Welcome to Adventu, your final fantasy rp haven. adventu focuses on both canon and original characters from different worlds and timelines that have all been pulled to the world of zephon: a familiar final fantasy-styled land where all adventurers will fight, explore, and make new personal connections.
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year 5, quarter 3
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“I trust you,” Yuna said with a faint smile when Caius explained that he’d been working hard with Vordun and taking him on rescue missions. It had been a long time since their first initial training session after all. If Caius said that it was fine, then she believed him.
Yuna assumed that they were about to take off, but Caius turned around and started helping her with what she now realized were buckles. It hadn’t occurred to her that they might strap themselves in to the saddle, but it made complete sense. Yuna had just only ever used a saddle on a chocobo before, and they didn’t go fast enough to warrant anything like that.
Caius asked for permission before he touched her leg, and Yuna was grateful for the thought. “Yes, alright.” Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment as he strapped her in, and she nodded a bit too quickly when he said that she could do her other leg on her own now that she knew the process. “Mm,” She managed a noise of agreement as she leaned down to finish up. She thought that she’d been quick about it, but Caius still finished his entire set-up before she was done. She supposed that he was so used to it at this point that he could probably buckle the saddle in his sleep.
Caius explained that they’d be landing at a slight distance from the bandits’ camp so they could plan their next move. “Makes sense. We’ll have to see how many of them are with the hostages first.” As they were about to ascend, Yuna scooted closer to Caius and held on gingerly to his waist, but at the first gust of wind on take-off, she quickly wrapped her arms around him with an undignified squeak.
As they rose higher in the sky, Yuna loosened her grip slightly, laughing as she looked out on the horizon. “It’s so beautiful!” The world was an endless sea of blue sky and green landscapes below them. It really hit home how there was so much less water here than on Spira, but it still reminded her of views that she’d seen from up high before. Flying in on Valefor. Riding on the airship with her guardians.
Airship?
Sucking in a breath, Yuna touched one hand to her forehead, wondering where that had come from. Airships were a relic of the past that were forbidden by Yevon. She’d never even seen one, much less ridden on one. But then why did she feel so certain that she’d seen the view from an airship window before?
Feeling uneasy, Yuna renewed her grip on Caius, no longer enjoying the flight as much even if the views were still breathtaking. “You weren’t kidding,” she murmured, hoping that their destination wasn’t too far. “You two are great at this now.”
Yuna frowned slightly, turning to consider Celes when she agreed with her sentiment. Her words were brief, but they spoke volumes anyway. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Yuna murmured, touching a hand to her chest and glancing to the side. “People are resilient. I hope that your world can be healed one day.” She hoped the same for Spira once Sin was finally vanquished, though Yuna honestly didn’t want to stop and consider whether or not she felt the same as Celes. Did she want to return to Spira? She didn’t have the luxury of saying no. She was still a summoner, however far she fell from its practices here. Her duty was to die trying to rid the world of Sin. Nothing would change that.
Yuna was grateful when the topic changed to their lessons, and she hesitated a bit when Celes mentioned that she should start with a knife. She supposed that it made sense--she’d only ever used a staff before so she’d need to work her way up to a sword. Using a knife felt somehow less reputable though. She wasn’t sure if she liked the idea, but if it was purely for self-defense, then she could tolerate it. Celes knew best after all.
“I suppose I can look for my first knife.” she smiled at Celes as they approached the marketplace and she said that maybe they could find her something there. “Thank you so much, but I won’t make you buy it for me. I can pay.” Yuna kept busy with jobs, so she really wasn’t hurting for money, though she tried not to take it from people who were desperate.
“They look so beautiful on you,” Yuna complimented Celes on her earrings, reaching up to touch her own decidedly long one. “And I’m sure their increased magic could help you with our lessons too.” Yuna hadn’t forgotten her promise to teach Celes in return, even if the blonde woman seemed focused on weapons training for now. “Sure, I’ll take a look around.”
Yuna’s heart tugged her towards the jewelry that Celes had mentioned, since she was a fan of even the non-charmed variety, but she knew that she should be practical first. Once she got the distasteful shopping out of the way, she could lean towards the rest, so she set off with that in mind. Yuna had come to learn Torensten and its marketplace well enough that she was able to navigate towards the weapons section fairly quickly, though she had never actually had cause to peruse its stalls before.
Yuna glanced a tad helplessly from silver dagger to sword, not particularly feeling one that was calling to her. If she was going to do this, then she wanted something that felt like it belonged in her grasp, like how Brotherhood had always looked so perfect for Tidus.
“Where do you think I should start?” Yuna asked Celes for help a bit desperately. She was the weapons expert after all.
Celes seemed taken aback when Yuna tentatively accepted her offer, but she couldn’t blame her for that. Yuna was surprised enough at herself for the both of them. Still, she wouldn’t take her decision back. White magic and aeons were all that she would have needed on Spira when her path was laid out in front of her and with her guardians at her side. But on Zephon, it wasn’t enough. She needed to be more versatile. She needed some basic practical skills to be able to protect herself and other people.
“Thank you so much for your help then.” She gave Celes a faint smile. “And of course I’ll teach you white magic. I was taught myself in a temple.” She didn’t suppose that Yevon would have approved much of her showing someone the ropes who wasn’t an apprentice summoner, but that would be between her and the church if she ever made it back to Spira.
Celes ticked off the types of spells that she knew, and Yuna nodded along, a slight frown crossing her face when she mentioned that she was one of the only ones who knew magic on her world. “Infused into your blood?” She asked a bit hesitantly. “I don’t…quite understand. Magic is common on my world, though it does require study. That’s amazing though if you were one of the first. No wonder you had to teach yourself.” Privately, Yuna was worried about what she meant by an empire doing the procedure on her when she was a child. That sounded cruel and like it hadn’t been Celes’ choice. However, Yuna didn’t want to pressure Celes into sharing more than she wanted to on their first meeting. She’d let the blonde woman dictate how much more she wanted to say about that.
“It’s strange, isn’t it? All of this? I thought I’d gone insane when it all first happened. Waking up here…” Yuna’s smile faded a bit, and she was nodding in agreement almost before Celes had finished. “No, I understand. Even the small differences were hard at first.” Not to mention the big changes. The casual use of machina. The lack of oceans. How people could live their lives without the fear of Sin.
“I like it here though,” she confided. “This world has its own threats, but it’s so peaceful. People can build huge cities and live together in groups without being afraid. It’s what I want for Spira if we ever make it home.”
Yuna had mostly been musing, but she flushed a bit as she wondered if that had been a bit too much. Sin wasn’t a problem here, and she needed to stop bringing it up. It didn't matter anymore, but she still couldn't make herself forget. “I’m sorry.” Yuna clasped her hands in front of her as she changed the subject. “Um…when did you want to start? I should be in Torensten for a few days at least. After that I’ll need to head to Provo.” Yuna couldn’t have given Celes a timeframe for when she’d be back from Provo even if she’d wanted to. She didn’t know what awaited her and Aera there. She didn’t even know if they’d survive. But Yuna had always been a terrible liar, so she kept her mouth shut without even bothering to try. “What do you think?”
Yuna nodded when Caius said that he was leaving immediately. She had expected that from the nature of the quest. Since a child was involved, there really wasn’t much time to waste. “I’ll meet you at the stables then. I won’t be more than a few minutes,” she assured him before splitting off to return to the inn where she and Aera were staying. Unless their mission went wrong, she didn’t expect that they’d be gone more than a day or two, so she quickly packed a bag with some simple supplies and scribbled Aera a note on where she’d gone. She knew that the blonde Oracle was eager to get to Provo, so hopefully she wouldn’t mind a small delay on top of the one caused by the destruction in town.
Ready to go, Yuna approached the stables with her bag slung over one shoulder and her staff clasped in her left hand. She was certain that she’d need it if they were infiltrating the same people that they had before. The bandits had been all too quick to use their guns and even quicker to use innocent bystanders to get what they wanted.
Yuna had expected that maybe they were renting chocobos at the stables, so she pressed one hand to her mouth and laughed as Caius led Vordun out of a stall instead. The dragon was even bigger than he had been during their flying lesson, so she held her breath as the creature sniffed her, leaning up to lightly stroke the scales along his neck when he seemed to recognize her.
“I can’t believe how big he is. I still remember when you carried him in your coat,” she mused as Caius began to snap a saddle onto the dragon’s back. It looked like the two had come a long way since they had been forced to make do with rope and a behemoth hide. The saddle must have been commissioned specifically for Vordun. The dragon acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, so he must have been fairly used to flying with Caius now.
Yuna straightened and stared at Caius in surprise when he asked if she wanted to go for a flight. “Really? He can carry two now?” She trusted Caius, but even she had to eye the a pair a tad dubiously. They had made amazing progress during their lesson, but it had naturally been a bit clumsy since they were new to flying. Had they really come so far since then?
“You’re lucky I have faith in you,” Yuna said with a slight laugh, but she took Caius’ hand when he offered it to her and used it to climb up behind him on the saddle. Her bag was secured across her shoulders, and she made sure to tightly hold her staff against her lap with her elbows as she scooted closer to Caius so that she could hold onto him.
“Is this okay?” She was a little embarrassed to get so close, but hopefully they were good enough friends by now that it wouldn’t be too uncomfortable for either of them. Bracing herself for the lift-off, Yuna peered around Caius to peek at the road ahead of them.
“I don’t really know how to do much else.” Celes looked awkward at the omission, but Yuna didn’t think anything about that was shameful. Hadn’t she struggled when she’d first arrived in Zephon because she didn’t know how to live without walking the path of a summoner? Branching out from your comfort zone could be difficult. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” Yuna assured her with a smile when Celes looked uncomfortable. “I have a lot of respect for people who dedicate their lives to protecting others from fiends. In my world, we relied a lot on people who could use swords. I know that I did at least.” It was still hard to talk about her missing guardians, but Yuna was getting used to travelling alone and looking out for herself. It was starting to feel like another life when she’d been surrounded by guardians who had carefully guided her every step.
Celes offered a trade of their skills—she said that she didn’t mind showing Yuna how to use a sword while she was learning healing magic from her. She clearly meant well, and Yuna hesitated as she weighed being polite with being honest. Before she could decide on how best to politely decline, Celes offered a bit of persuasion that actually shook Yuna and gave her pause.
“If you’re going about on the roads then there’s nothing to stand between the monsters and whatever else but yourself. The world isn’t exactly forgiving.” No. The blonde general was right about that. The world was every bit a dangerous place, and she couldn’t depend on her guardians anymore. Curling a hand close to her chest, Yuna glanced to the side and wondered if she was being selfish by clinging to the old ways. All that she had to defend the people around her with was one aeon and some limited black magic that she still couldn’t remember learning. It wasn’t always practical to summon Shiva when innocent bystanders could get hurt, and she couldn’t rely on spells that she suspected she had learned on the fly during her pilgrimage. What if something attacked and people died because she didn’t know how to defend them? If Yuna had been able to use a sword as well as Celes could, then would Ardyn have been able to kill as many people in the hospital?
Yuna’s thoughts were spiraling, and she laughed weakly to break the silence. “I’m not sure that I’d be very good with a sword. I’ve never tried anything like that. I suppose I wouldn’t mind guns though.” Where in the world had that come from? Yuna blanched at how casually she had just said that she preferred forbidden machina to manual weapons. Something was wrong with her today. The thought of what was to come in Provo must have been throwing her out of sorts.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know where that came from.” Embarrassed, she clasped her hands in front of her a bit as she looked up at the taller woman. “And I think you’ve been plenty approachable to me.” Not to the men perhaps, but she’d been willing to teach them at least. They had been the ones unwilling to learn.
Was Yuna unwilling to learn?
With her mind on the red-haired unsent awaiting her in Provo, Yuna let out a long breath before straightening to look at Celes. “You would…really teach me?” It was a wild choice. None of her guardians except for Tidus and Rikku would have approved. Maybe the version of herself that was starting out on her pilgrimage wouldn’t have approved either, but there was really one answer that her current self could give. It was too late to help against Ardyn perhaps, but if she managed to survive him, then there would always be men like him.
Yuna stared up at the sky nervously as the dragon kept ascending. They were so high up that she couldn’t really tell what they were doing from her place on the ground, but she did manage to see Caius pull the rope taught a second before Vordun darted to the right. Her heart leapt for his safety, but her friend managed to stay on and after a moment, the dragon sailed to the left instead. He didn’t usually fly so erratically, and a slight smile crossed her lips when she realized that Caius must have been guiding him to test the waters. He was doing so much better than his first try.
After a few minutes in the air, Vordun dove down towards her, and Yuna couldn’t resist taking a slight step back as the dragon landed close by, the air from his wings billowing back her skirt and her hair. As soon as they had landed properly, Caius untangled himself from the rope and rolled off of Vordun. He landed heavily on the ground, gulping in air, and Yuna grinned as she ran towards him and kneeled down next to him.
“That was amazing! You improved so quickly. You two looked so good up there,” she gushed, before realizing that his erratic breathing wasn’t normal. “Oh!” She wasn’t entirely sure what was wrong, and she didn’t want to force him to tell her while he could barely breathe, so she cast a Cure spell on him just to be safe.
“Are you okay?” She asked a little worriedly. “Do we need to call it a day?” She couldn’t really blame him either way. He had made great progress, and it probably wasn’t the safest way to practice on a saddle that they had thrown together. But at the same time, Vordun seemed to be getting the idea, and the ride would probably get smoother each time from here. Still, Yuna wasn’t the one going up in the air, so she would leave that up to Caius.
Yuna blinked slightly, taken aback that Kana-Ei did not appear to know her father’s name. She had assumed that he was the reason why the summoner’s demeaner had chilled earlier, but it looked like she had been mistaken. Perhaps she had even imagined it. People were quite temperamental after all. There could have been any number of reasons why he would have been briefly put-out.
“Braska,” she said with a slightly sad smile. “He was a good man. I’m proud to call him my father for that. Not just for what he did for Spira.” At this point, it would have been hard for her to even picture his face anymore if it weren’t for the statue of him in the temple. The thought struck her a bit, but she was used to smiling while people talked about her father. She knew how to pretend like nothing was wrong.
As the trio continued their discussion, Yuna blinked a bit in surprise when Kana-Ei demanded to know what she meant by the Baaj Temple being lost. She gave him a careful look for a moment, unsure if he was pulling her leg, but the genuine pain in his expression took her aback and she pressed one hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured, reflecting earlier on what he’d said about being from Baaj. “I…think that we may be talking about two different eras of Baaj Temple. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” She didn’t know how that was possible when the island had fallen to Sin long before even her grandparents’ birth, but it wasn’t unheard of for Sin to propel people forward in time. She’d met two people who were from Zanarkand after all. And as painful as it was to reflect on Tidus, she had believed him and Sir Jecht immediately. She owed Kana-Ei the same courtesy.
“Please. Can we talk more after this?” She asked, trying to be more gentle this time. She hadn’t meant to tell him about the fall of his city in such an accidentally callous way, and she hoped to make up for it. “We can compare notes on the Spira we know.” It felt rude to do so in front of Aera when she would just be sitting there out of the loop, but she hoped that he would agree to it once the trio had dispersed.
Aera spoke up and thanked both of them for sharing, and Yuna nodded and gave her a slight smile, though she wasn’t sure if it reached her eyes. This conversation had been enlightening and upsetting at the same time, and she needed a moment to process. She was grateful when Aera changed the subject by saying that she would like her assistance on a different matter.
“Of course,” Yuna sat up straighter with a more genuine smile. “What can I do for you?”
Her smile slowly slipped as Aera mentioned Ardyn, and it fell entirely when the blonde woman asked where she could find him, seemingly close to tears. Yuna stared at her, at a loss for words for a moment, and that was when Kana-Ei chimed in, sounding as shocked as she felt.
“You know him too?” She murmured to Kana-Ei, feeling something cold sink into her stomach as she remembered the older man’s indulgent laugh and the way his eyes had bled black. Why anyone would seek him out except to finally send him to the Farplane was beyond her, and she dug her nails into the folds of her dress as she took a deep breath. Whatever their experiences with Ardyn had been, she had to make sure that they understood how dangerous he was.
“I met him in a hospital in Provo,” she said reluctantly. “He never told me his name, but Caius thought his description matched the Ardyn that he knew.” She gave Aera a bit of a pleading look. “But please. Don’t go alone. You said that on your world, you’re known as the Oracle? That means you’re in danger around him. He called me an Oracle just before he tried to kill me. I didn’t know then what he meant.” She was going too fast. She knew that, and yet the words couldn’t stop sliding off her tongue as she remembered it. The rattling breaths of the man that he’d turned to a monster. The glowing red swords that had surrounded him. How easily he had fought an aeon and laughed as Yuna had bled on the floor.
“I believe that he’s the one spreading the plague in Provo,” she continued after a moment. “I watched him infect a man that I couldn’t save. And I would be dead now if Shiva hadn’t answered my call.” She swallowed slightly, hoping that her words had reached Aera as she directed her last point straight at Kana-Ei.
“He is an unsent. An old one I think. He fought Shiva as an equal, and so I failed to send him.” It was painful to admit her failure when sending souls to the Farplane was part of her duty. But she needed both of them to understand the man that they were talking about.
Yuna’s first meeting with Celes had gone well, and she was pleased to finally have a complete picture of the Dragonblades. She thought that the blond pair made a good set of leaders—Caius with his talent for recruiting new members and Celes with her ability to train the new ones since she was used to being a general. She looked forward to seeing their operation take off over the next few years.
Yuna had been disappointed that she had missed Caius at the base—she had wanted to say goodbye to him before she continued her ill-advised trip of escorting Aera to Provo. However, with the catastrophe that had gone down in the square, Aera and Yuna had decided to postpone their travel for a few days, as eager as the woman seemed to be to locate Ardyn. Yuna couldn’t understand why. She had done her best to dissuade Aera, but she was steadfast in her resolve. Yuna didn’t want to see the woman get hurt, so she was relieved to have their trip delayed, even if it was at a terrible price.
Yuna spent a few days offering her services to assist with the wounded in the aftermath. She felt a little sick at seeing the carnage that this mysterious witch had left behind, and she slipped off one day to visit the base where she had met Celes. She wanted to see if the woman had any insight on what had happened in town. It looked like the person who had done this was likely just as a much of a threat as Ardyn.
Unfortunately, Celes wasn’t at the base this time, though there was a message hastily written by Caius. Yuna scanned the sprawling writing, frowning as she understood the situation. It seemed that the bandits that she and Caius had encountered during their very first mission together were still a problem. She couldn’t imagine how anyone could ever kidnap a child that young. The girl’s plight tugged at her heart as she imagined what they were doing to her, and after only a moment of hesitation, she took the note with her since it listed the address on it. If Caius wanted any help, then she’d be happy to give it to him. Especially for something like this.
When Yuna reached the small, cozy-looking house, she hesitated outside. While she could hear voices inside, she didn’t want to interrupt a meeting with a grieving mother, so instead she stepped back off the porch and sat on her knees in the grass while she waited.
After a few minutes, the door opened, and Caius stepped out into the front yard. Smiling at the sight of her friend, Yuna got to her feet to greet him. “Surprise,” she said a bit teasingly. “I got your message. I hope you don’t mind the company.”
She hadn’t seen Caius since his only slightly disastrous first attempt at flying on Vordun, but she imagined that he had immensely improved since then. He wasn’t the type to stop working at something just because it hadn’t gone amazingly the first time.
Yuna quickly tried for a somber expression as Caius joked that she was laughing at his pain and suffering. “No, no! I’m sorry.” She clasped her hands in front of her in a reconciliatory manner, though her lips were twitching into a smile anyway. Back on Besaid, she could have kept a stoic face through anything. It seemed like the more time that she spent on Zephon, the more she was changing, and she hadn’t yet decided if that was a good thing or not.
“I just like to see you two play off each other,” she tried to explain. “And I know you’ll get the hang of it eventually. I don’t think he’d let you get hurt too badly.” Hopefully at least. Vordun did seem to have his moods, though that wasn’t too surprising since he was a dragon. Still, he was a fairly domesticated dragon, and he’d been with Caius since birth, so she was positive that he’d at least make an effort to keep the blond glaive on his back.
After they had discussed communication as a strategy, Caius took a moment to steady himself with a strained breath. Yuna gave him a worried look as she stepped back to give them space. “If anything happens, I’m here,” she tried to comfort him, but Vordun beat her to the punch as he gave out a whimper and Caius patted his head. Her blond friend seemed to collect himself after that, and after a moment, the pair took off into the air.
The dragon was more considerate in his take-off this time, and while Caius looked far from comfortable, they made it into the air together. “You’re doing great!” She called up to them, but that was when Vordun shot forward at his usual speed. Caius looked like he was holding on for dear life, though he did manage to keep his seat, and Yuna winced as she ran forward to try to stay close to them. “Show him you want him to go slower!” She didn’t know if Caius could even hear her anymore, but she hoped that he could. “Squeeze your knees! Pull back on him!” She hesitated, remembering how Vordun had reacted to Caius’ words twice since she had been here—once angrily and once in worry. “Maybe just tell him!”
There wasn’t much more that she could do to help Caius while he was in mid-air, so instead she slowed to a stop, waiting in the tall grass for them. Either they’d land successfully, or she’d be there to heal him.
Flushing slightly, Yuna watched the path ahead of them as Celes asked who she had come to say goodbye to. She didn’t want to worry the woman that she had just met. Nor did she want Caius to be disappointed in her choice to guide Aera straight towards Ardyn, so she shook her head instead, a slightly awkward smile reaching her lips. “I’m sorry, I was unclear. I did come to say goodbye to him, but it appears he’s not here. That’s alright.” Hopefully she’d have the chance to see Caius again.
Thankfully, Celes accepted the change of subject, and Yuna listened with a bit of relief as Celes explained that she was used to training people because she used to be a general in her own world. “A...general?” Yuna asked, considering the term. “Then you led an army? In wars?” She knew the concept of war of course--Yevon’s teachings always instructed that greed and forbidden machina would lead to war--but it hadn’t been prevalent much in Spira for the past thousand years or so. Most of the world was united in common purpose to defeat Sin for their own survival, so they had a plethora of guardians and crusaders instead of soldiers.
“That makes sense,” She gave Celes a slight smile as she explained why she’d been hard on the men. “You just don’t want them to get hurt.” It was the same reason why novice summoners and guardians weren’t sent out on a pilgrimage right away. You wanted to be sure that they'd had enough training first, and the priests had always been hard on her for that reason. They wanted her to succeed. It was probably the same for Celes with those men. The blonde general may have been kinder than she appeared at first glance. Though Yuna wasn’t sure that the tough woman would be happy to hear that compliment.
“I’d love to teach you sometime,” Yuna said, brightening slightly at the question. “I was taught in the temple where I trained. That’s amazing that you’ve picked up so much on your own. It isn't the easiest branch of magic to learn, and you're already so skilled with a sword.”
In the back of her mind, Yuna worried that she wouldn’t make it back from Provo to be able to keep her promise, but she tried to banish the thought. She wouldn’t let memories of yellow eyes and sadistic smiles ruin her first meeting with Celes.
