The Forgotten Hero

Chapter 1

The Forgotten Hero -- In the ancient days people would rely on coal. The coal wasn’t clean and it caused pollution. Still, very few people had anything to say about it. It was cheap and efficient. About fifty years ago a new resource was harbored and enslaved by Shin-Ra Electric Corp. Shin-Ra called this new energy Mako. Mako energy comes from the planet’s life stream. This being said people were using the planet’s life to make their lives more comfortable. The planet was dying. Still, Shin-Ra didn’t care; it was an even cheaper and more efficient fuel. The people were growing angry with their excuse, thus attacks on the company began to happen, and the great Sephiroth became a hero.

            A war broke out between Shin-Ra – which at this point managed to take over most of the world- and Wutai. Shin-Ra’s men started to weaken and thin in number. They needed to do something and fast. The scientists that worked for Shin-Ra tried something that has never been done before; they infused potential soldiers with Mako energy. Various tests showed that the men who had Mako infused in them had their senses enhanced. They could see further, their hearing was acute and they had the nose of a wolf. To add onto this groundbreaking discovery, their physical strength and reflexes heightened exponentially. This tilted the war in favor of Shin-Ra with these new warriors; SOLDIERS.

            Sephiroth – the greatest SOLDIER – single handedly took out an entire army without breaking a sweat. He was the reason that Shin-Ra won this war against Wutai. He was the reason that many boys left their small towns to try and join SOLDIER and have their names in the newspaper. Still, no one would be a hero like Sephiroth.

            However, things for Shin-Ra were starting to waver and their golden years were coming to an end.  Different fiends were, and still are, showing up more frequently and were causing issues at various Mako plants. People were pointing fingers at Shin-Ra saying that these monsters were being created either through science experiments or through radiation. Then, there was the issue of the new eco-terrorist group; AVALANCHE. AVALANCHE was targeting these Mako plants and blowing them up. Shin-Ra needed to move fast once more.

            There were issues at a small town called Nibelheim. Sephiroth was sent out to investigate the monsters that were rumored of clawing their way through the nearby mountains, by the Mako plant. The investigation took weeks, but there were very few reports being turned in. The ones that were turned in had little information. Some said that Sephiroth locked himself up in the mansion. No matter what happened, everything turned to chaos.

            The Mako plant was destroyed. Then, Nibelheim was burnt to the ground. Very few survived the horrendous attack. Those who did survive were mentally scarred by the memories. No one knows for certain what happened. Shin-Ra says that AVALANCHE was responsible for the attacks. Others say that Sephiroth went insane from the Mako infused in him and destroyed Nibelheim. No matter what, this once great hero’s name is now a stigma and has vanished from the face of the world.

            Recently, there have been reports of a man in a black cloak. People say that underneath the hood of the cloak are glowing eyes – something that only SOLDIERs who have been infused with Mako energy would have. Whenever they recount their encounters, they become hushed and whisper that they caught glimpses of silver hair, threatening to flow from the hood, It’s been known that these people utter words that suggest the man carries a long sword that strongly resembles the one Sephiroth was known for wielding; Masamune. Are these reports something of that of a child’s fantasy, or is there some truth behind them? Could Sephiroth – the forgotten hero – still be wandering among the endless world that we call Gaia? –Verna Alm; Gaia’s Global

“Interesting,” A man mumbled through a cigar placed firmly between his plump lips. He scratched his chin, which reminded him that he has neglected to shave from the past two days. His eyes scanned over the pieces of papers that he held in his seemingly swollen hands. He then took the cigar from his mouth and tapped onto an ash tray before speaking, “Very interesting.”