Disclaimer: I own nothing, unfortunately, except the words on the virtual page.

WARNING: This story contains SPOILERS through Archades; if you have not played that far, either turn back now or prepare to be spoiled.

Cid did everything he could to give Ffamran the best possible life. He told him countless stories, taught him mechanicks, paid his pilot's tuition at the Akademy, pulled strings to gain him an early Judgeship. He would have spoken with Venat anyway, he told himself, but it was the thought of Ffamran's future, his son too good to be held in thrall to any arbitrary power, that sealed the deal.

He didn't consider until too late that Ffamran might be as dissatisfied with that perfect life as Cid had been when his own parents had tried to ensure his future.

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He recognized the name, of course; how could he not? He had been the one to pull the old adventure romances off the back corner of the library shelves, where they had been moldering since he had found in scientific texts greater mysteries and rewards than ever novels held. Still, he remembered them, the staples of his boyhood which he had passed on to his son.

He remembered their hero: the dashing sky pirate known only as Balthier, whose feats of thievery and chivalry both made him a legend across Ivalice.

It was a difficult name to forget.

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There were only a limited number of things Cid could do for his son. Ffamran's private banking account remained active; his key-rings would still open the locks on the house.

As the headhunters' price on 'Balthier' rose, so did Cid's worry that one day he would see some petty merchant displaying his child's head like a trophy. There was one thing he could do about that: he placed his own offer, for the sky pirate Balthier, alive. As the other rewards rose, so did his, remaining far and away the highest.

Cid did what he could for his son. Always.