There Are Always Shadows
| There Are Always Shadows | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 03 January 2013 |
| Location: | Fluorgis |
| Synopsis: | Heartless almost always lurk in the shadows of even the most light-flooded abodes. Yet Fluorgis, with its well-trained Clans of adventurers, happy populace, plentiful water, and desert sun, is taken aback with the swell of those abominations throughout the city, the darkness throughout seemingly intensified. With the clouds thickening as though to blot out the sky, and the unsettled citizenry faltering in their usual harmony, the stymied Shard Seekers attempt a desperate ploy for the sake of the worlds. |
| Cast of Characters: | Ivo Galvan, Cid Previa |
| Tinyplot: | Shadows Over Fluorgis |
Steel flying free glints in what faint light filters through the dense clouds above. Youthful features grimly set, Ivo's wrist whips to and fro, and Hauteclare's blade, suspended from its hilt at a distance, pierces through the dark matter of which Heartless are made. Lurking Shadows, antennae wriggling, burst into mist and fade as his sword strikes true, the Shard Seeker pivoting in a near pirouette to rend asunder one foe which has leapt from the side. With a final flourish, the blade spins into a full twirl before sinking smoothly back into the hilt where it belongs, the crackling energy gathered at that juncture dissipating, and with it the light it had brought. The walls of the surrounding residences dim, and Ivo sighs softly, his gaze sweeping about one of Fluorgis's main streets. As he turns, the shutters of one window abruptly close, cutting off another light source.
After a moment, he sighs again.
The occasional Heartless in an odd alleyway was of little concern, and if anything, a good workout. City hall would occasionally hire them to clean out some pesky pocket before it became a menace, and such minor missions had never before been of any trouble. But then, never before had the hungry Heartless been so bold as to venture out onto Fluorgis's thoroughfares, or into any of its many fountain-crowned plazas. Though alarm has not spread through the city as a whole, a sense of unease and vague dread has begun to permeate these streets, as though echoing Ivo's own frustration at the impasse he and his band had found themselves in, unable to achieve their much-sought clanhood. The air has felt heavier, and spirits have dampened in the once bustling marketplaces.
The Seekers may have no glimmer as to why the darkness has begun to spread again, but they do have a glimmer of hope. The message that Faruja brought them from Merlin and the assistance that their occasional ally Luso Clemens has offered have at last positioned Ivo just where he needs to be: with no choice but to contrive some ploy to gain access to the Fire Crystal, and just the means to do it. If a shard needs seeking, it's about time the Shard Seekers acquired that capability. He's been tinkering away, and most of the preparations are complete. All he needs is a little time.
The knight-errant smiles slightly to himself.
Maybe this time, he'll get it.
- * *
"A member of Clan Gully?" the bureaucrat says, looking up at Ivo with puzzlement, eyebrows raising above the rims of his spectacles. "I don't remember the paperwork being filed for your official admission..."
"Well, you can't be expected to remember everything, now can you?" another voice cuts in impatiently, older and gruffer. "Are you going to keep my assistant and me waiting while you sort that out, or can we get to work already? This city needs light, you know!"
At this, much to Ivo's satisfaction, the clerk seems cowed. "Forgive me, Master Previa," he manages, eyes darting between the two men. "I merely wanted to confirm--"
"Consider it confirmed!" the Karnak engineer bellowed. "I spoke to the Clemens boy myself. Come on, hurry up with it."
"Your clearance, Sir Galvan," the bureaucrat mumbles, stamping a paper clip-on badge and placing on the desk before him, where Ivo daintily takes it up. "Do take care not to damage the Crystal."
"Humph, patronizing dolt," the older man grouses, not even bothering to wait until out of earshot as he marches away. Ivo catches the clerk's ears reddening before swiftly striding on, not wanting to prolong the moment, and catching up to his benefactor.
"Thanks, Cid," he says, looking down at the other inventor with a smile. "The framework for the Seeker Mark I is almost complete. I just need to be in the presence of the Fire Crystal for testing the resonance frequencies."
"Don't mention it," Cid Previa waves him off dismissively, not even looking at the temporary 'member' of Clan Gully. "You've got talent, kid. You should consider joining us for good instead of taking side jobs. Stop tinkering around, and build something big time!"
"Like a Fire-Powered Ship?" Ivo replies, sounding amused. "Is it true that's where the Crystal is stored?"
"See for yourself," Cid says as another set of doors open before them.
For once, Ivo is speechless. Steam pours from the vast array of pipes before them, the steely serpentine tangle receding into the distance. Here, in the heart of the city of Fluorgis, a great ship is suspended above an underground pit, and men made small by the distance clamber all about it. From the center of that ship, through opened hatches, a bright red radiance issues forth, channeled through tubes and wires of all sorts, disappearing into the walls and sinking into various devices.
Ivo's awed expression is slowly supplanted by a wondering, admiring grin. Such light as he sees before him casts a long shadow, but he sees that shadow not. There are always shadows. What he sees before him is hope.
"Take your time," Cid says, the old machinist waving lazily over his shoulder as he departs.
Withdrawing an intricate device no bigger than a music box from the folds of his cloak, Ivo's blue eyes gleam with the red light that fills the room.
"I think I will."
