The sounds of battle rage all around. Garlean forces fight against the alliance of the three Grand Companies, desperate to conquer, even as the red moon of Dalamud looms ever closer in the heavens, firebombs raining down upon the Carteneau Flats and the realms beyond them. Their leaders watch the tides of battle, even while a group of adventurers dives into the heart of the fray, fighting as long as they have strength. They must fight. They must win.

Then, from above, one of the pillars that pierces the Dalamud comes free, landing in the middle of the flats. The stunned warriors regain their senses, only to see the very moon itself crack open, but the horror does not end here; from within, a great dragon bursts forth, full of fury and destruction, which he rains far and wide, changing the very face of Eorzea. Most who look upon this incarnation of fire and death see only the impossibility of facing it, awed and despairing at its power. Who could possibly tame or end its wrath? Foes and allies alike scatter to the winds, praying for their lives as they go.

Just when all seems lost, however, a shield rises, protecting them from an oncoming blast. The adventurers cast their gaze upon a nearby outcropping, where the Archon Louisoux stands, determined and unflinching, the staff Tupsimati held aloft. Aware of the threat Dalamud posed, he and the other Archons had formed a plan—a desperate but vital one, where they would summon the power of the Twelve in order to seal away the danger that lurked within.

While the immediate threat was averted, Louisoux’s shield falters against a new attack, until it shatters completely, leaving all exposed to Bahamut’s wrath. It seems all hope is lost—but no! The other Archons, in their various locations, work to channel the power that has been released into a new form. Glowing light begins to form a new prison for the enraged primal, while the symbols of the Twelve appear around it, all directed by Louisoux himself. Hope shines as brightly as the light working to seal the dragon away.

But it was not to be so. The Elder Primal Bahamut breaks free of his prison, scattering the power that had been summoned against him, and even shattering Tupsimati. Louisoux seems to sigh within himself, and turns his attention from the dragon to the group of adventurers below him. Summoning up the last of his power, he steals them away to a safer place—a safer time—where they might prove of great benefit to the realms once more. One by one, they are stolen by the light, until their leader has but time to cast one last look up at the man who saved them by sacrificing himself.

“In one fleeting moment / from the land doth life flow / In the same fleeting moment / thou must live, die, and know.”

And so, each day, I live on, inspired by his selfless heroism.