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Ramza and Agrias arrived at Lionel Castle to save Agrias, but were once
again attacked by troops led by Gafgarion. As Agrias dispensed with the
Lionel soldiers, Ramza put an end to the Dark Knight Gafgarion. Wounded
from a dozen deep gashes, Gafgarion left his mortal shell, and his soul
continued on to his final resting place. A place of dishonor, and
treachery, and murder. The Dark Knight was dead.
Ramza and Agrias
entered the castle and were met by Cardinal Draclau. Ramza demanded to
be given the princess, but the Cardinal simply brushed him off.
"Why must you save her? You deserted the Beoulves.
What can you change by yourself? Don't waste energy.
Without power, nothing can be achieved and you...are powerless.
When it came down to the line, the princess
took our help over yours. You can do nothing for her."
Ramza
could not believe the princess would side with the treacherous
Cardinal. However, he was not given very much time to consider this new
information. With an evil laugh, the Cardinal produced the Holy Stone,
and then something happened which cannot be described with human words.
In short, the Cardinal had traded his soul for a new earthly body. A
terrible beastly body and the title of Tainted King, Queklain. Intent
on destroying the meddling Ramza, Queklain summoned his demonesque
powers to quench the young Beoulve's life. However, aided by Agrias,
Ramza managed to slay Queklain before the dark magic had taken hold.
Meanwhile
at Zeltennia Castle, Delita had delivered the princess in question to
Prince Goltana. Delita introduced himself as the only surviving member
of the Black Sheep Knights who had been led by Baron Grimms. Delita
also produced a prisoner who confirmed that it was Larg's plot, backed
by his sister Queen Ruvelia, to murder the princess and blame Goltana,
but the informant took it a step further than that. He implicated
Minister Gelwan, one of Goltana's aids who was present at the meeting.
Gelwan attempted to give a outraged denial, but Delita simply said,
"Treason's a serious crime Minister."
And slew Gelwan by viciously impaling him on his sword.
Delita
decisively stated that Goltana's only hope was to overthrow Ruvelia,
and have Ovelia accede the throne as rightful heir, backed by Goltana's
Nanten.
Goltana went to the capital of Ivalice, Lesaila, and confined Ruvelia in Bethla Garrison for the kidnapping of Princess Ovelia.
Goltana then let the Princess accede the throne, becoming Queen Ovelia.
But
Larg insisted that Ruvelia was innocent, and claimed that he was the
rightful holder of the throne whilst Ruvelia was in captivity.
Immediately after, Larg sent the Hokuten led by Zalbag to Bethla to rescue the Queen.
Meanwhile, Goltana sent the Nanten led by Thunder God Cid to fortify the impregnable fortress.
This was the beginning of the upheaval which would later be called the "Lion War"....
However,
in three months time, there was doubt in the wisdom of carrying on such
a devastating war. People were dying by the thousands and there were
tens of thousands of regufees pouring into the capitals of the warring
factions, seeking a safe place to wait out the war.
In the
stronghold of Bethla Garrison, the Nanten advisors of Goltana were
generally satisfied with the way the war was going, and were counting
on starving Larg into submission. However, one advisor was none too
happy at all.
Cidolfus "Thunder God Cid" Orlandu voiced the only
opinion to engage in peace talks with the Prince Larg's Hokuten forces.
Arguing that Larg was facing the same difficulties as Goltana, they
should've been equally willing to bring this war to an end.
Goltana,
presented with the choice that would arguably change the course of
history...simply threatened to have Orlandu executed for further
persistence. Goltana would have his war. And according to him, he
wouldn't let a corrupt royal family oppress the people.
Now that
the recently crowned Queen Ovelia was the figurehead for the Nanten
movement, and their claim to the throne, Ramza no longer needed to
worry about protecting her. But something else troubled him. Someone
was orchestrating this war, he knew. Someone who had planned the
kidnapping of the Princess to make it appear as though it had been
comitted by the Nanten. Ramza suspected his older brother Dycedarg, who
had been involved in the death of Delita's sister, Teta. Dycedarg
could've had Goltana executed as a traitor for the murder of a princess
had his plain succeeded. However, due to Delita's involvement, the two
factions of Hokuten and Nanten had gone to war. But who was Delita
working for? To answer that question, Ramza decided to seek out the
only person he trusted high in the Hokuten command structure. His other
older brother, Zalbag Beoulve.
Travelling to Lesalia, Ramza met
upon the way a young man by the name of Olan Durai, who would later be
the author of the Durai Papers. The very documents from which this tale
was formed. Rescuing him from a gang of bandits, Ramza and Durai hoped
to see eachother again as they travelled in different directs.
Arriving
at the Hokuten capital, Ramza was escorted to see his brother Zalbag
Beoulve. Since the conspiracy to kidnap the princess had been patially
revealed to the Nanten, killing those involved with the rumors would
only have incited suspicion. For the moment, Ramza was safe, because
killing him would've proven more disastrous than silencing him.
He
voiced his concerns to his brother, Zalbag, who seemed compliant to at
least listen until Ramza tried to convince Zalbag that Dycedarg was the
one who was probably behind the plot to kidnap the princess and execute
her, while letting the blame fall on Goltana. Ramza was persistent, but
Zalbag had to leave to see to military matters. Left alone with his
thoughts Ramza turned the only person he could think of, his sister,
Alma Beoulve who was also at the Imperial Capital of Lesalia.
He
explained the situation to Alma who agreed that Dycedarg could've had a
hand in the plot. As they toured the grounds at the back of the castle,
a grey haired man in a priest's robe confronted them. This man was
Heresy Examiner of the Glabados Church, Zalmo Rusnada. Zalmo accused
Ramza of murdering the Cardinal Draclau in cold blood and delivering
the Holy Stone in his keeping to a demon. Ramza is forced to fight
Zalmo, who brings all his priestly magic to bear, only to be forced to
flee by Ramza's swordsmanship. Vowing to catch up to the heretic Ramza
one day, Zalmo disappeared.
Alma, who had been a witness to the
duel, told Ramza she knew the location of another Holy Stone. Concerned
that some other greedy warlord would use the stone to their own
advantage, and transform into a beast as the Cardinal had, Ramza
demanded to know the location. Alma agreed on one condition: that she
be allowed to accompany him. Alma tells him that the Holy Stone she had
seen had been in the lower levels of Orbonne Monastery, where Ovelia
had been kidnapped. Having also been a student at the monastery, Alma
also knew Simon, and had been there many years. Ramza was initially
reluctant to allow her to accompany him, but when she reminded him that
he would need her help to get in the Monastery as a heretic, he agreed.
Ramza
and Alma travelled as covertly and as quickly as they could to Orbonne
Monastery, but when they arrived, they found that they had been too
late. The Monastery had already been broken into. Upon entering the
first basement level, they found a wounded Simon who explained that the
Chruch had attacked the Monastery to gain the Holy Stone. Apparently
the Church had masterminded the war between the Hokuten and the Nanten
in an effort to weaken Larg and Goltana's armies and allow for the
eventual intervention of the Church at precisely the right moment. In
this way, the Church would gain military control of Ivalice and also
increase popular trust of Church authority.
Ramza decided to go
after the Shrine Knights of the Church who had invaded Orbonne. He left
the Holy Stone he posessed in the hands of his sister Alma in case he
fell in his pursuit. Leaving her to take care of Simon, Ramza descened
into the depths of the basement levels of Orbonne Monastery.
As
he reached the lowermost levels Ramza came upon a Shrine Knight named
Izlude who had just acquired the Holy Stone 'Virgo'. The Shrine Knights
were the military branch of the Glabados Church. Izlude was a young man
with auburn hair who wore the gold armor of the Shrine Knights with
pride beneath a green cloak. He was a strong swordsman and a wielder of
mighty church magics.
Ramza confronted Izlude, drew his sword,
and prepared to do combat over the ancient relic. Ramza and Izlude both
demand eachothers stones for the sparing of their lives. Their wills in
deep conflict, and neither willing to relinquish their respective
Stone, they did battle.
Izlude tried to persuade Ramza as they exchanged fierce blows, the sound of sword striking shield puncturing the air.
"Why do you go against us Ramza? Though you're a
Beoulve, you don't obey your brothers. Why? Our goals are the same!
Listen well, Ramza! The Glabados Church wants a world where all people
are equal! St. Ajora's ideal world, is 'God's world'! You know
people don't trust the royal family or nobility! We must do
something before Ivalice is ruined; for the people!!"
Ramza had no patience for the exploitation of innocents for greater gain,
"You started this war! Was that the will of God?
It sounds good when you say 'for the people', but what you really want is
a stronger army than the Knights, and the evil power to control the people."
Izlude
argued that the stones power was Holy. Ramza tried to convince him that
the Cardinal of Lionel, Draclau had exchanged his soul for a daemon's
body and that the stones were evil, but Izlude was convinced that Ramza
had murdered the Cardinal and taken the Stone from him.
Ramza wounded Izlude deeply in the arm, forcing him to retreat.
As
Ramza raced after the wounded Shrine Knight, clambering up shattered
staircases and crossing ancient halls, they finally reached the first
underground floor, where Ramza had left Alma to take care of Simon.
Wiegraf,
the man whom Ramza had known so long ago...who had perceived Dycedarg's
scheming nature so early, was barring Ramza's path to his sister, who
was being carried away by Izlude.
Ramza was surprised that
Wiegraf had survived the bloody conflict between the Hokuten and
Wiegraf's rebel movement, but Wiegraf was maliciously overjoyed to have
the chance to see Ramza again,
"...Miluda, finally I can avenge your death! Been a long time, Ramza.
Glad to see you again!!"
Ramza confronted Wiegraf about his subservience to the Chruch but Wiegraf responded,
"You don't understand how hard it is to fulfill your
ideal. Even if your ideal is great, it's just a dream if you
can't fulfill it! So how can you fulfill it? You need power!
That's the politics of the world! You say you depend on no
one? You'll never know the feeling of the 'Meager'! You may
think you know it, but you've never lived it! You'd never
know! 'Reality' is far harsher than you can possibly imagine."
Ramza
and Wiegraf engaged in a sword duel and Wiegraf was greviously wounded,
near to the point of death. Crawling out the monastery, Wiegraf
attempted to escape.
Exiting Orbonne, Ramza arrived just in time
to see Alma being carried away by Izlude on a steed, with Wiegraf
calling after him,
"Don't worry...about me... Just...go!"
Wiegraf coughed up some blood and his body shook and quaked.
"Damn....I can't die here. I can't face my dead
allies without avenging Miluda... No.... I don't want to die..."
As
if answering his plea, a Holy Stone rolled from his pocket onto the
ground in front of him and began to shine with an unearthly light.
' Holder of the Holy Stone...
Promise me....
Your spirit will unite with
My flesh to live forever.
Your despair and resentment
called me...
now promise...'
And Wiegraf faced with death, sold his soul to the Stone.
"I promise."
Ramza
was horrified as Wiegraf's body seemed to reconstruct itself from the
inside, his bones popping out of sockets and cracking and shattering,
whilst new bones grew. Out of his head grew two great horns, and his
body was covered with white fur, whilst his skin turned purple. He
resembled a large bull with huge muscular arms and clawed feet.
Wiegraf, now the evil demon Velius, was amazed at the Holy Stones power...
"Ramza, its power is magnificent! No, not just the
power. Centuries of knowledge ingrained into my brain.
Hya, ha...save some for later...! Hya,
ha...superb...Superb power......!"
And with that Velius vanished into the night, and Wiegraf's soul was lost.
Ramza was about to give chase when the badly wounded Simon crawled out of the monastery.
Simon shoved a book into Ramza's hands, trying to explain before he expired...
"Germonik, a disciple of St. Ajora wrote it... It had
been missing...till I found it in the underground library....
It explains in detail about the Holy Stones....Don't worry about me Ramza
I'm a sinner... I knew of the church's wrong doing... but said nothing...
You can bring them to justice with this book! You can bring Alma back with this
book....Now...I can finally rest. Take care of the rest...
Ramza.... You're just like Balbanes... when he was young."
And
with that last testimony to the resemblance between Ramza and his
father of virtue who had passed away years ago, Simon Pen Rakshu died,
keeper of Orbonnen Monastery and perhaps something greater....
On to chapter 4>
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