Diverting Armageddon Chapter 4
Davar Lancaster
By Citadel
Davar Lancaster. The greatest soldier the Jakra army had ever known. He'd beaten all of his training partners in Basic Training in under three days. He even beat the teacher himself. Then he graduated at the top of his training class. Later, he got promoted many, many times. In fact, he rose through the ranks faster than any other member of the Jakra army.
Davar was strange in many ways. First of all, he was not like many other people. He was black. Most of the black peeple had been exterminated long ago due to fears of the unknown. The black tribes had lived peacefully for years until the two armies invaded their space. The tribes were seen as a threat and either taken as slaves or they were killed. Davar was also a huge man. He was almost seven feet tall, with rippling muscles that made even the manliest of men feel uneasy in his presence. He looked as if he was constantly flexing. He shaved his head, in tribal custom, and wielded a sword. Still, as odd as all those things were, none compared to his awesome powers.
Some called him The Reaper. His magic was unlike any other spell conceived. He could either make or destroy things with will. He had the ultimate regenerative powers. He could heal lost limbs. On the flip side, however, he could degenerate things. If he hit soldiers with the degenerate side, they'd become sick with disease, shrivel up and die. He'd won large battles with his powers. But now his army would have to win on its own.
Davar jumped put of his cot and walked to the other side of his tent. He was already dressed in his fatigues so he didn't have to waste any time. He slipped on his green beret and ran into the night.
Dawn would be coming in a few hours and he had to leave. His disgust with the fighting had reached new levels in the day's battle. They'd been merciless and had tortured people for no reason. Davar had been doing a lot of thinking lately. He'd never personally hated a Dal-Ro for any other reason than he was supposed to hate them. He knew the two armies were wrong in fighting each other. He didn't even know why they were fighting each other, neither did anybody else he'd talked to. Davar was going neutral.
Davar looked at the full moon above him. It was a ghastly sight. The smoke from the day's battle made a shadow of a skull on the moon. He shuddered and ran off.
***
Davar ran through the woods quietly; years of training had taught him how to do everything but sneak up another man's ass. He came to the end of the woods and stared down a cliff. At the base was an old town he used to frequent. Nabilscom. He loved the quaint, simple life of the people. It made him happy to see happy people uninvolved with the war. Although the Jakra flags with their black rose were flown over the city.
"I will miss you," he called quietly. "Jessica," he began. He sniffled and fought back a tear. "Jessica, I am so sorry. I just cannot do it anymore." He suddenly sprinted off into the night. "Please forgive me."
***
Three days later Davar came to Sanctuary. There he met a man who specialized in helping people to the neutral cities. The Sanctuary was run by an elderly gentleman named Angus Potter.
"So you say you can get me to Eden?"
"Yes, yes I can," Angus responded, "but I don't get many of your kind here."
"My kind?" Davar asked.
"Officers. Mostly civilians want neutrality. Especially someone as high as you. I'm really shocked, Mr. Lancaster."
"Most of Jakra will be too. How much for a chocobo?"
"Four hundred gil for one that will take you directly to Eden City."
"I will take that one."
"Okey-dokey." Angus smiled and took his money. "By the way, how do you know of me?"
"Everyone in the army knows of you."
"Really?"
"Yeah, you're a regular legend. You're one of the last people alive who can get people to neutral cities. Heck, you're one of the last people who know where every one of them are!"
"And the army knows this and doesn't do anything about it?"
"Well, only people below the rank of lieutenant really know who you are. Half of them don't know where to find you."
"What rank are you?"
Davar smiled, "Colonel." He winked and ran off to the stables to get his chocobo. Angus smiled. The boy knew the code well. Had the boy tripped up and said the wrong words he would've brought out his gun he had under the counter and killed him. When you were in the type of business Angus was in, you had to be extremely careful not to get caught.
***
A week later Davar came to one of the most secluded spots on the face of the planet. The Forest Phantasm. He giggled in delight when he realized where Eden was. Jakra had been looking to stomp Eden into the ground for years, but couldn't find it. He laughed loudly when he finally saw that the city was in a horrible place. He'd had to cross old mine fields and volcanic lands filled with monsters. The Forest Phantasm was in the crater of a dead volcano. The place was so well hidden that the satellites couldn't even pick the place out. the ingenious of it was boggling.
As he went down the crater's crumbling sides he began to wonder how he was going to convince them he was really neutral. He had a lot of talking to do or they would kill him.
.