THE ZODIAC WAR
^ _ ` a b c d e f g h i

Chapter 5: The Truth about Five Years

Alma silently smiled as she slowly took off her hood to reveal her face. Delita was in definite shock, but overjoyed at the same time. Two people whom he thought were long since dead for over five years have ended up alive and well.

It only took a few minutes to climb down off the roof when the whole group was sitting quietly under a countryside tree watching the chocobos graze.

"How--? How are you--? How can you be--? You're Alive!" Delita stuttered in utter disbelief, etiquette and proper speech leaving him completely.

"Sadly what Olan said a long time ago is very true--the fact that I and several of my comrades went to Murond Death City and battled the supposed Holy St. Ajora, ended up being a demon lucavi known only as Altima. Many of our men were killed in that battle. The only survivors of that war are Alma, Reis, Beowulf, Agrias, and myself.”

“Demons, Holy Stones? You coming back from near death, what is going on?” Delita was perplexed.

Ramza saw the confused look on his face, but continued,"It is very apparent that the five of us that remained together after that battle are the first five Zodiac Braves. I know what you're thinking Delita, we don't know if you are a Brave as well, but we have been watching the church and you for the past five years in the guise of Templar and Holy Knights.”

“Then we served as your elite personal guards, at first Beowulf aided us in joining the Templar to spy on the church to see if they would make any advances towards you or the stones. But it was Gildenstern who mostly aided us in becoming your personal guard.”

“Gildenstern, you had a hand in this charade?”

“Yes, sir,” he smiled meekly.

“Very well met, then, I’ve once again underestimated you,” he happily clapped his former advisor on the back, almost causing him to drop his glasses.

“I had met Gildenstern years ago when he was a simple Calculator, he had aided us several times never even falling victim to one of his equations. And I trusted him very closely, like I would trust you.”

Delita smiled, “I never thought I was even capable of being trusted, thanks, Ramza.”

“When I found out he was the Advisor to the king, it was only a matter of time getting him to pull the right strings and getting myself and my friends into your elite bodyguard. This way we could better protect you and keep an eye on you. I'm surprised you never even recognized mine nor Agrias' faces, since you saw both of us last time we shook hands at the Cathedral."

“Now that you mention it I do remember seeing Agrias at Bervenia Cathedral.”

Delita was silent for a moment, taking in all the information as to Ramza's whereabouts for the past five years, but then a certain aspect of Ramza didn't add up, nor did something to do with Alma; he was confused, so he asked, "I figured out that Azmar and Amla are Ramza and Alma spelled backwards, but what I don't understand is this, since when has Alma become so knowledgeable of prophesy and the Zodiac Stones, and since when has she become such a powerful Priestess?"

"This I can answer," Alma said, "When I was kidnaped by Meliadoul's father and for a brief moment possessed by Altima herself, some new Holy Powers awoke inside of me to help fight in the battle and heal those wounded, so I am no longer a cleric but a priestess. Also the brief bond I had with Ajora led to granting me the ability to see into the future at least in a blurry state. I am not always accurate, but it seems as though I fall into a trance and speak riddles from what Ramza tells me, as if not I but someone else is speaking the words out of my mouth. I usually relate these messages to Ramza and with his knowledge of events he can usually figure out the puzzles I say to him."

"That leads me to my other question," Delita continued, "why didn't you tell me you were alive for the past five years?"

Ramza replied, "We weren't sure whether revealing who we were to you was really a good idea considering how things were, everyone and the church considered me a heretic. Revealing that I had sanctuary or pardon from you would jeopardize the throne, and you'd be hunted as a heretic as well, but seeing the current events, I believe that's no longer necessary. I apologize on behalf of all of us for leaving you in the dark, Delita."

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