Gallantry and Hesitation (A Final Fantasy Tactics fanfiction)

Chapter I

Chapter One

A land divided, ruled by seven.

Tyranny overtook the land, encasing war for hundreds of years. Magicks and daemons were summoned to bring chaos to the seven.

Twelve Braves with unique gifts brought civility and peace. However, tranquility was soon dispersed.

Now the story can be told...

            Today was the day that I would finally graduate from Eagrose Castle’s Royal Military Akademy. The Akademy was a special school for all squires round Ivalice to become a fighting force within the walls of Gallione and the Order of the Northern Sky. The War of the Lions between Duke Larg and Duke Goltanna raged on for several decades, and being a young novice at the tender age of sixteen, I was ready to move on and become a knight. Of course, there were several jobs I could have chosen from, but ever since I was a boy, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my hero; Lord Gafgarion, legendary Dark Knight and (former) division commander of the Order of the Eastern Sky. All boys looked to mimic our House Commander Dycedarg for his bravery and exploits in the war; Gafgarion was about power, and he was the one knight to master the devastating dark arts for over 127 years.

            And to be a Dark Knight, one must master the basics of knighthood. A small step in the right direction, I suppose. I had learned in history lessons that Gafgarion was exiled because of his brutal approach to the war, and his malicious intent against anyone who opposed him. But that wasn’t my intention; I was interested in the dark Sword Arts for sacrifice and retribution for Duke Larg and the Order, not for genocide.

            I, along with several other knight-worthy squire classmates, was being fitted with the White Lion battle dress armor for graduating ceremonies. My eyes lain upon the steel; it shone with the brilliance of a thousand silvers, accompanied by a gorgeous longsword. Knights, along with monks, archers, and thieves, were given particular dressing (although knights were allowed to wear the heaviest of dress armor as we were the highest in our class by way of rank, strength, and agility). Chemists and mages were given royale dress garb, fitting for the noblest of squires and apprentices.

            My akademy partner, Tavin, was nearby with his fitting tailor. I overheard him groaning in pain as the tailor grunted himself, struggling to secure and fasten his dress armor and not make Tavin look sloppier than he did on the daily. I was a slender lad, roughly 165 pounds and topped off at six even; Tavin was a massive hulk at his age, breaking the seams at a massive 250 pounds plus and six foot five. I remember him making a remark to General Zalbaag that custom armor was a must for him. Zalbaag would not have anything to do with such nonsense, and claimed that all suits of armor bore the same; “One size fits most… and you seem to fit the qualifications.”

            “So, Tavin… it sounds like you’re having a bit of trouble slipping into your armor?”

            Tavin growled at me from the other side of the partition. “Hold your tongue, Monarch! I should have been a monk! I wouldn’t have to worry about ‘slipping’ into anything!”

            I chuckled at him. “You’d be way too large on the battlefield to be a monk! Of course, you’d have one vicious hit!” My own tailor was completing the final arrangements on my suit of armor, after which I was instructed to convene in the main hall for our graduation ceremonies. Stepping into the main hall, there were about thirty other individuals that graduated from our class, from an initial group of about eighty candidates. Commander Dycedarg made the assertion of about fifteen percent make it past being a squire, but this class presumably doubled his expectations. I was just under the impression that Commander expects most of Gallione’s recruits would fail. Very open minded.

            Once all of the remaining graduating class entered the glamorous halls with beautiful décor, and the opening ceremonies went underway. I casually glanced about the faces in the hall, noticing a few familiar friends here and there. However, my eyes did happen to fall upon one young lady within our row of squires being inducted into knights. She was a new face, one that I was never accustomed to, but I was caught in awe over her beauty. A young, slender little thing; with long, wavy, golden brown locks that twirled down behind her; striking eyes that could possibly pierce the toughest of metals; and a soft, complacent face—a slight aura of arrogance about her. I smiled to myself, thinking that, more than likely, she would be the only female knight in our graduating class. All the other females in our class wished to be archers, or mages.

            And yet, I was right; this girl who caught my eye was the only graduating knight of our class! I guess she had the room to be smug about her accomplishments. I was also assuming that she didn’t take any nonsense from the other young men around her. As we all settled down and into our seats, General Zalbaag approached the podium and began to speak.

            “Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Duke Bestralt Larg and the Order of the Northern Sky, I welcome you all and congratulate all of you in your finest accomplishment. You have all been worthy squires and chemists, but through the past seventy-eight days, every last one of you have studied the way of the Knight, the Monk, the Priest, the Wizard, or the Archer.”

            After a round of applause, Zalbaag continued. “Today, under the eye of the White Lion, you all will follow your respected way of life. Each and every one of you is now battle ready to conquer the opposing blade of the Order of the Southern Sky. With that said, ladies and gentlemen, I wish you godspeed.”

            Another round of applause. Within the ovation, I began overseeing the group. I couldn’t help but notice the girl doing the same, peering around the successful lords and ladies of our class, until our eyes met. Albeit brief, her face turned a slight shade of pink and her eyes unlocked themselves from mine and continued to dance about the hall. I frowned, disappointed that I wasn’t able to get a better look at her eyes, but it was a bit of a distance from where I was sitting to get any accuracy to their color.

            Damn, I thought. I don’t think I’ll be able to catch her outside of the graduation. At that point, Dycedarg came forth upon the podium and began to call off the individuals of the class one by one, presenting each grad with a diploma, a gift bag, and a White Lion pendant engraved with our last name. As I heard the name “Monarch,” I stood, accepted my certification, and I received my own celebratory gifts; a potion, 200 pieces of gold, and a power gauntlet. Cheap gifts, to say the least. I guess I really couldn’t complain, after what I was wearing became the biggest expense of the Duke.

            I sat down, and unrolled my diploma. Breaking the wax seal of the White Lion crest, the parchment certification was written in script;

From the Royal Hand of Duke Bestralt Larg

I, Duke Bestralt Larg, would like to express my heartiest congratulations to you for your excellence in your graduation into knighthood. This is a great achievement in the Kingdom of Gallione.

As the Duke of the Order of the Northern Sky, I am very proud to see our young lords and ladies excel and grow in the land of Ivalice, as you have now done. You serve as a role model for the future for the future of all aspiring knights in the Royal Military Akademy of Eagrose.

Xavier Monarch, you have successfully completed the requirements in advance into knighthood on 12 April. Preserve the name of King Atkascha III in valor and integrity. Godspeed.

            I grinned, pleased with the message that Duke Larg bestowed upon me. Of course, I assumed that this was a mass produced message proclaimed to all, and the blanks filled in with the respective job classes, date, and name. It still made me proud. As I allowed the parchment to return back to its rolled up form, Dycedarg rattled off the last few names of us knights.

            One of them was the girl who caught my eye:

            “Reina Bentley, please step forward and accept your certification.”

            Reina… that’s her name!