Two weeks later, Kain advanced before the king's throne in his father's armor, preceded by six men in winged helmets similar to the one he held in his hands, but silver and without the lacquered detailing that adorned his. They parted as he came, three to each side, and raised tasseled spears to form a walkway, a symbolic gesture of the passage from mere fighter to the advanced position of Dragon Knight. Their faces were solemn when he passed them, as was his own, but he knew what lay beneath. For all their stern expressions now, these men had welcomed him into their group despite his age as the Royal Guard had not. Never mind that he came to them younger than anyone else ever had, he was worthy to be called Dragoon in the eyes of the king, and so he was a Dragoon in their eyes as well.

     It would have made him the happiest person alive, except for two of the people watching from the side. There was a large turnout - no one had been inducted into the Dragoons for a year or so - but despite the crowd, his eyes found them easily. Golden hair and silver hair beside each other, deep blue eyes and bright green eyes, fixed on him. And still, they clasped each others' hands.

     "You can never, ever, disgrace your fellows by showing vulnerability," his father's words reminded him, and Kain averted his eyes. This was his moment, and they wouldn't spoil it.

     "Kain Highwind, son of Aron Highwind," the king intoned, "you have been found worthy in the sight of the kingdom to ascend to the rank of Dragon Knight. You have been chosen to carry the spear, to wear the armor befitting this advanced station. Do you vow, as your father did before you, to behave honorably both in battle and out, armored and unarmored, in keeping with the good name of the Dragoons?"

     "I so vow," Kain answered. The words of the ceremony were written for him, and not for the first time he wondered if he truly could live up to that image of perfection. He would, or he would die trying - that was what his vow truly meant.

     Kain knelt at the foot of the steps that led up to the throne, and the king stood as one of the guard handed him another of the tasseled spears. The king moved to stand before him, and held the spear above Kain's head, so that the tassels fell down around his head. "Then, Kain Highwind, take up this spear." Another ceremonial gesture; Kain had his own spears, and this one was merely decorative. And as the ceremony dictated, the king took the helmet from Kain's hands as he gave over the spear. "I grant you this rank, with faith that you are worthy," he said, placing the helmet upon Kain's head. But I'm not worthy, Kain thought to himself with a sigh, feeling his heart grow as heavy as the helmet was. Not yet...

     "Rise now, Dragoon Kain Highwind," the king commanded, and Kain did so. "Go forth, and defend Baron from all injustices."

     Kain turned to face the crowd, and saw himself reflected in one of the large shields that the other Dragoons held. The armor was slightly large on him, but he couldn't help but feel proud at the sight of the helmet on his head. The memory of his father returned, and with it his words. "You can't be a Dragoon just by wearing the armor; to be a true Dragoon, you must have honor and discipline. That is the heart of a Dragoon."

     And in the shield of another Dragoon, he could make out Cecil and Rosa among the crowds, their reflections faint. Cecil had leaned his head towards Rosa's, and she kissed him on the cheek. The sight turned Kain's pride to shame. As father said, it's what's in the heart that makes a Dragoon, and mine is filled with bitterness.

     "Someday, father," Kain whispered as the ceremony ended and he left the throne room amid the sound of trumpet fanfares. "Someday, I will have the heart of a Dragoon."

This is probably one of the hardest fanfics I've ever tried to write, not so much because of any technical difficulty, but because I identify so strongly with Kain... In fact, while I was writing this, I realized I have a Cecil and a Rosa in my life as well, and it was hard not to write my personal opinions into the story.

Not that I didn't write any personal opinions into the story, I guess... The bit in Chapter Ten, where Cecil is holding Kain's hand as he recovers, while Rosa is elsewhere, that was sort of symbolic, I guess. Early on, I realized that like Rosa, Cecil didn't have much personality in the game - he was just a generally great guy that everyone liked. In trying to flesh him out, I think I started making him seem a little distant, and sort of too goody-goody rather than a generally nice guy. But Cecil really is supposed to be a good friend of Kain's, and like his counterpart in my life, would stay by his friend's side when he needs it.

I got inspired for this when I read a document detailing the differences in the English and Japanese games, like the fact Kain wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Dragoon, and the king wanting him to be a Dark Knight instead. Since I've never played the Japanese version, I don't know how they had those plotlines unfold, so I guess I could be way off. But I doubt most people would know the difference anyway.

The war they were in is sort of an odd thing... I could have sworn there was something in the game about Baron going to war in the past with either Eblan or Fabul, but looking back over the script, I didn't find any evidence of that. Maybe I was thinking of the Midgar/Wutai war in FFVII? I went ahead and made the war with Eblan anyway, since Edge had more varied attacks than Yang.

Overall, I'm fairly pleased with this fic. There were a few things I never got around to exploring, like the fact that Kain felt no remorse over killing the ninjas contrasted with Cecil's reaction to his first battle, and the formation of the Red Wings... Someday I'll probably either rewrite the last half of this fic, or write a small sequel. For some reason, FFIV is the game that inspires the most fanfics in me.