Prologue


	The sun, a golden disk glancing at a chocolate horizon, peeked over the eastern mountains beyond the tiny oasis town of Kaipo. The light barely filtered through the heavily curtained windows of the old Inn. The day had just begun.
	Cecil Harvey, Dark Knight of Baron, however, was getting up anyway. He strapped on his swordbelt, sore though he was from battling a group of Baronian guards the night before. A young girl stood next to him, waiting to leave. Her name was Rydia, and Cecil didn't know much else about her, save that she was a Caller of Mist.

	Perhaps the last Caller of Mist, after the Package bomb had gone off in that village yesterday. Cecil swore his ears were still ringing from the explosion. His friend Kain the Dragoon had nearly lost his arm when the angry Bombs ripped through the small village. But Cecil had no idea where Kain was now. Or if he was even alive anymore. Rydia, in her stubborness, had somehow summoned Titan, the King of Giants. Mist was well destroyed by that quake. But even across the mountains that sprouted up, soldiers of Baron had still managed to locate him. At least he saved Rydia from further harm.
	"Let's go now, Rydia." he said. Rydia nodded and skipped toward the door. Before he left the Inn, however, Cecil asked an old woman nearby for any recent news in the town.
	"News?" she said, her brow furrowing. "That's easy. Poor sweet Anna has eloped with a bard from Damcyan Castle. I daresay her father Tellah had a fair fit about it. Went storming off to who-knows-where to get her back. Very protective, of Anna he is, after his wife Leena passed on." A sad look entered the old woman's eyes. Then she got a very gossipy look. "Also, folks've been whispering about some woman who was found at the gates the other day, fainted dead away. Old Doctor Myron says it's likely fever. Other than that, this town's usually as quiet as any other puddle in the middle of the desert." 
	Cecil nodded, then left the Inn with Rydia. He hadn't expected half as much news!! He decided he should investigate this feverish woman before he left, and so asked around. It seemed she was resting in the residence of some fever experts in the corner of town. So, he and Rydia trudged through the hot, dusty streets of Kaipo until they reached the house. He knocked on the door.
	"Come in," a woman's voice said. They walked in, and were met with the smells of strange herbs and spices, cooking atop a heated stove. A woman was tending some sort of soup.
	"Um..." Cecil cleared his throat. She looked at him quizzically.
	"Yes, young man?" she said.
	"Um, I was wondering...if I could visit the woman, who..." he stammered.
	"The dead one. Who fainted." Rydia clarified. The old woman smiled.
	"She isn't dead, child. Just awful sick. She's in the back." she said with a wave of her arm. Rydia started back and Cecil followed, but the woman spoke again.
	"Oh, she kept calling out a name I've never heard around these parts." the woman said. "Do you know anyone called Cecil?" A horrible feeling entered Cecil's stomach, and he dashed to the back room. Then his heart dropped as he saw who was laying in the bed.
	"Rosa!!" he moaned, rushing to her side. She was delirious and moaning in her feverish state.
	"Mmm....Ce....cecil......please don't leave...mmm....don't leave me..." she cried out, clutching at her sheets and Cecil's arm though she didn't even know who he was. An old man came up behind him and patted him on the shoulder.
	"It's a bad case of desert fever." he said wistfully. Cecil turned to him.
	"But how? How could she get a fever? Why did she come here?" he asked. The old man turned his gaze to Cecil.
	"Are you Cecil?" he asked. Cecil nodded.
	"Then it appears....that she has chased after you." the old man said wisely.
	"Is there any way to help her?" Cecil asked in a voice that meant one was close to crying.
	"Yes. If we had the Sand Ruby, from the Antlion's Nest, we could cure her in an instant. But only Damcyan royalty can retrieve it." the old man told him. Cecil looked up determinedly.
	"Then I'll go to Damcyan, and have the King get a Sand Ruby for me. I must help Rosa. After all, it's my fault she's in this state." he vowed. The old man nodded, and Cecil got up to leave. As they walked out, Rydia tugged on his arm.
	"Who is that back there?" Rydia asked timidly.
	"....That's Rosa, a very good friend of mine. She's sick and I have to help her."
	"Do you love her?" Rydia asked innocently. Cecil was caught off guard by the ever-perceptive little girl.
	"Yes, I do..." he admitted. 
	"Oh............." Rydia said, eyes downcast. "I loved my Mommy too." This comment struck Cecil right through the heart though armor he wore. For he had killed Rydia's mother without knowing it. Now, he was determined to save Rosa. Even if it was too late to mend the wrongs he had done to Rydia, he would not wreck another life. Rosa would be well again. With that decided, he marched out of Kaipo, heading towards the Watery Pass.

	Rydia, at first, was a little scared of the huge, dark cavern that they walked into. She had never been much of a cave dweller, unlike other Callers who spent a lot of time in Misty Cave. Well, who used to anyway. Now, as they walked through the black gaping hole in the mountain, like some evil monster's jaws, while Cecil fended off alligators and pikes, she saw something on a bridge ahead of them. It seemed to be a funny old man with wild white hair and spectacles. He wore a purple robe and had a staff in one hand. He also had a very mean look on his face. Rydia pulled out her rod, prepared to bash him if need be.
	As they approached the old man, his stubborn look was replaced with one of desperation. He glanced hungrily at Cecil's swordbelt.
	"You there! You wield the Dark Sword! You must help me. Please, I beg you, brave Knight of the Dark Sword! My poor daughter has been tricked into eloping with a bard to Damcyan! Please, I fear a great evil in Damcyan, and I must get my daughter away from it!" the old man pleaded. Cecil glanced at him.
	"You must be Tellah, the sage from Kaipo." Cecil said. The old man nodded, pleased at being recognized.
	"Yes, I am Tellah. Will you assist me?" he asked. Cecil nodded. 
	"Of course we will help. My gir--....Rosa, she's sick in Kaipo. I need a Sand Ruby to cure her."
	"So you too have business in Damcyan. Let's go together then. Hopefully your Dark Sword can help me with my little problem." Tellah said. "You see, at the exit of this cave, a giant monster has taken residence. My magic just won't do alone." Cecil nodded again.
	"We'll see what we can do." They went on their way through the expansive cavern, camping for the night in a charmed area.

	"Oh, Edward..." Anna said to her lover in Damcyan. "I am feeling so guilty about what we did. Perhaps we should have gotten Father's consent first." 
	"Anna, dear......no offense towards your father, but you know he never would have let us marry had it been up to him." Edward said honestly. Anna nodded slowly.
	"Well, you're right....but still, we should go back and at least have him attend the wedding." Anna suggested. Edward shrugged.
	"Come Anna, let's go to bed....we have a big day tomorrow." He led her across the thickly carpeted chamber to their bed. 

	The next day, the sun rose, the same way it always did over the mountains, and Anna and Edward got up. He walked over to the window. The refreshing smell of morning, and the cool air drifted to Edward's face, a tiny butterfly of scent on the winds of the day. 
	"What a lovely sunrise..." Edward commented, holding Anna close to him. "The perfect sunrise for our day of marriage." Anna nodded and said nothing.

	Meanwhile, At that same moment, Cecil, Tellah and Rydia splashed into the Lake Cavern below Waterfalls, having leapt off the top. Pulling themselves out of the murky green water, Tellah looked ahead. 
	"Through that door, that's where the monster is." he said, grasping his staff tightly. 
	"This water is cold..." Rydia complained, shivering. They walked on through the rugged cavern until they came upon a circle of chests, trimmed with gold. Cecil pried open the lock with his sword, and pulled out some gauntlets of Darkness.
	"It seems somebody has left the whole set in this cavern," Tellah mused as Cecil found more pieces to the Darkness armor. He began to strip off his old armor.
	"Shouldn't you do that privately?" Rydia asked.
	"I have no qualms about-" Cecil began.
	"Please, Cecil, we must preserve this lady's innocence." Tellah said. Cecil remembered Tellah's comment last night about how Rydia reminded him of Anna, so he supposed Rydia's innocence wasn't all he was talking about.
	"Of course." Cecil said, going behind a rock to finish his armor switch. Then, they forged on through the cave.
	"There's the exit, behind that waterfall." Tellah pointed with his staff. He carefully scanned the water before going in. Rydia splashed in after him, and Cecil sloshed behind them.
	"Pity to rust new armor..." he murmured absently. As they neared the exit, the water became very choppy, and Cecil looked around to see what was causing the waves. Suddenly, there was a huge wave and Rydia was nearly swamped. There were tentacles everywhere, thrashing.
	"It is he! Octomammoth!!" Tellah cried, fending off a wild tentacle with his staff. Cecil looked around for Rydia, but he couldn't see among all the splashing. He drew his blade, Darkness, and chopped off a slimy orange piece of monster flesh. Green liquid spurted from the cut. Then, Cecil heard Tellah chant the words of magic. Out of the spray, a lightning bolt struck the tentacles, like a silver lance from the ocean. He heard Rydia scream, and dug in his pack for a Cure Potion, tossing it in the direction of the girl's cry. A more dim bolt zapped the monster, it must have been from Rydia. Tellah cast Lightning again, and Cecil cut off another octopus appendage. Soon, they were down to only two limbs. Then, Octomammoth reared its hideous head, a pointed scaly abomination with rows of sharp teeth, seemingly grinning. 
	"Good!! Good!! I think...it's slowing down!" Tellah gasped, wiping his sweat drenched brow with a corner of his robes. Cecil admired the old sage's endurance. Regular men his age would never be expected to go for so long. Then, through the constant onslaught of water, Cecil saw a red flame within a green orb of pure light, the symbol of a Summoned Monster. A Chocobo screeched and clawed at the last tentacle, ripping it apart with its sharp beak and talons. Rydia, glancing at Cecil while gulping down a Cure Potion, looked spent. Cecil rushed up to the head and jabbed it with his sword. It stuck in the hard scales. He got an idea and motioned to Tellah. Tellah cast Lightning on the sword, frying the Octomammoth inside and out. Its head went limp and fell with a horrid splash into the green water. They had won. 
Panting, tired, and smelling of octopus innards, they trudged out through the waterfall exit. 

	Cecil was blinded by sunlight as they climbed out of the caverns into daylight. It had seemed like a dark eternity down there in the watery pass, and the blue sky was somehow reassuring. But, something awful descended out of that warm sky, bearing death and hatred. Before anyone could act, the Red Wings, Baron's airship fleet, descended upon Damcyan like a bird of prey on a helpless fish. The air was heated intensely by the bombs going off, and they saw monsters break in and, presumably, if Cecil knew Baron's intentions, steal the Crystal of Fire. 
	"NO!!" Tellah cried, starting to run for the castle.

	Screams echoed through the burning halls of the castle.
	"Edward!" Anna cried, looking frantically around.
	"Anna, my parents, we must help them!" Edward cried. Another bomb went off in the throne room, and Anna knew it was too late.
	"Edward, they're gone! We must escape now!" she cried, tugging on his arm. But he would not be convinced.
	"At least, please, the Crystal..." he said to Anna, escaping her grasp. "I must save the Crystal!" More fire. Cries from wounded soldiers. Anna hardly knew what happened and suddenly they were at the entrance to the Crystal Room, out in the open air where the roof had been blown apart. She looked into the blinding sun, and saw the Red Wings bearing swiftly toward them. Archers were already posted on the sides of the huge ships. Edward was trying frantically to break through the door to the Crystal Room, which was blocked by a heavy stone pillar. Suddenly, Anna heard a twanging sound, like.....arrows being fired. She dashed to cover her true love, but he shoved her out of the way.
	And the volley of arrows struck home. 
	"EDWARD!!!! Edward, NOOO!!" Anna screamed. She looked up, to find the airships, to kill all aboard for what they had done, but as swiftly as they had appeared the Red Wings were gone.
	And Prince Edward, minstrel Prince and heir to Damcyan, lay in a pool of blood. His own.