[MidgarFanatic]

Gather round the fire my friends and listen to my tale. This is the story of a dark knight.

In all the chivalric stories ever told one thing has held universally true, for it is the very essence of a knight to obey the wishes of his master. And it is the wishes of the king of a sovereign kingdom which introduce our hero’s story. As captain of the world’s strongest fleet of airships, a dark knight scours the lands collecting the world’s crystals, relics of power and mystique, for his greedy king. Although filled with silent guilt and remorse for what he feels must be done for his liege and kingdom, our hero is nonetheless impelled to complete his orders. His only confidences are his love, a mage of panacea and ardor, as well as his best friend, a dragoon of strength and weak will.

When our hero musters up the courage to question his king’s intentions, he is stripped of his rank and banished to the north through the valley of mist. His probation involves the successful and safe delivery of a sealed message to the summoners of the north. However, upon his arrival the message reveals its true meaning; a magical curse which destroys everything in its path. Post destruction, the hero finds a single survivor… a young girl with the power to call monsters to her aide. Overcome by anger and self-guilt for his king’s sordid orders, our hero abandons his lord and sets out to find his own true meaning of honor, and promises to care for the young girl as a penitence for his actions.

The only thing that keeps our hero looking back is love. His journey soon becomes about his beloved when word reaches him that she suffers from a deathly illness, of which the only cure is a product of a great beast to the east. With the summoner by his side he braves the mountains and deserts in his path till he encounters and slays the beast to reclaims his love’s antidote. When he returns, his reason of being is set ever more strongly as stone; to make right what has fallen in his homeland. With a new mission, the dark knight returns to his homeland to confront the makers of his past injustices.

However, evil begets evil, and the dark knight must first purge his sins before confronting his makers. His next quest takes him to the foot of a great mountain. Shrouded in an ancient mystique formed before the birth of mankind and protected by an ancient magic, the mountain’s mystery and awe is matched only by the creatures and evils which have festered in the crags and fire of it’s body. Upon the apex, the dark knight must face his own personal inner demons to embody the essence of his spiritual epiphany. It is within the hearts of man to forgive even the strongest of injustices, and the dark knight faces his life’s ordeals and is reborn as a light paladin.

Whilst following in the footsteps of legends it is made an even stronger point that there is never a good dead that goes unpunished, and defying the powers that stood against them and for the good of the fate of the world there are many who suffer a mighty blow; many friends fall in the pursuit of justice. The light knight must say good bye to many allies: A martial arts master whose courage proves that a man’s will is not only stronger than the fiercest creature, but can conquer over even the strongest of steel. An absent minded elderly sage whose overpowering might he weilds to avenge his kin. And a couple of young high-spirited twins whose hearts prove larger than their missions. Defying the powers that stand against them, what is perceived as their ultimate sacrifice allowed the light knight to continue his journey for the good of the world.

With sword, shield, and magic, it is against the reign of technology that the world’s evils utilize their strongest offensive. In the end, it takes the combined efforts of all that is good in the world to join together and rise up against the darkness that threatens the continued history of man, beast, and dwarf. Their battle takes them all the way to the surface of the moon where the party faces the ultimate puppet master. A foreign malevolence matches against brute force, wisdom, and a sense of tremendous righteousness to bring what is right to the world. Finally, our hero truly redeems himself alongside his companions and becomes a hero of the world, winning the respect and admiration of all sentient beings.

And so my friends, I may have been too hasty in the outset of this story. For, ultimately, this was not a story of a dark knight, but rather a story of a brilliant warrior who learns the true meaning of friendship, love, and brotherhood. This my friends is the strongest final fantasy, and stands as one of the greatest stories ever told.

Thank you.