| Hidden Meanings,
Forgotten Stories
Chapter 1: Temple Guardian ©1998-2003 Squaresoft, Square Enix. All rights reserved. By Demon Star Beta Read by Yufsters Special thanks to my best friend Coda for all the great ideas. Demon Star AN: Ok, in this chapter it looks like it has nothing to do with Final Fantasy 7 at all, but trust me, it does. I think this counts as my first AU… if this counts as an AU of course… AN: Also, this story plot takes place before Jenova (also known
as “the curse of the skies”) crash-landed of the planet. "At last…" Terran stated in relief. "After so long… it is finely mine…" He slowly pushed the stone doors of the Zerra Temple open. Sand fell from the edges of the entranceway doors. "Goooo BaaAAcckkk…" the gust of the desert winds seemed to hiss. "Wha-?!" Terran spun around to find the source of the voice, his robe striking the air as it was dragged through the air so quickly. "ThheEErrRreeE iiiSss NotHhinng ffForrr yoou HhhhHeeeERrrEe" The snake tongued sound warned. Terran regained his senses and laughed at his own blindness, "But of course, a… temple guardian… I should have expected there would be one here as well…" The creature materialized in front of him. The guardian stood on 2 legs with a long reptile like tail. He was covered in green scales with two yellow eyes with black pupils. To a regular thief, crook, or murderer, this creature would strike instant terror. Terran was all of those things, but he was not regular. For some reason, he was able to read a being's heart, and see his or hers true nature. Not even he himself knew why. He called it his gift, but most would call it a curse. A curse because Terran was the one who possessed it. Terran read this guardians heart. He did not like what he sensed. The lizard like man had a sense of loyalty, courage, and truth. But that couldn't be all this particular shrine guardian had within him... there was more to him than that… Terran was forced to look deeper. This caused him to hate this being more. He saw a sort of gentleness, one that wouldn't harm one of innocents and purity… This would be a problem… It was extremely powerful, yet friendly at the same time… Terran doubted that any of his spells or even words, could break such a strong and well-trained heart. Damn it, Terran mentally cursed. He was going to be forced to come back later. But he couldn't! It took him so long to get here a first time, and he couldn't survive in a desert! He had no choice but to return at a later date. He was going to have to train himself to be able to defeat this creature mentally and physically. Then something struck Terran, why had the guardian been so quiet? Terran jerked his head up to look in front of him. No one. He looked behind him. Nothing. Where did he go? He froze. He felt someone's hot breath on the back on his neck. Terran sensed rage and anger filling the air around him. Goosebumps started to cover his body as the feeling of fear traveled up his spine. Terran turned around slowly, he struggled to make his legs support him as all the strength within him seemed to be sucked from him so suddenly. Yellow eyes met his own. They were glaring, filled with hate. "LEEAAVVEE" The reptile like creature demanded in a high-toned hiss. Terran needed no other comment, he ran. ******************************************************************* The boy staggered through what seemed to be an endless plane of dryness and sand. He had given up. He was a coward. 14 years old and still he ran away from his problems. He knew he probably wouldn't survive. He knew he was most likely going to die out here, but he didn't care. That man that was supposed to be his father for 14 long years had beaten him everyday of his life. He had even seen his father kill his mother, but no one believed him. He didn't know why. Perhaps it had been because he has been so young at the time that no one would listen. But none of that mattered now. He fell at the sudden sharp pain that dug into his bare foot, almost making him scream in agony. He turned over to examine his foot. A small sharp rock had embedded itself in his right heel. The stone that was intruding his body glistened with a red coppery liquid seeped from the edges. It dripped down his foot like tears. They were tears though… they were his tears of blood. All of his pain had taken its physical form at last. His father's beatings were the streams of red that flowed down his foot and dampened his toes. He wouldn't stop though. He didn’t know if his father cared to look for him or if he thought nothing of it, but it was a risk he wouldn't take. Slowly he rose and continued on. Each step felt like it drove the rock deeper and deeper inside him, making the pain that much greater. He stopped again soon after he started. He saw some sort of temple or shrine in the distances. It was only about 200 yards away. Thank the planet, he thought. I can rest without worry of being found. He staggered and limped as fast as he could, finally reach the entrance. But he noticed fresh footprints, and by the looks of it, they were here recently. This worried him, but wouldn't dwell on it until he got inside and saw what was in it. Maybe that would help give him a clue if they would be back soon or not. He noticed the bleeding was increasing by the blood prints left in the sand. He limped inside going only a few feet before he came to a halt. A feeling of being watched was alerting him. He twisted around to only the open stone doors of the entrance, still open from his arrival. His eyes widened. Someone's warm breath tickled the back of his neck. He carefully turned around, to cat yellow eyes. He froze. He kept ordering his body to turn and run but it wouldn’t… This… monster's eyes were gazing into the very depths of his soul, reading him like the scrolls in a library. After what seemed years he finally regained control and dashed the other way only to fall as the sharp pain in his foot made him lose his balance and smash his head into the granite floor. His world shattered into black pieces of darkness that had overcome him all so suddenly. ******************************************************************* Dagon picked the unconscious boy in his arms, one arm supporting his head the other under the legs. He carried the youth to the shrine chamber. There were ruins in this temple, of stone. But they’re where also a few unimaginably old beds left in the beaten down palace like structure. The boy wasn't here for the sacred stone. He couldn't leave him in the desert either. For the time being, at least until he awoke, he would have a guest. ******************************************************************* Where am I? He asked my self. Why am I so dizzy? What happened? His eyes fluttered open and he studied his surroundings. Gravel lay everywhere, everything was in ruins. Hey, wait a minute… why wasn't his foot hurting any more? It was wrapped in cloth with dark red stain. Who…? Fear stuck him suddenly. What had happened after he saw that monster? Was it still here? Did it… help… him? But why…? He plopped his back down on the bed. Bed? What was going on? Clank… Clank… Clank… Clank… The sound of a sort of metal taping against the floor. The sound was growing louder. Someone was coming… He wasn’t going to allow himself to get scared this time, not show it at least. He was going to stand his ground this time… he hoped… Clank. The figure stepped in the doorway. His body was cover in metal. Completely. No sort of skin what so ever could be seen. Two slits for eyes were all. He feet looked like some sort of… boot. Back home boots are the only sort of foot where, and cost thousands of geo. Only those who were rich could buy them, because it took days to just one pair. He noticed something else. This man had no mouth. He was covered completely in some sort of armor. But… the boy could feel a sort of gentleness radiating from… him. "Awake at last are we?" it said. No… wait… not "it". No one likes to be called an "it". More like he said. He only nodded. What else could he do? He was half afraid, half confused. "Feeling any better? You took quite a hit to the head," he stated. How could this person talk? For planets sake, he had no mouth! "I-I'm f-fine, " the youth stuttered. "I am Dagon," he held out a steel covered hand. He hesitated before he took the mans offer to shake, and was surprised how warm, and somehow soft the mental was. The iron like armor felt somewhat like skin… but there a few minor differences. "I… I'm T-Tyloric," he stated after a few seconds. "Forgive me for scaring you… I… don't have guests
to often, " he apologized. "That is… correct… I have many forms… I thought… this one… would be more appealing to you, " Dagon stated honestly. "Who… are you? Really?" Tyloric couldn't stop himself from asking. Dagon tensed, or what looked like he tensed. Should he tell this young man? What if he didn't believe him? He finally decided it wouldn't matter… but what if the boy tried to steal the stone? No… Tyloric didn't look like that type of person… But now was not the time… "A story for a later date young one… Why were you out in the desert alone??" "…" Tyloric didn't reply. He stared own at the floor to hide the tears that were forming in his eyes. "…Forget I asked, " Dagon withdrew the question. "Well... what about you? Why are you here?" Tyloric decided to ask. "I am the protector of this temple..." Dagon replied in a disturbingly low tone. Tyloric heard regret in his voice. This man was hard to figure out. "Is something the matter?" "You really need to know?" "Well… yeah… I guess…" Tyloric randomly answered, not entirely understanding his question. "Lets just say I've been here a little to long…" Tyloric raised an unfixed eyebrow, “How long is to long?” He was beginning to get a little more curious. Dagon shot an aggressive glare over his shoulder, straight into the boy’s eyes, stunning him with petrifying silence. Tyloric could feel the essence of rage illuminating them selves in the guardian’s eyes, burning like wild fires into Tyloric’s very soul. He didn’t understand it, what had he done? Why was he so angry? It had been just a simple question. ******************************************************************* “My past is mine, not yours! Understood!” He didn’t ask, he commanded. What had happened to him was for him alone to deal with, and it was certainly not for a mere child to try to comprehend. Tyloric nodded, eyes wide with shock and confusion, and not daring
to make eye contact. Dagon the said nothing more, and strode off
to take care of... business...
|
|
