A sequel novelization by Pete Lopeno
Tertius Veneficus Bellum is my attempt at fleshing out a sequel to the 1999 hit Final Fantasy VIII.
“Right or wrong are not what separates us and our enemies. It's our different standpoints, our perspectives that separate us. Both sides blame one another. There is no good or bad side. Just two sides holding different views." – Squall Leonhart
Tertius Veneficus Bellum is my attempt at fleshing out a sequel to the 1999 hit Final Fantasy VIII.
The story picks up where the game left off. Balamb Garden is in the midst of having a celebration in the honor of our six heroes (For those of you who don't know… Squall Leonhart, Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, Rinoa Heartilly, and Irvine Kinneas) after the defeat of Sorceress Ultimecia. The celebration proves to be short lived though, as the world they knew in the wake of those preceding events is in complete disarray and is quickly on the verge of chaos.
Garden is in a rebuilding phase. The repairing of Balamb and Galbadia Gardens, along with the reconstruction project of Trabia Garden has stretched them well beyond their own financial means. Since NORG is no longer the acting proprietor of Garden, Cid now has to take on the responsibility of not only being headmaster, but the responsibility of funding Garden as well.
Squall is adjusting to his seemingly new life…Trying to strike a balance between his responsibilities as the acting commander of Balamb Garden, and as a knight to Sorceress Rinoa. Many challenges lie ahead for the young commander that will force him to question everything he knew and everything he thought to have believed.
When the time comes, where will his loyalties lie… with SeeD, or, with Rinoa?
Rinoa herself will be faced with many challenges that lie ahead. With Timber now independent from Galbadia, Rinoa has found herself a new home at Balamb Garden. She is working diligently to become a member of SeeD, and is working under Edea's tutelage to control her sorceress powers. Though she is doing very well at learning how to use and control her powers, she's suffering from what is believed to be a strange side effect of time compression, in which she seems to be moving back and forth through time. living out fragments in time through not only her own eyes, but also through the eyes of people she knows, and through the eyes of sorceresses from both the past and from the future.
Galbadia is without a leader… Nikolai Deling, the son of the assassinated former President Deling and General Caraway are vying for power, with the fundamental direction of an entire country hanging in the balance.
Esthar, no longer hidden from the rest of the world, is on the verge of civil war. President Loire has become the public scapegoat for the unsealing of Sorceress Adel and the failure to prevent the Lunar Cry. With monsters now flooding the streets, the entire city is in a twenty-four hour military police state. Civil unrest has eroded away at Laguna's popularity amongst the citizens of Esthar, and now the majority is calling for his impeachment. Adding to his political woes, classified information from Dr. Odine's Research Facility has been leaked, and now it has become public knowledge that Rinoa Heartily is now sorceress.
Not only the fact that she is a sorceress, but the one who has inherited her powers from Ultimecia and Adel.
It has also become public knowledge that she had been turned over to the Estharian government so that she could be sealed, only to be inexplicably set free and allowed safe passage by President Loire. Several prominent members of the Estharian Parliament and all of Esthar's top military officials view Sorceress Rinoa as a threat and are actively pursuing legislation for her to be resealed… with only the representatives of Garden, President Loire, and her knight standing in the way.
1999 Squaresoft - Square Enix Co., LTD. All rights reserved. Main character design: Tetsuya Nomura. Alternate Character Design: Tetsu Tsukamoto. Final Fantasy is a registered trademark or Square Enix Co., LTD. Square Enix is a trademark of Square Enix Co., LTD. Tertius Veneficus Bellum is a copyright of PD Productions Inc.
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