A.N.

Greetings, I am Fallen Saga Creator. This is my first fan fiction but not my first experience of writing. It is set in an alternate universe to Final Fantasy Nine but the main principles are the same. However, the genomes live on Gaia in the jungle kingdom of Terra. Zidane and Dagger have never met and also I have emphasised the animalistic qualities of the genomes to give a more authentic feel to their environment. I hope that you enjoy this saga and would greatly appreciate your comments upon my writing. Any unfounded accusations or attacks will be removed, you have been warned.

For those of you who simply wish to enjoy good writing, I submit my story to you and pray that it meets with your approval. Any faults that you notice will be instantly rectified however be aware that certain aspects of this universe will be different.

Goodbye and Good fortune

Fallen Saga Creator

Several languages are spoken in this story and are marked by the following,

Alexandrian/ Common tongue: ' '

Genome: * *

Other: \ /

Guardian of the Stones

Part One- Eternal Guardians

Zidane smirked as he looked down at the column beneath them. The knights rode in full heavy battle armour, they must have been medium rare by now. He looked at his own genome fighters, dressed in light vests and trousers, ideal for life in their own dense jungle kingdom. Even so, several of them had begun to sweat in the sweltering humid heat. At the centre of the column of fifty knights rode the Freidian ambassador. At his side was a woman Zidane did not recognise. She was certainly beautiful.

Dressed in fine but functional riding gear her long black hair shone in the sunlight filtering through the heavy jungle canopy. Her face was a sight to behold, soft eyes and a creamy complexion accentuating soft features as she stared at the lush greenery around her. Her eyes settled upon the tree he and his best friend Blank inhabited but she did not see him. He smirked, she could have stared at the tree all day looking for him and not seen him.

A rustle of leaves to his right announced the arrival of the scout. *He have it?* He asked, nodding his head to the ambassador below.

The genome showed his teeth in a fierce grin, *I couldn't get close enough to scent the gem but I recognise that so-called ambassador's scent. He was there when it was taken. So was the woman.*

Zidane nodded and let out a wild undulating call. The knights below would shrug it off as a monkey swinging through the trees. The other genomes would recognise it as the signal to let hell loose upon the thieves below. But they would wait for him to drop the first one. He would drop the woman, if he knocked her unconscious then maybe she would live and he was slightly curious to find out what someone with an Alexandrian accent was doing in a Freidian incursion.

He picked up a rock and felt it in his palm as he pulled out a slingshot. The weapon was similar in no way to the playground toy, this was designed to launch orbs of metal and could knock a man from his horse at thirty metres. He pulled back about halfway and let fly, not wanting to put too much power into the shot. It struck her perfectly on the top of the head, dropping her to the loamy floor of the jungle trail without a sound. The ambassador beside her looked down at her for a moment before recognition dawned, 'They've found us out. Run, get out of here.' Then his voice was abruptly cut off as a throwing axe bit into his neck. Blood sprayed out and the cry went up all along the column of fifty knights.

\It's the genomes. Run, run./ The shouts turned to screams as everywhere the trees seemed to come alive. Genomes dropped from their perches, daggers smeared with charcoal to stop them gleaming clenched between their teeth. The first to land was their young leader, Zidane, a genome with shoulder length blond hair, his fangs gleaming as he snarled, landing between two knights he leapt upward and slammed both feet into the head of the first. The impact snapped his neck in the same instant that his attacker used the speed of his rebound to sweep the second from his horse.

His followers fought like animals, their leaps knocking the knights from their horses. Their daggers moved like lightning, slipping between the joints in armour, opening skin to slice into their flesh. The knights never stood a chance. A knight would raise his sword to strike at a genome in front of him and never see the genome that pushed his dagger through the back of his throat. Not a single genome fell in the short conflict. But the fifty knights were all dead, their ambassador awaiting them as they crashed to the loamy floor of the jungle trail, Zidane's throwing axe jutting from his throat.

The young genome pulled his axe from the neck, moving his head to the side as a jet of blood shot from the wound. He kicked the corpse over and pulled a small clear gem from the ambassador's pouch. He held it up to the sunlight filtering through the canopy and smirked.

'We got it back boys. Let's get home.' He dropped the crystal into his own pouch and turned to where he had dropped the woman when he saw one of his men leaning over her. The genome's nose twitched as he saw her chest rise and fall. He drew his dagger and was about to send it plunging downward when an iron strong grip closed over his wrist.

He looked up at his young leader, *What?*

*Keep her. She ain't from Freid, I heard her singing an Alexandrian hymn earlier. She may be of use to us.* The other genome nodded his consent and sheathed his dagger. *Take the horses, get them back to Bramble. I'll carry her. Get a couple of the helmets and stick them on posts outside the forest on the trails from Freid. Let them know what happens to those who try to steal the eidolon stones.*

The other genomes barred their teeth and one or two laughed in triumph. In Zidane's memory five parties had entered Terra to try and steal the legendary eidolon stones. Not one had made it more than halfway to the forest edge before the genomes, eternal guardians of the stones had fallen upon them. The stones would not leave the forest until the one with the mark of the summoner came to claim them.

A.N. That is the first instalment in this saga. The next shall be posted for your consideration in but a few days. I shall attempt to keep this pace constant throughout the writing of this saga but I cannot guarantee that this will be so. However, I wish to know your opinions of my writing and would greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions that you may have. My e-mail is [email protected] if you wish to contact me personally.

Goodbye and Good fortune

Fallen Saga Creator