new life! Yeah, Ivalice is, nice, but it's not as enlightened as Ordallia. I mean, have you heard about the culture of Constapol? It has so much art and fashion! You've got...Raul Raquelli is such an outrageous man. Why I heard he...So you see? Ordallia is just such an awesome place! Beside, Ivalice has been getting really violent lately. Criminals, uprisings, upcoming wars, anyone would be glad to get away from all that. I guarantee Ordallia's going to be a lot safer in the upcoming years."

"So he's a coward fleeing the war. Got it." Algus sleepily thought to himself, on the verge of falling asleep. "I'm going to my room. I can't stand another second of this. You hens can keep gossiping here." He announced to both of them, mustering the last of his energy to drift to his room, leaving Aida and Scrawny behind. He flops onto his mat on the floor and falls asleep.

[RedWorld]

Aida was usually not one to talk too much. She loved listening to everyone's story. It calmed her from being so nervous around here. But at the same time, if the stories were too long, they would calm her so much to the point where she would fall asleep to them. But why wasn't she falling asleep to these stories? Were they just too interesting to fall asleep to? Or perhaps the theories and images of seagulls blowing up was too disturbing for her? She didn't know the cause of her insomnia, but she did hold her Uribo close and cradled her in her arms. She couldn't help but smile to him as he mentioned that her name was nice. And right after, he introduced himself. She looked over to Algus as he got up and announced that he was going to sleep. She nodded to him and watched him leave, which then she turned back to the man next to her.

"Please excuse him... He doesn't really like commoners and though he doesn't seem like he mind now, he doesn't want me to talk to people like you... But Scrawny... That is a very interesting name. ...Yes, when I was a child, I didn't have many friends.. I was stuck inside of a castle throughout most of my life. Not that it bothered me, not at all. I was content in helping my brother in anything and everything he needed. But then..."

She told the story of how Algus was missing for weeks on end, how she found him dead but she revived him, how they were going to Ordallia to clear their grandfather's name and why. It was a lot of words for her to speak, and a lot of tears as well. She deeply cared for her brother and didn't want him in any way to be hurt any longer. Maybe now that she is traveling with him, she can prevent it. It would be a lot better than for him to never come back, she was sure. But because she had little to no real friends, this was the first person besides her brother that she opened up to... And trusted. She listened to his reasoning of why he himself was going to Ordallia. She wiped her tears away before she spoke.

"I see... As I've said, there's going to be an upcoming war in Ivalice and, well... Don't tell my brother, but I don't think I could ever fight in a war either... He wants me to be strong but... It's hard to be strong when you are only a cleric, aren't I right? Fighting just isn't for me... I've tried on the way to find my brother, and... Having monsters left and right of you, fighting their own battles against you... Perverts wanting to keep you to themselves... That's a war in itself... I don't ever want to go through that again... At least Ordallia is safe, yes...?"