Scriptures of Germonique Transcript

I opened the Scriptures of Germonique, entrusted to me by Elder Simon, and began to leaf through the pages.

The words before my eyes were writ in a holy script of the ancients, far beyond my ken.

Several illustrations were scattered throughout, but many pages were missing or damaged, and the script was exceedingly difficult to decipher.

As I turned the pages, faintly penned words in modern Ivalician script occasionally caught my eye. Notes of an explanatory nature had been added here and there throughout the book, all written in the same hand, though exactly whose I could not say.

A faint scent of ink rose from these notes, and as I touched my finger to one of them, the writing smeared. It seemed to have been penned only in the last few days.

I then realized that these transcriptions were most likely Elder Simon's work. He must have devoted a significant portion of his life as custodian of the underground library to deciphering these scriptures, line by painstaking line.

I relied heavily on his fragmentary notes as I continued reading.

Apparently the holy script had been recorded by Germonique, but who was that?

The name struck a familiar chord as half-forgotten history lessons rose unbidden in my mind. And then I remembered.

Germonique was the disciple of Saint Ajora who betrayed his master, turning him over to the Holy Ydoran Empire, and in so doing, ensured his name would live on in infamy. I was astounded that a libram penned by the same Germonique from my history lessons now rested in my very hands.

Saint Ajora was a child of the gods, descended from the heavens to deliver humanity from its self-inflicted chaos.

By his prophecies was the word of the divine imparted upon mortal men. After his death, these teachings formed the basis of the Church of Glabados; its name meaning "to obey God" in the holy tongue of the ancients. The Church's influence later spread throughout Ivalice, and further afield to Ordallia, Romanda, and beyond.

The deeds of Saint Ajora are known to all, and yet I would seek to learn more of his remarkable journey.

Saint Ajora's birth came some twelve hundred years ago, in the midst of a golden age of technology, when airships yet plied the skies.

He was born in Lesalia, in the city of Bervenia. Moments after his birth, he rose to his feet and approached a well. Upon reaching its base, words of prophecy poured forth from his infant lips: "A calamity shall soon befall this well. Seal it up at once, that none may drink of it."

Some days later, a plague descended on the town of Bervenia, and all those who drank from the well succumbed to the contagion and perished. Only those families who heeded the prophetic words of Saint Ajora were spared from malady and death. After the incident with the well, the people came to revere Saint Ajora as a portent of miracle and child of the gods.

Then, at the age of twenty, his life was cut short.

The circumstances surrounding his death are closely tied to the Legend of the Zodiac Braves, told throughout Ivalice since ancient times.

To trace the story of these fabled warriors, I must delve yet further into the past.

Ivalice was not always united as it is today. Long ago, the realm was divided into seven domains: Fovoham, Lionel, Limberry, Lesalia, Gallionne, Zeltennia, and Mullonde. Each warred with the others in a never-ending struggle to expand its own territory.

It was the age of feudalism.

This conflict had continued for centuries, until an ambitious young king rose to power in Mullonde. This young monarch dreamt of uniting all of Ivalice under his hand, but the road to victory was a difficult and dangerous one. The king turned to ancient tomes and the dark magicks found within, summoning a demon from the netherworld to do his bidding. But once unleashed, the demon slew the king and set out to destroy the very world itself.

To combat this monstrosity, a great hero set out on a quest. Together with his twelve comrades, he collected the Zodiac Stones that had been scattered throughout the world, and thereby formed the Zodiac Braves. These warriors soon defeated the demon and its minions, and banished the creature back to its infernal plane. Their deeds came to be told as the Legend of the Zodiac Braves.

The Zodiac Braves have since appeared whenever the world balanced on the brink of catastrophe, only to vanish just as quickly once the crisis has been averted.

Similar catastrophe threatened the world in the time of Saint Ajora.

The liege lord of Limberry summoned a demon in hopes of seizing control of all of Ivalice, and once again plunged the world into chaos. And just as in the legend, Saint Ajora collected the twelve Zodiac Stones. Once again, the Zodiac Braves rose to defeat the marauding demon.

Thus was Saint Ajora hailed as the world's savior.

However, the sovereigns of any age have small tolerance for the interference of well-meaning "heroes."

Saint Ajora's fame drew the ire of the Holy Ydoran Empire, which dispatched soldiers to capture him and his devoted followers. Pharism was the prevalent religion in that day, and its priests feared Ajora's growing influence.

Ultimately, Germonique, the thirteenth disciple, was tempted by sordid coin, offering vital information that led to his master's capture. The saint was executed upon the gallows of Golgollada soon thereafter.

But lest we forget, Saint Ajora was a child of the gods. The wrath of the heavens was swift and terrible.

Immediately following the execution, Mullonde, the center of Pharist teachings, was visited by a terrible cataclysm. The skies rained blood, and a storm of golden lightning ravaged the city. The very earth trembled, and with a thunderous roar, Mullonde sank into the sea.

This was the legend with which I was familiar—the very same tale told to every child of Ivalice.

But the Saint Ajora described within the Scriptures of Germonique was a different man altogether.

Ajora was no child of the gods. He was a mere mortal, no more divine than you or I. He was a revolutionary who fought to realize his own ambitions. He was no lover of peace—no hero who would sacrifice himself for the good of humanity.

Germonique wrote of him:

"As the founder of a new religion with a rising number of followers, Ajora was seen as no more than a nuisance to the empire. But to the slaves and the destitute, who suffered most under imperial rule, the fair treatment and equal opportunities espoused by Ajora appeared as a ray of hope, and he as their savior."

But Ajora was apparently more than just a religious founder. He was a saboteur who infiltrated enemy states to collect information and sow disorder. Ajora was a spy, dispatched to the Holy Ydoran Empire by a rival state.

His teachings, the faith they inspired, and the influence he wielded were but contrivances to enact the downfall of the empire, orchestrated from within its borders by Ajora himself.

But for all his guile, the imperials were fully aware of the threat that Ajora posed. Germonique was employed to collect evidence that would allow the empire to arrest Ajora as a spy.

The thirteenth disciple was in reality no more than the empire's instrument in a play to uncover Ajora's true intentions.

It seems that Ajora indeed attempted to form the Zodiac Braves.

Germonique confirmed in his writings that Ajora even discovered some of the Stones, and had entrusted them to his closest disciples. But what was his purpose in forming the Zodiac Braves anew?

I do not know if the liege lord of Limberry actually summoned a demon. Elder Simon's notes speak of his doubts on the matter, and not a single line within the Scriptures seems to record the event.

Never the less, it appears the catastrophe in which the greater part of Mullonde sank into the sea did indeed coincide with Ajora's execution.

The footnotes provided further enlightenment. They expressed a different view, no doubt the personal opinion of Elder Simon.

"Although many spoke of their existence, none had ever set eyes upon these Scriptures of Germonique. Some might say they are fraudulent, written with the sole purpose of discrediting Saint Ajora. But I know this tome to be authentic.

"When I served as an inquisitor for the Church, those in its upper echelons feared the existence of this work. And the same is no doubt true for the high confessor. They were all fearful of these writings, for everything contained within them is fact.

"After Saint Ajora's death, the Church, which had capitalized on his considerable influence to seize power for itself, had only one task: to conceal his true nature as a human being. This one fact had to be erased from the annals of history. They needed to ensure that Saint Ajora be remembered as a child of the gods.

"Their use of the Zodiac Braves, a legend believed throughout the continent, was a stroke of genius. It was a simple feat to convince the people that Saint Ajora had led the Zodiac Braves to defeat a demon. A demon that never existed...

"I realize now that I had lost my faith the moment I began to read these Scriptures. And yet I feel no sorrow. Thinking back, I now know that my desire to know the truth was stronger than my faith had ever been. But above all, I am as guilty as any involved in this great travesty.

"All these years, the Church has concealed the truth and lied to our flock. Though I am compelled to condemn these acts, I cannot bring myself to do so.

"Even were I to bring the Scriptures before the people, the Church would not stand idle. In all likelihood, I would be accused of heresy and burned at the stake.

"But that is not the true reason for my inaction.

"This library is everything to me. It is a treasure beyond compare; the only means of slaking my endless thirst for knowledge. If I were to share this book with the world, my precious library would be taken from me.

"I cannot allow it. To be separated from my tomes; I can think of no pain greater.

"In the end, my curiosity eclipsed my will to do what was right."

Within these pages lies the truth hidden by the Church for so many years.

The miracles of Saint Ajora were naught but lies, and he but an ordinary man. By interweaving the events surrounding Ajora's death with his mendacious teachings, his followers fabricated a means by which to seize power.

But is that truly all there is to know?

Elder Simon wrote that Saint Ajora's demon never existed. But I have seen the dark power of the Zodiac Stones with my own eyes. There is an evil presence at work—something much more sinister than even the high confessor and his twisted plots.