A Dragoon's Tale
or
The Story of Seigfried Schtauffen
The Beginning
Soon after the end of the Crystal Wars, the nation of Bastok sought to expand their industry, and moved workers into the Gusgen Mines. Bountiful was the earth there, and they soon came to find that it was becoming rather inefficient to send so many miners back and forth from Bastok each day. And so, the town of Gusgen was built. Just outside the mine, the town was rather small, meant only to house the miners and their families. Seigfried's father was one of the men who had been working in Gusgen, and his family moved to the town when he was four years old.
His time in Gusgen was short, but he would never forget it. Less than three years after they had moved to the town, came that fateful day, burned into the history of Bastok. Seigfried's father had just went into the mines but an hour earlier, when a thundering boom erupted from the shaft, causing the entire town to drop what they were doing and look in it's direction. Helpless screams and unfamiliar roars echoed from within the man-made cavern, and seconds later, a rushing cloud of dust and soot spewed forth. When it had settled, some unidentified figures poured out of the mouth of the mine, scattering every which way. They were Goblins. What happened that fateful day was no accident. It was an attack. The monsters raised the town to the ground, setting each and every home ablaze with horrid squeals of joy. Seigfried's mother had already grabbed him and set him atop one of the few Chocobos stationed around the town, and with tears in her eyes, sent him off without a word. He would never see her again.
Bastok Bound
The bird sped across the barren valleys of Gustaberg for what seemed like an eternity, until finally, the soot covered beast padded it's way through the west gate of Bastok, carrying upon his back a sleeping child, his eyes red from the tears shed for his family, his friends.. his life. They had taken it all away. They had left him with nothing. It was all their fault. A woman who'd been running a shop by the name of Brunhilde recognized the boy immediately. Before moving, Seigfried's parents had been good friends with Brunhilde and her husband, who immediately took Seigfried in. Seig never spoke a word of what happened at Gusgen, but as the rumors flew about town, Brunhilde knew that Seig was now alone, and needed them.
A Girl Named Jessica
At the time, Brunhilde had one child, a daughter by the name of Jessica. She was a bit more than a year younger than Seig, and though they had met a few times, they weren't well accquainted. However, as her mother ran the shop all day, and her father worked in the Zeruhn Mines, the responsibility fell upon Jessica to care for Seigfried during the first few weeks of his stay with them. He rarely spoke a word, and was, at first, unwilling to recieve the girl's aid. All he could think about were those damned Goblins. Why would they do such a thing? Why him? Every day, he silently swore up and down that he would make them pay.
For nearly a month, no one could get through to Seigfried. However, the young girl continued to dote upon him day in and day out, practically raising him as if she were his mother. She'd feed him, hold him, tuck him into bed... selflessly giving away most of her day to look after him. To her, he was like a real live baby doll, something every little girl wanted. One day, however, Jessica grew ill, and was unable to go about caring for Seigfried. Her parents weren't too terribly concerned, Jessica had always had a history of illness, and though it came and went, it was never anything too serious. Seigfried, however, came to her bed the very morning she had come down with her illness. Just as she had done for him, he spent his whole day at her side, nursing her back to health. It was the first time since returning to Bastok he'd opened up to anyone, said more than a few short words. ...He really, truly cared for her.
After she recovered, Jessica and Seigfried became fast friends. They continued spending most of every day together; no matter what one was doing, the other was surely right along side them. Whenever Seigfried had a nightmare, she was there to rock him back to sleep. And whenever Jessica fell ill, he was by her side every waking moment. The two of them were nigh inseperable. Seigfried was nine years old, Jessica eight, when Brunhilde gave birth to her second child: a boy named Seere. Both Seig and Jessica were equally excited, dreaming of all the things they'd be able to teach their new younger brother.
Little Brother
It seemed like Seere grew up all too fast, and the two of them were constantly competing against one another to teach him things. While Jessica would teach him how to tie his shoes, or how to properly make his bed, Seigfried would constantly have the boy outside, teaching him the rules to the most popular games, or the best hiding spots in the Markets. Time flew by, and Seigfried had all but forgotten of that fateful day in Gusgen.
Out on His Own
Soon, the boy had come of age, and was no longer content simply sitting within the walls of Bastok. Seigfried was a mere sixteen years old when he first left Bastok, armed only with the Bronze spear that Brunhilde had given him, and his will to see as much of Vana'diel as one could in a single lifetime. Seigfried's journey started much like that of any other Bastokan adventurer's, simply wandering the Gustabergs in search of whatever may come his way. He'd learned the ways of the hunt from other people he'd come across, and had become quite proficient with his spear in a rather short time. One meeting, however, would serve to change the rest of his life.
Meet Eisenzahn
Seigfried had traveled far beyond Gustaberg now, the barren valleys soon turned to small chasms, then finally, he found himself in a wide, verdant field. It was the Konschtat Highlands, the place that served as his home, though for only a short time. He cautiously explored the place, but he felt as if his path was being guided by an unknown force. Each step felt as if he knew exactly where he was going, yet at the same time, like he was completely lost. In the back of his mind, however, he was quite certain he knew where it was he'd end up; and before long he was there. He stopped to stare down into the black hole against the mountainside, haunting memories seeming to pour out from within it's shadowy depths. This place... why did he return? What good was it to be here now? He couldn't change anything. It was all gone, and it would never come back. Maybe it took coming here for him to realize that. With a sigh and a heavy heart, he turned to leave, but after taking a few steps, he felt himself being stopped by something tugging at his pack. "What in the..?" he said, turning to look back. Even upon seeing the thing, he had no clue what it was. It was like a little blue lizard with wings, gnawing rather ferociously at his bag. It didn't look harmful... just hungry. Seig kneeled down beside it with a smile, reaching into his bag. "Hungry?" he said, pulling out a Mithkabob. The wyvern eyed it with interest, leaning his head close to sniff at the kabob intently. With a grin, Seig pulled off a piece and tossed it to the reptile, who's little eyes widened as he quickly moved to snag it out of the air. With a happy growl, he moved back in front of Seig, propping himself up on his hind legs as he awaited more bits of food. Seigfried simply laughed at his display, pulling the pieces off of the stick one by one and tossing them to his new little friend. Once the meal had been exhausted, he stood, muttering, "Sorry, that's all.", with a sympathetic smile. Giving the animal a little wave, he turned back around to head back the way he came.
With each step he took, he could hear the Wyvern's wings flapping along behind him. Seigfried stopped, a bit annerved now, and spun around in place to meet the little dragon eye to eye. "Look, I'm sorry," he said impatiently, "but I don't have any more food for you. Now go on, get going." He dismissively shook a hand at it, then turned back around to continue his walk home. The wyvern was determined, however, and continued flapping along behind him, growling out a few noises. "Yeah, well, I was just being nice." he responded, then quickly stopped as his eyes grew wide. Did he just... understand what that thing said? He quickly spun around once more, holding up a finger toward the puzzled looking beast. "You... say something else!" he demanded, his eyes narrowing. Like what..?, it growled back. He -could- understand it! He didn't quite understand -why- yet, but he now knew their meeting was not merely chance. "Wow.. this is... weird." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Do you... have a name?" ..A name? "Well, yeah... something that everyone calls you?" Oh, that. My name is Lizard! Seigfried blinked, his eyebrow twitching a bit. "No, that's not... oh, forget it. I'll come up with a name for you. How about... Eisenzahn?" So, Eisenzahn is my name? Nodding, Seig responded, "Uh-huh!" Eisenzahn... I like it!
Seigfried and Eisenzahn chatted the entire way back to Bastok, telling eachother tons of different stories and the like. When he finally made it home, he was immediately greeted with a hug from Jessica. "I missed you so much!" she exclaimed, squeezing him to the point where he could barely breathe. Who's that..?, squawked Eisenzahn. Jessica's eyes widened as she stared at the wyvern over Seigfried's shoulder, then she quickly jumped back, screeching, "What in Altana's name is that!?" as she pointed a finger in Eisenzahn's direction. "Huh?" blinked Seigfried, before turning to look at the wyvern as well. "Oh, that's Eisenzahn!" he said, turning back to Jessica with a smile. I met him while I was out traveling! He's pretty cool, huh?" "Y-Yeah..." she murmured, still a bit wary of the thing. "He's... great.."
Another year went by, and Eisenzahn soon became part of the family. Even Jessica began to grow fond of the little guy after time. He and Seigfried were as inseperable as Jess and Seig had been in their youth. The little wyvern followed Seig everywhere, sometimes to the dismay of other Bastokan residents, who weren't too keen on having him flap around town. Seigfried didn't mind the odd glances and side comments, though, he and Eisenzahn were best friends. Everyone else would just have to get used to it, because he wasn't going anywhere as long as Seig had a say in it.
Summer Romance
That summer, Jessica had just turned sixteen as the annual Summer Festival began. Seigfried had a plan. After getting Eisenzahn to fall asleep early, Seigfried quietly snuck out to the Festival, using some of the gil he'd been saving to purchase two of the traditional festival outfits; one for him, and one for her. After quickly dashing back to the house, he knocked on the door, which Jessica promptly answered. Smiling, Seigfried held out the outfit he'd bought for her. "Jessica... would you.. like to go to the festival with me?" The young girl's face flushed, and she raised a hand to cover her mouth in shock, turning to look at her mother a moment. Brunhilde gave an approving nod, and Jessica turned back to Seigfried, taking the outfit from him and returning his smile. "I.. I'd love to go!" she said, setting the clothing aside to slip her arms around the boy's waist and hug him tightly. Seigfried blushed as she pulled him close, his arms loosely draping themselves around her. She took a step back and smiled once more before grabbing the outfit she'd set down and happily skipping back to her room to change.
After waiting what seemed like forever, Seig finally caught sight of Jessica as she emerged from her room. She looked absolutely stunning. She swore all night that she hadn't put the thing on right, but Seig just laughed and shook his head. It looked great to him. As she approached his side, Jessica slipped her arms around one of his, chirpping, "Well, let's go!" as she smiled at him sweetly. The entire night was too good to be true; they ate all the different exotic foods, played the games, saw the different entertainers. As the sun began to set over the horizon, the two found themselves in a quaint little spot in the Port, overlooking the drawbridge and the waters beyond. "Seigfried..." Jessica murmured softly, her grip on his arm tightening a little as her head fell to rest on his shoulder. "Hmm..?" he replied, turning to look down on her with a warm smile. "Thank you... for bringing me tonight. I had a wonderful time..." her eyelids fell shut as she softly nuzzled his shoulder, a content sigh escaping her lips. "Me too..." Seig replied. His free hand slowly reached up towards her face, but he was soon interrupted as they were both startled by a loud bang. "What the heck!?" they exclaimed simultaneously, Jessica's head quickly lifting from Seig's shoulder as the both turned their attention to the sky just above the bridge. Brilliant colors illuminated the sky as the fireworks were set off, and the two of them turned to eachother with beaming smiles. "Jessica..." Seig murmured softly. Her eyes grew watery as she gazed up at him, smiling sweetly as she blinked her eyes. Silently, his eyes slid shut as he leaned towards her, and she did the same, until their lips pressed together in long, tender kiss.
Seigfried and Jessica spent nearly the entire summer in eachother's company, frequently picnicking upon Vomp Hill, and enjoying the view from the Morhen Lighthouse. After weeks of begging, Seigfried and Jessica convinced her parents to let him take her to the Valkurm Dunes, and they set off together happily.
The two of them found a nice little spot on the shores of Siren Sands, all smiles as they laid out their little spot. "Come on!" Seigfried said, lightly tugging at Jessica's arm. "No, no, no!" she cried, shaking he head as she resisted him. "I'm not going in the water! I don't want to get wet! And besides, it's cold, I might get sick again." Releasing her arm, he let out a light sigh, putting his hands on his hips. "You're no fun." he teased, sticking his tongue out at the girl. She simply smiled at sat herself down, watching him intently as he ran down into the tide, splashing. As Seig played around, her eyes trailed off, gazing down the long shoreline with a light sigh, as a warm breeze blew against her. It was the first time she'd ever been outside of Gustaberg, and she was alone, with him. It couldn't have been more perfect. She only hoped they'd share more memories like this... suddenly, she snapped back into reality as she felt Seigfried lifting her up off of the sand. "W-What are you doing!?" she gasped, her eyes growing wide. Seigfried simply laughed as he trotted down towards the tide, Jessica shrieking the entire way. "Put me down right now! No, no, no! Stop it, I'm serious! Don't--" Alas, her efforts were in vain, as soon the two of them tumbled into the water, becoming soaked from head to toe. Gasping for air as she popped up, Jessica yelled, "You -jerk-!" with a smile as she thrashed some water in Seig's direction. "Oh, so I'm a jerk am I?" he replied, slowly fording his way over to her with a devious grin. "Don't you even think it mister!" she called back, stepping away from him as best she could in the waist-deep water, splashing him all the while to slow his pursuit. The two of them played like children for hours, until finally they convinced eachother to come ashore.
As the sun set over the waves, the air became cool, and the two huddled close to one another for warmth. Wrapped up in his arms, Jessica let out a content sigh, her head lying on Seig's shoulder, as his head fell to rest lightly upon her's. "This place is so beautiful..." she murmured softly, "I'm glad we were able to come." "Mmhmm..." Seig replied, his eyelids growing heavy as the night began approaching. For a few moments, the two simply sat, silently enjoying eachother company, until Jessica blinked her eyes, catching sight of something peculiar. "...What is that?" She asked innocently. "What is what?" Seig replied, lifting his head from her's to look down at her with an arched brow. "That. Over there." she murmured, lazily pointing a figure down the shoreline. What looked to be a large black blob, floating around, caught Seigfried's eye, causing him to squint slightly. "I dunno..." he said, giving the girl a light squeeze. "Is it getting closer..?" "It kinda looks like it is." "What was that noise?" "What noise?" "That! Didn't you hear it?" "Hear what?" "Ugh. Listen! There it goes again!" "There -what- goes?" "The noise! It sounds like... a moan, almost." "I hear it too, now.." As the object finally came within clear view, both of them widened their eyes, scrambling to their feet. "It's... it's a Bogy!" Seig yelled, pointing his finger as if she didn't already know what he was talking about. "What the heck is a Bogy!?" she yelled, grabbing his arm tightly as she slid around behind him. "It's a ghost! A d-dead person's spirit!" Seig replied, as they both took a few steps back. "I -know- what a ghost is!" she said, letting go of his arm to duck fully behind him, peeking over his shoulder. "Do something about it!" "Like what!? Ask it to leave!? -You- do something about it!" he barked, glancing at her over his shoulder before turning back to the ghost. "-Me-!? I don't know what to do!" she cried, pressing up against him in fear. "Well, -I- know what we do." he said, turning around to grab her wrist. "We RUN!" And with that, the two kids ran screaming down the beach, not stopping for a second until they'd made it all the way to Selbina.
The two of them sat just inside the gates, both pale-faced, clinging to eachother with wide eyes as they tried to catch their breath. After a moment, they looked at eachother, then simply burst out into laughter. "You should have seen your face!" Jessica laughed, holding her sides as she leaned into him. "Me!? -You- looked like you were going to cry!" he retorted, wrapping one arm around her, as the other's hand moved to pinch her cheek. Batting his hand away from her face, she countered, "Well, I'm a girl, I'm allowed to be scared!" They both started laughing again, leaning into eachother and pressing their foreheads together as they calmed down. "Seig..." she whispered, her head gently rocking back and forth so that her nose burshed against his. "Hmm..?" he purred, squeezing her up against him gently. "Why... why is it that you spend all your time with me? There are plenty of other girls who aren't... hindered... like I am.." He blinked for a moment, before giving the girl a caring smile. "It's because... because I..." his sentence trailed off as he leaned his head forward, softly pressing his lips onto hers. Smiling against his kiss, Jessica returned the embrace, and the two held eachother there in silence for an eternity before finally moving to get rooms at the inn and retire.
On the Road Again
Another half-a-year passed, and Seigfried and Jessica's relationship continued to grow, the two becoming increasingly fond of one another as the days went by. Then, the day finally came when Seig was to leave for another adventure. Jessica much wanted to accompany him, but do to her condition her parents simply wouldn't allow it. The day Seig set out to leave, he was stopped at the west gate, hearing a certain young girl's voice call out behind him. "Seigfried! Wait!" Jessica, called, running as best she could to catch up to him. She stopped merely a few inches away from him, taking his hands in her's as she looked up at him with concern. "Seig... come home soon, okay?" she pleaded, her eyes looking like they were going to tear up if he said no. "I will." he responded with a smile. Smiling back at him with relief, Jessica perked up on her tip-toes to kiss his lips softly, before taking a step back and letting his hands slip from her's, which went to clasping eachother behind her back. "I'll see you soon, then?" she said, forcing a weak smile on her face. With a grin and a quick nod, Seigfried and Eisenzahn set off once again into the valleys of Gustaberg which he now knew so well.
While walking the plains of Konschtat, Eisenzahn couldn't help but notice the constant smile Seigfried had upon his face. Finally, the wyvern barked, Just what are you smiling about? Laughing, Seig's eyes fell half shut, an expression of dreamy fondness about him. "Jessica." he said quietly, turning to Eisenzahn with a slight grin. What? She's not here. "I know that." Well then, why are you smiling? Seig stopped a moment, Eisenzahn doing the same, as he tried to find the words to best express the way he felt. "It's weird..." he started, his hands clasping together behind his head, "..but, when you're longing to be with someone... and you know that they're longing to be with you, too... it feels almost as good as having them by your side." The wyvern's eyes blinked. What? I don't understand. Closing his eyes and shaking his head, Seig replied, "Neither do I, Eisenzahn." Huffing out a bit of smoke, Eisenzahn growled, Tch.. Humes. Before flapping off ahead of him. With a laugh, Seig trotted along behind.
Eventually, the two of them came up the gates of the trade city of Jeuno, and they took residence there for a few days. The veteran adventurers that populated the bustling commercial city amazed the both of them, and he quickly got to writing a letter home to describe to Jessica and the other the wonderful and amazing things he'd seen. However, a few days later, he recieved troubling news from home. "Dear Seigfried, We're glad to hear that you're doing so well, you truly have seen enough for ten lifetimes in the short time you've traveled. However, things are not as well here. Jessica has fallen ill once again, but has yet to show any signs of recovery. The doctors here can't find out what it is that plagues her, and she only seems to get worse as the days go by. She wants to see you again, my boy. Please, come home, Seigfried. --Brunhilde."
Come home, Seigfried
Seigfried and Eisenzahn left Jeuno that very day. How could this happen? Why couldn't the doctors do anything about it? These questions and more scrambled through his mind as he raced across the fields of Rolanberry, into the marshes of Passhow. Seig traveled blindly, obsessed with getting home as fast as he could, and soon found himself lost deep within the Quadav territory of Beadeaux. "Argh. Where in the hell are we, Eisenzahn?" he grunted, looking around helplessly. You ran us into here, I'm just following you. You tell -me- where we are! the wyvern growled. "You're not helping.." Seig said with a sigh. Here, follow me. Seigfried nodded, following along behind Eisenzahn as the wyvern led him through the swampy stronghold. Just then, a loud grunt echoed throughout the marsh, and Seig quickly turned around to see three Quadav advancing quickly on him. Grabbing his spear and grasping it tightly, his eyes glared as he stared the three beastmen down. "Please, come home, Seigfried. Please, come home..." The words echoed in his mind as the distance between him and his aggressors became smaller and smaller. He wouldn't.. he -couldn't- be stopped here. Not now. As the first beast raised his sword with a roar, Seigfried promptly thrusted his spear upwards, piercing it's neck and causing it to scream in pain. as it fell backwards. The other two flanked him, one on each side, as their comrade fell, dead. The second raised his axe high and brought it down towards Seig, but was blocked as Seig turned and lifted his spear to stop the attack. His back now wide open, however, the third thrusted his dagger forward, piercing Seig's side. The boy winced in pain, but just as the dagger-weilding beastman prepared to strike again, he was engulfed in a stream of flame. As it scrambled to extinguish itself, Eisenzahn lunged out and bit it's leg, dragging it to the ground. Seigfried quickly shoved the Quadav's axe to the side, tossing it off balance, then spun to sweep the beast with his spear. As it fell on it's shell, Seig screamed and thrusted his spear forcefully into it's stomach, piercing through the plated covering. As the two fallen Quadavs took their last breaths, a heavy rain began to fall. Let's get going, quick., Eisenzahn barked. With the rain diluting our scents, they won't be able to chase us. Seigfried nodded and followed behind the wyvern, gripping his bleeding side with pain as they left the swamp.
After two days of travel, he and Eisenzahn passed through Bastok's west gate once more, and were greeted by Brunhilde and Seere. He smiled and hugged them both, kneeling down beside Seere for a moment and reaching into his bag. "Here," he said with a smile, "I brought you this." He pulled out a small mechanical golem toy, smiling. "All the kids in Jeuno have one." "Wow!" the boy exclaimed. "This is great, thanks Seig!" he called, running off to show his friends. Seig stood and shook his head, then turned to Brunhilde with a more serious expression, as Eisenzahn hung close by his leg. "Where is she?" he asked. "She's in her bed... she's hardly able to get out, now." Unable to bare the truth, Seigfried dashed towards Brunhilde's home. Bursting through the door, he called, "Jessica!?" With no response, he made his way to her room, opened the door to gaze upon her lying silently in her bed. "Jessica!" The girl quickly sat up, gazing up the lad with tears in her eyes. "Seigfried!" she called happily. He ran over to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly, and whispered, "I'll never leave you again, I promise.."
Of Love, and Loss
Soon summer came once more, and not a day went by when Seigfried wasn't by Jessica's side. Still, her condition only seemed to worsen. One evening, however, she stood herself up, holding onto Seigfried's arm for support. "Jessica..? What are you doing?" he asked, concerned. "Seigfried... " she murmured softly, staring down at the floor as she bit her lip nervously. "Will you... take me to the festival? Please..?" His face blushed at her request, but he nodded his head. "Of course." he replied, smiling. And so, the events replayed once more. Dressed in their outfits, the two went out into the square, holding one another close as they took in all the festival had to offer. And when the sun began to set, they found themselves in a rather familiar spot. The fireworks illuminated the sky in dazzling shades, as the two teenagers held eachother close. Her arms tightly wrapped around Seigfried's waist, Jessica rested her head softly on his chest as his arms hung loosely around her back. "Seigfried..." she whispered, tilting her head to look up at him a moment. "I... I love you.." she said, as tears began to stream down her cheeks. His eyes grew watery as well, but he simply smiled, lifting a hand to gently wipe her face clean. "I love you, too..." he stammered, and once again the two exchanged a passionate embrace underneath the serene backdrop of the Summer Festival. The two of them spent that night together, giving in to their passions, then falling asleep in eachother's arms.
The following afternoon, Jessica passed away.
Though his heart ached, Seigfried knew how she truly felt about him, and that was enough to put him at ease for now. He remained strong, consoling Seere in his time of loss, as Brunhilde and her husband held eachother tightly in tears. A week later, Seigfried and Eisenzahn left Bastok once again, promising they would return as often as possible, to check up on their friends... no, their family.
