FFL, the next chapter.

(((I apologize, but at this time we are no longer accepting applications to join. Do keep your eyes open however, as we may open it in the future )))

Welcome to FFLtNC. It's a small fan made RP of a small fan made RPG (Ironic kinda). By looking here you are likely (though maybe not) interested in doing a roleplay based in the FFL world.
Seeing how you're reading on, we can assume you want in... or want to lurk... either is fine by me. (By all means join, all are welcome... well except you Reij!... haha just kidding)
I have below reserved 5 posts for things to keep it organized PLEASE DO NOT POST UNTIL ALL 5 OF MINE ARE COMPLETE.
Index:
Post 1: Story and description (This post XP)
Post 2: Rules (They have to happen...) and FAQ.
Post 3: Character biographies & all registered participants (as well as all blacklisted from joining the RP... I'd hate to do it, but I have seen it enough to know it's necessary...)
Post 4: *Reserved for future use... just in case*
Post 5: The introduction



And now, the Story backdrop.



After the end of world war two, the world was split into two.
East and west. This marked the beginning of the era called the cold war...

....haha just kidding. I couldn't resist.


The REAL story background:

1 month has passed since the "plague" was cured. The many adventurers that all answered the call have all returned to their normal lives. But some have noticed something is amiss... while the world has returned, there were still signs of evil at work. Some adventurers from the plague have again felt a sense of justice, and a need to save the world again. They donned their old weapons and set off on another grand adventure.

Many things have happened to cause some to believe evil is returning. For starters the crystal in mysidia had disappeared mysteriously...
The kingdom of baron has begun a war with eblan almost without warning. Fabul has fallen to become instead a town of mercenaries and rouges, as well as the headquarters for a new faction of adventurers calling themselves the elemental lords, named for the four lords felled in the distant past by cecil harvey and companions. And the underworld is in a state of unrest, as monsters have been on a sharp increase and plaguing the castle as well as their smaller towns nearby....
The plague may be over, but the story has just begun.

I have left this story as open ended as possible to allow for maximum customization.

(Please do not post yet, as I still have more to make, If you wish to post on this topic or speak to me, please post in the other topic I made called "An FFL RP anyone?" Should be very easy to find)

Rules and FAQs

Here the rules are listed:
https://legacygame.forumotion.net/general-f9/fff-the-next-chapter-rules-and-misc-list-t347.htm

Moved due to clutter issues.


And now for something completely different...

it's...

The FAQS!!


I haven't had any questions about THIS RP, but I have about others and I will post based on experience and I will add any repeat questions I get.


Q: What is an RP?
A: You won't believe how many times I've actually been asked that...
An RP (Or role play) Is where you portray another person of your own design (Or perhaps of another persons design >_>) and act as though they would in a usually made up world. It's like writing your own book, only there are others writing theirs too and they overlap with your story.

Q: Well that's good and all but... how do I begin?
A: Well it's not too hard, I will provide a basic template (It's not very big) that you can post all about your made up character on. Well don't. Instead, send it to me Via private message, so I can approve it (or in REALLY RARE CASES: disapprove) and add it to the roster below for easy locating.

Q: Ok... that still doesn't tell me how to start roleplaying.
A: Keep your shorts on I'm getting to it! Jeez...
Anyways, because of how limited in space this RP is compared to larger ones (I mean posting space) you can start how you want BUT, send your start to me for approval first, and I'll let you know if it fits in. After that you don't need to send me your posts for approval anymore. The only reason I do this is so something like the following doesn't happen:

Reina: We did it! We've escaped the castle before it exploded!
*Boom*

John (Just joined): I walked into the castle to see it alive with people, unaware that the castle would soon explode.


^This here is gunna cause headaches since I cannot modify posts. We would have a time paradox on our hands, and that is something that I don't wanna deal with...


Q: I wanna be a (Insert class here) But it isn't in FFL! Whyyyyyyyyyy!!!!
A: Now while I can't change this (Though I do hope that your imaginations may dream up new ++ class ideas for the admins.. that'd be pretty cool...*Looks at the admins with a glimmer of hope*) I can say you should then pick the next closest thing you can think of. For example: If you wanna be a time mage, then pick a white mage for FFL. Since they have haste and slow, they should fit the task well. If you can't decide, come see me and I'll work it out with you.

Q: You're cute... shall we go on a date?
A: Not today Zidane/Seraph... not today...

Q: I'm too lazy to read all that.... what did you just say?
A: And to you I bequeath... a boot to the head!...
No seriously, I put them here for a reason. READ EM.

*More to come as I think of them*

Characters, templates, and sadly... the blocklist.

I don't wanna think about a blocklist... So I'll just put it now...

Do not under any circumstances allow these players to ruin your fun. If they make a post, I'll take it to the moderators and see what can be done.
1.

Nobody yet




The actual templates now... Please send them to me in the below format, as I might turn you down if they aren't. It saves me headaches and keeps things neat.

Name:
Player (Your name on this forum):
Character age:
Character gender:
Race (Not everyone is human... I'm not O.o)
Picture: (Not required)
Job class on FFL:
Biography, description, flavor text, etc...:

Note that I have a biography too, and even though I'm cool and all, I do have a character with a questionable past, or one with spoilers of some sort (In my case it's just... questionable) and if you think it might be offensive to others, or contain spoilers, block it out so people can't see it directly (I think you can do this in a number of ways, I believe there is a spoilers button on here somewhere, if not, I'll edit this rule). Like I said this RP is to be clean... but it is adult in some ways too (I'd shoot for below R but anywhere below is fine, even JUST below... even a few R moments might be tolerable) and I won't tell you to not put something in a biography, unless it's outright morally wrong in every way.


That all being said, I will post my profile as an example, and the others below.

------------------------------------------------

Name: Reina Wolvenheim
Player (Your name on this forum): Reina
Character age: 18
Character
gender: Female
Race: Unknown? (Neko)
Picture:
Job class on FFL: Ancient caller
Biography, description, flavor text,
etc...:
Reina wolvenheim is a cat-person found by an archeological and botanic scientists team near mysidia. She was like any other wild animal or monster in behavior and still is to this day. One of the scientists wanted to study her, the only one of her kind anyone had heard of. Before he could get the go ahead, or even do more than show her to the scientist in charge, the camp was attacked by monsters spewing from the underworld. The only ones to escape the horror were Reina and the scientist who discovered her, Dr. David Klosheim. They fled to a small town and laid low for awhile. After a week, he began to communicate rather well with her, though she knew no language anyone was familiar with... or perhaps any language at all.... The name Reina wolvenheim was given to her by David, wolven coming from her hunting instincts being very wolf like, and heim from his own last name.
Another few weeks passed, and she picked up a minimal amount of language... it wasn't much, but it was a start.
((Below is story content, the only part I have set in stone, the rest... we make as we go along))

Spoiler:

Knowing more than she should, she snuck into David's room and looked at the kind man one last time. A tear fell from her face and she snuck out, fleeing to Fabul that night before any trouble brewed again. But she had tasted society, and yearned for it now. So she spent the next month picking up on English and learning to behave human. Something in her however, told her she was only beginning a grand adventure.


((The remaining characters were moved to rules and misc. due to clutter issues))

*reserved*
(Most likely for more characters if needed.
There is a forthcoming post so DON'T POST YET!

"AAAH!" Azz awoke, face white, hands shacking, he clenched his fist as a bead of sweat fell from his face onto his hand. It had been about a year since the night of his masters death and the images of the event still stained his dreams. If only he hadn't been so stubborn his master may have survived. A lady rushed over to him to see if he was all right, he had been staying at the Agart inn the passed few weeks to escape from the memories of the forest. "I have to get out of here" he told the lady "when does the next boat leave the docks?" The lady feeling she needed to help this panic ridden man ran from the room and returned a moment later with a schedule "next boat leaves in 3 minutes heading for Fabul, not another boat for a month after that". Azz leaped out of the bed ignoring the fact he was half naked and fled out of the Inn towards the docks.

He was too late, the boats engine could be faintly heard in the distance and he watched as it crept towards the horizon. A smile crept over Azz's face as he remembered he had helped pack the boat the night before and a realised a teleport spell would work perfectly and not require a lot of magic power over the short distance. Azz closed his eyes and focused, picture a spot on the boat he'd been and when he opened his eyes he was on board. A group of men spotted his appearance and they dropped what they were carrying and stared confused and shocked to see the half naked man standing before them...

Walking in the streets of Baron, Urran gazed at the market around him.

*Man... I'd just wish that I could leave this town, the people I'll start recognising me, especially as I'm a fox... and a theif to boot. (Checks coin pouch and sighs) I've almost no money left, well, not enough for a boat fair. I could sneak on board, but if I'm caught... it's probably the plank that awaits me. Heheh...* He thought with a worried smile on the face.

Suddenly...

''THIEF! CATCH THAT THIEF!'' A person yelled, whom was screaming pointed at Urran, because he had stolen from the person his money pouch. As soon as Urran saw guards approach him, he fled like the wind. He fled to the docks, and hid behind some crates that were waiting to be transported. He looked around for an escape, and saw a boat that was getting ready to leave. Gazing around to see if any guards had caught up yet, or simply lost track of him, Urran tried to sneak on board the soon-to-be departing ship.

''Hey there, trying to sneak on board?'' Urran turned around and saw the person, who he thought was the captain of the ship. The man had a smile on his face, probably from seeing a fox that walks on two feet.
''Hi'' He said, with a shaking voice. ''I was trying to find someone on board to pay the trip.''
''Well lad, this ship is heading out for quite a while, still want to set sail?'' The sailor asked.
''Yes, and I've got the money to pay for this trip.'' He handed to the man the pouch that he had stolen, the man gladly took the money, turned around, and yelled, ''ALL RIGHT MATES! TIME TO SET SAIL TO FABUL!''

*Fabul? Did he just say, Fabul? That must be, at least a whole week! What am I gonna do for all that time without stealing anything?*
''Hey fox-boy! This trip is gonna take only three days, now don't worry about having nothing to do, 'cause there's plenty of things to do! Hahaha!''
*Great, it's not as long as I thought it would be... Wait? What does he mean by lots of things to do? It can't be that bad, can it?*

Hense his journey to Fabul had started...

If there was any commotion emerging in the middle of Baron, Eoin was both blind and deaf to it all. Instead, he had been having a friendly chat with a familiar face over some supper at the town pub, and was rather keen on catching up.

"So is this venture of yours anywhere near as exciting as you had hoped?" the white mage asked, setting aside her plate of fish for the time being; she wanted to better observe Eoin's rather hands-on eating habits, entertained by the fact they have not changed after so may years.

"Mrf. It's not excitement I'm looking for," the black wizard replied, his mouth still half-full with bread, "It's knowledge. I did already say I seek to learn of all this nonsense first hand and little more."

"Of course." The healer decided she had giggled enough at Eoin's poor table manners and set about returning to her own half-eaten meal. A gentle smile drew across her face on tasting it once more, pleased that her fish had not been over-salted. She resumed the conversation with a pleasant taste swimming in her mouth. "I still cannot believe you are here, I must say. Here I believed you would never leave Mysidia. I was most surprised spotting you among the ranks only yesterday."

"It was certainly a pleasant surprise for me, Valerie. I had always hoped I would learn how you were getting on since becoming a healer here."

Valerie cast her eyes down for a moment. Images of recent emergencies she had to aid resurfaced in her mind, and they threatened her current livelihood. But for a childhood friend, she was willing to tell all. She lowered her voice for the sake of the surrounding bustle in the vicinity. "I must be honest...recently it has been eventful to say nothing else. This war - which I still cannot fathom - has wrought many injured and departed. Tending to the wounded firsthand has appalled many of my fellow nurses, but the extent of the brutality - limbs blackened and broken, soldiers and mages alike riddled with horrifyingly deep wounds, and any number of body parts sliced to ribbons - sometimes even I want to escape from it all. And even when we can grant the sorry souls restoration of their bodies, sometimes even their minds are beyond our aid. The horrors of death oft need so much more to banish than the mending of bones...but still I do everything in my power to restore their lives to the best of my ability. As much as I wish for peace to reign once more, just returning peace to those who wish to turn away from this strife will be enough in such times of need."

Eoin had listened unusually intently throughout his childhood friend's tale. War, death, and Valerie's unfettered desire to avert such horrors with all her might and beyond; such unfamiliar theme for discussion, but at the same time there was indeed a reason the warlock always admired her. He even spoke out loud, "You still admire me so with your strength, Valerie. The world sounds like it needs Mysidia to help redeem it more than ever."

"Oh, immensely so," replied the healer, her mood lifted by the compliment. "So I hear you are setting off for Fabul tomorrow?"

"Indeed. Some form of investigation into what chaos is circulating it, I believe, and I have been granted the duty of protecting the task force alongside some soldiers if any grave situation arises. I fear I shall not be so warm with my companions more, however," finished Eoin, with a light chuckle and his last bite of bread. "You shall not have to worry about me returning in a bath of my own blood. That I promise."

"I shall hold you to that. Farewell, dear." The white mage bowed her head to Eoin as he rose to leave the tavern, the warlock lowering his own in kind before making his way back to his quarters; a long voyage to the chaos in Fabul was soon due.

Reina had awoken later, she got another nap, not that she needed it. She stretched out a little, she was still stiff, but could move if need be. She had laid there for awhile until she heard a thumping on wood, signaling someone's approach. She looked up and over at the door. The first face was that of the bartender, the second, a face she didn't recognize, but there was a third. The third made her look in astonishment, and she even tried to jump out of bed and hug him, but she just ended up on the floor.
Hal: Reina! It is you! Are you okay!?
He helped her stand up, hugged her, then they helped her back into the bed.
Doctor: She seems to be doing much better since a few days ago...
But I'm going to need to see for myself to judge.
The doctor they had brought was a white mage from mysidia. She looked at him inquisitively as he began to pull things from his bag. Potions, and tonics, and tinctures everywhere, as well as a few more modest items for studying. He took a moment to examine her wounds. He then told her to strip down. She had no idea what he said, so she just laid there inquisitively.
I'm afraid she doesn't understand you... she can't speak our language very well...
Then we'll have to do it ourselves...

((The rest of the examination will be omitted, as it's mostly boring, and they had to strip her of her clothes. This might fall under the inappropriate section too. {Though, I'm willing to overlook stuff like this usually, just not so early on})).


After the examination was over they covered her in the sheets and began discussion of it.
Hmm...
What's the matter, how did she end up like this?
I found her laying in the woods, she was floating actually... I don't think anyone else did it to her, she probably cast it on herself. She still collided with the ground, float isn't that powerful. But it likely saved her life.
Well what exactly happened? What kind of injuries?
She had severe lacerations around her body, a segment of her tail had fractured, some deep cuts were found across her legs, left arm, and across her chest. All those were fixable via standard healing methods. However, she also had damage to her lower intestine, a tear, likely caused by a severe impact. this I had to repair with magic. Apart from that though, she's okay.
Jeez.... she got beat up huh?...
Even if she COULD speak she would have a hard time understanding that doctor. While the doc and the bartender spoke, she got bored, and just wanted to see and speak to the familiar face who wandered in. She reached out to him, which made the others stop talking and take notice. The bartender nodded to the rebel, and took the doctor out to the hall so they could be alone.
It was just her and the rebel now. He smiled and began to talk to her, even though he knew full well she'd have a hard time understanding.
It's been... five years now, since we met, huh?...
My you grew up fast... Have you been doing well?...
I didn't get to talk to you last month, too much was going on, sorry.
So rumor has it, you lived in the wild, before the doctor found you. Must've been hard...
...
Well, the rebels have been doing well... surviving anyways. But with you here, we might stand a chance.
She smiled slowly while listening to him speak.. it was calming, during his rant a memory returned to her, how to say his name.
Hal.
He stopped speaking immediately and smiled back. He came over and sat by her on the bed, scratched her ears a bit, and continued trying to talk, more slowly this time.
After more discussion (Nothing very interesting) the doctor decided to wander back in.
Well? Do you think she will agree to it?
I don't know... I haven't asked her yet.
Well don't forget why I brought you here... it's not to reminisce, we could use her help...
Yeah... You're right... We are pressed for time I guess..
She looked back and forth between them, and could sense they were planning something. She smiled though to show that she was willing to do whatever they wanted. She slowly climbed out of bed this time and stood up. Not a second later, gravity kicked in and she began to urinate. Hal looked at her and covered his face in his palm, saying:
She still hasn't learned how to control that huh?....
The doctor looked over at him and asked:
What the...?
Well she DID live in the wild for several years....
And you do you suggest we sneak her in to baron as a civilian then? That would easily blow our cover.
He answered in a whisper. And the bartender simply looked at her, and walked out with a completely neutral face, returning seconds later with a mop, apparently he had this happen before. She had no idea why the doctor was so worried, it wasn't abnormal for her.
....
A few days later, her injuries were healed enough for travel. The day was rainy, like before she was unconscious. Hal put her in a cloak, and the doctor slipped his own on. They slid out the door quietly that night, and all walked into the rain. The bartender closed the door behind them, as it was way past closing time.
They strode through the misty rain and headed towards the main gate. Hal yelled in at the guard in the tower controlling the gate.
Oy! Open the gate! We are on urgent business for the rebellion!
No answer. He yelled louder.
I said open the gate!!
Still nothing... Then, suddenly a body fell from the tower with many arrows stuck in his chest. The three looked at each other, and unanimously ran away from the gate. Good thing too, as it exploded open. At first, several monsters charged in, then, soldiers bearing the crest of baron marched in after them. Engineers came in throwing their creations at buildings, attempting to cause chaos. It worked, and civilians began to scatter from and crowd the streets in a frenzied panic.
EL's hired soldiers and the city guard all came out moments later, clad in many types of armor and weapons, they were obviously not organized. One soldier came out with an axe on his belt, a bow on his back, a sword in a hilt on the other side of his belt, a staff on the back of it, and a lance in hand. His silvery hair was half-covered by the bandanna he wore. Some soldiers shouted to him, he was obviously in a command position.
((OOC: Call it a cameo appearance for those of you who know who this is))
Noirif answered them in a collected tone:
Noirif: Alright! Squad A take the gate! Squad B, secure the civilians an escape route! Squad C, on me!
And the men charged in to battle.
Baron finally began an invasion...

"wake up!" Maria jumped in shock and fell out of her bed.
"....Elder....why did you wake me up at such an early time?" Maria was still half asleep.
Elder:"Maria, you do remeber that today is the day you asked to leave the village and head towards Mt Ordeals?"
Maria:"What?!" Maria jumped to her feet and put on her crimson and white kimono and ran to the wepeon shop.
Elder:"Good luck Maria.."

Maria finally prepared herself for the obsticle she had been dreaming of facing for a few weeks, she took a deep breath and climbed onto her chocobo and rushed towards the mountains.

Alba was standing on the deck, looking over the rail into the direction of where Fabul was supposed to be. Even though they were close, she couldn't make out any details because of the heavy rain, but she had the intuition that something had changed about the peaceful town that she hadn't seen in 12 years. Maybe she should have the mage contact the Castle. Just as she was about to turn around and head towards the cabin, she noticed a few dots on the sky. They were coming closer, slowly revealing the shape of around a dozen Winged Eyes.

Suddenly, the whole ship became busy. Men shouted, the ship guards assumed their positions and readied the cannons. Alba helped evacuating civilians, women and wimmering children below deck. Eblan hadn't sent a full military transport to aid Fabul, it had only sent her as a messenger on this trade ship, and she viewed it as her duty to protect those that could not protect themselves.

Everyone had taken the position. Even the mage, who specialized on utility spells, was here. Alba went to the stern of the ship, which was facing the monsters directly. They were coming from the contintent of Fabul. That didn't seem like a good sign. Standing firmly, she awaited the attack, watching the shapes of the monsters growing bigger and more intimidating.

Some of the guards were looking terrified, and the mage next to Alba was holding firmly onto his staff. "You needn't fear", that were the words she said to encourage the mage as she drew her Katanas. She spoke a short prayer to the gods, both thanking them for providing her this opportunity to do good, as well as fearing for the men who might be going to die here.

The fight was quick, but didn't go too well for the defenders. Despite the cooperation of Alba and the mage, many men died or were injured. However, she made sure that not one of the flying monsters escaped. She was very strict when it came to that. Using her curative magic, she tended to the most severe wounds carefully.

Once this had been done, Alba went to the mage and told him to send a message to the King. The situation here was a lot worse than she had been told. She turned around into the direction where she thought Fabul to be and stared, sunken into concerns.

Eoin lay seated on a crate, gently swaying in the moistened breeze as his small vessel leisurely inched towards its destination. The mage's long robes were slowly clamming against his skin, unkempt strands of maroon hair clung to his lips and his nose was filled with the stench of salt and damp wood. Despite his clear discomfort, there he remained; he was taking a break from earlier slightly drunken shenanigans inside the cabin, and wished to take in more of this intriguing, unfamiliar ocean setting. He would return to the three fellows inside later, he thought. For now, he was content with his solitude, the only other living soul in sight at the wheel keeping the ship on course.

One thing the wizard thought about to himself was his better than expected reception on first meeting his team. Anticipating anything as bad as snarks and jeers from a crew that would treat the new face with jest, instead he and the three other foot soldiers merely followed procedure of lectures from the captain; it appeared they were all as nervous as each other. Eoin learned that this task force had set foot in Fabul once already the previous week, and the captain reviewed their findings to the crew: monsters had been attacking Fabul at infrequent intervals, and various underhanded figures were quick to take advantage of the chaos and confusion, slowly manipulating the availability of basic amenities threatened by such attacks. Baron had already taken it upon itself to control the situation, so their mission was to ensure the military occupation was proceeding as planned. Their group was small as to hopefully avoid the attention of any creatures aiming to feed from a buoyant plate.

Little was spoken between the group until it was revealed one large satchel (possibly the captain's according to one) brought on board held enough wine to last the journey...or at least half of it, considering the rate of consumption. Eoin's initial aversion to the consequent "irresponsible displays" did not hold for long, as he also wished to momentarily set his mind at ease. And so slurred tales were shared of slashed goblin throats and the wife with the cold shoulder, alongside a light-hearted and dizzy debate concerning whether or not magic can help improve bedroom performance. Worries about Fabul were effortless to forget about.

The mage eventually decided he was sufficiently cooled enough to retreat to his quarters. Little other noise could be heard apart from the gentle creaks of the ship as he moseyed along the passage. He thus assumed the others had already packed themselves up for the night to sleep off their poisons before him. Into the door he stumbled, off went his damp cloak, and down his body slumped into his bed after two tries. As he closed his eyes, he thought about making a point of asking for his companions names in the morning.

We were running through the crowds, flames and explosions abound... The chaos was hectic, there was nowhere to run. They were caught in the tide of people. The group forced their way through, but Reina got separated from them. Pushed amongst the crowd she was bumped all the way to the bar where she'd come from.
She was knocked over by a rushing civilian and her cloak caught a cart handle. It tore off her body, revealing a diapered cat girl. She struggled out of the puddle she fell into and looked at the mob that pushed her in.
Civilian woman: Eeek! Another one, another monster!
They mistook her for a monster, and a soldier came charging at her. She didn't want to hurt him, and was afraid of dying, so she rolled out of the way of his axe swing. He came again, this time she clamored up a bunch of boxes, but they tumbled under her weight, and the guard was crushed beneath them.... She just killed someone, and realized it. She was in sheer emotional agony at the thought. The crowd saw, and some of the braver men came forth with torches and pitchforks. She was too shaken by the fact she'd killed someone to try and flee, she closed her eyes, curled up, and cried out as loudly as possible.
Nyahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!
Back! Away I say! She's not your enemy! Look!
Again, she cheated death. The bartender saved her. He held her to the light of a torch, and showed she was human like they. The crowd didn't believe him, and began to draw near. Another lucky save came immediately afterward. The bar was hit by a falling roc, and began to collapse, scaring the people away. The bartender stood and watched his bar collapse.
....No.... Not my bar....
Reina saw he wasn't moving, but was still stricken by the fact she killed someone, they were both too frozen to move. It must have been a planned miracle, the thing collapsed, but just missed the pair.
The bartender stared in awe of his pride, now a shattered husk of it's former self. He was frozen for nearly a minute, until he felt a tugging on his leg. Reina was there holding tight, crying into his boot. He awoke from his daze, picked her up, and charged off to the gate, hoping that Hal was still there.
Noirif was fighting off a pair of soldiers by the gate. He swung his lance at the left one and knocked him into the right one, and pulled out his sword to cut through their guts while on the ground. He looked up and saw a man carrying a woman TOWARDS the gate. This was quite counter productive of what he was trying to do.
You there! Stop! The safe house is the other way!
No! We're with the rebellion! She needs to get to baron, fast!
An arrow flew between them, a soldier with poor aim apparently was down the street.
Fine! But be careful! You know where the tunnel is Sam! I have an annoying mosquito to swat, excuse me!
And with that they ran off, avoiding the thick of battle as best as possible. Reina finally struggled a bit, signifying she was ready to get up and walk on her own. He set her down and looked at her, she was still crying, and shaking, not from the cold, but from her actions.
.....Ngh....
He led her by the hand and they took a back alley to the gate. There amongst the fighting were indeed Hal and the doctor.
Oy! Hal! Over here!
After knocking out a guard, they ran to the pair.
Oh you guys are alright! Is she okay?
He looked at the shivering Reina, she had a vacant sort of look in her eyes.
Hal... don't do it... don't take her to join you... she can't handle it. She's not shaking from the rain.... She's shaking because she killed a soldier.... Don't make her do it again....
......Ngh.... but...
The doctor butted in.
We don't have time for pleasantries! We need to get her to baron, we'll discuss everything there!
R-right!
Hal only nodded because it was a lot to take in, and he couldn't grasp it all at once. They grabbed her and took her to the edge of the alleyway.
On three! We cross the street weapons at the ready! One, two, three!
And they charged through, hoping to reach the tunnel on the far side of the street.

The sky became dark, Maria decided to rest for the night.
The sounds of the forest at night was calm, it was almost too calm.
Suddenly a group of imps ambushed the camp site, Maria got onto the chocobo and prepared for battle. Maria used her fire bow to burn the imps, she thought it was over until a zu dived into the woods and knocked her off the chocobo. The chocobo freaked out and ran for its life, Maria was all alone in this situation. With only one arrow left, there was no way she was going to be able to kill the zu, and she did not have any damaging magic, luckily she remebered a spell that could help in the situation, she screamed at the top of her lungs "Magic arrow!", the spell allowed her to call back the arrow she used and was now able to kill the zu.

Maria had no choice but to walk to Mt Ordeals since her chocobo ran away, when she finally arrived to the mountains, there was a dark presence about the place, almost as if death was around any corner.

When Alba's ship entered the harbour, she realized that her intuition had been true. Through the rain she could make out ships loaded with civilians departing the harbour to both of her sides. She could feel how a few of the men were tempted to turn the ship around and follow the stream.

"Stand your positions, we will land on this harbour. It is our duty to report to our Kingdom anything that is of importance, as well as rescue any innocent soul that may require it." she shouted sharply.

When they docked at the harbour, Alba led her horse, Windstriker, off the ship and looked around. None of her men had followed her. She found a few people who were standing close to a wall in order to protect themselves from the rain. She greeted them with a respectful bow.

"I can not help but notice the terror in your faces. What trouble is it that is bothering you?", Alba asked.
"An army! Baron has attacked! They're laying waste to the castle! Those of us who live outside town fled through the sea, but alas, we were too late. The last ship has departed."
"Do not despair, you can take the ship that I arrived with. However, I must ask a favor in return. Tell me in detail what has happened, and tell the same to the mage on the ship."

The men and women explained to Alba how an army with Baron's soldiers had arrived without warning, how they had spread terror on the countryside on the way to their castle, and how they had taken down one of the wall's gates in a surprise attack.

Having learned all this, Alba took them to her ship. She told the mage to listen to their story and send a message to Eblan, as well as she advised the captain to wait for escapees as long as they could without being attacked.

She wouldn't be staying, however. She hadn't yet heard enough, she needed to find out what was going on and aid where possible, and thus she mounted Windstriker and rode off into the rain, as her duty to her gods demanded from her.

When Maria arrived at Mt Ordeals, there appeared to be nothing but silence, the path has faded away, the sky was dark but Maria was suprised by this "Why would the Elder not allow people to come here?..its empty!" her voice echoed. As she moved on, the path began to crumble, Maria was becomming paranoid,she expected a monster to jump out at her at any second, when she reached the top, all her thoughts of danger went away, she ran towards the top of the mountain and then suddenly a flash. Maria opened her eyes to see her reflection, suddenly power flowed right through her, she felt stronger. When she looked back at the mirror,it wasnt moving the same as her, suddenly, arrows flew at her "what are you?" the look a like did not say anything, but decided to keep attacking. Maria hid behind a pillar bu then she remembered why she came to the mountain, not to hide, but to show her power. Maria was hit by one of the arrows, she showed the image what a white mage could do "Cura!" she shouted and managed to heal the wound from the arrow. The image suddenly came to a stop, it bowed to her and vanished. Maria had passed the trial, now she planned to return to Myssidia.

After a few days of travel, Maria saw Baron soldiers attacking the mages of myssidia, she ran in to aid her people. She shot as many arrows at the guards as possible, but it wasnt enough. "Thundaga!" screamed the Elder, the guards were chucked against the wall from the blast.
Elder:"Maria, you must get out of here...."
Maria:"I cannot leave this place in this mess!"
Elder:"Maria....get to baron, use the serpant road"
Maria:"If I go through there, the guards will just kill me"
Elder:"Take that guards armour and put it on, you can blend in with the other soldiers of Baron"
Maria:"Elder...becareful"
Elder:"good luck Maria, find help"

Maria ran through the serpant road, and arrived at Baron, she removed the armour in grass behind the villiage and went to look around Baron.

Alba rode towards the town walls as fast as she could. To her surprise, the rear gate was standing wide open with no signs of any attackers. It seemed like Baron was focusing its attack on the front gate. She ordered Windstriker to ride in town, headed for the palace. She hoped she could find someone who was in charge there to discuss matters.

The streets toward this side of the town seemed peaceful, although a loud, shattering sound from the southwestern wall filled the air for a few moments, which led her to ask Windstriker to ride even faster. When she arrived at the town square, she noticed that the palace was already under attack, but there was something more alarming that caught her attention.

A single man was being chased into town square by a large monster which exceeded the man's weight by a few tons of molten rock.

In mere seconds she evaluated her possibilities. She could walk into the palace where she would have a better defensive position, but the monster would likely destroy the walls, leaving the palace unprotected, if it came too close. In addition, she assumed that there was a reason that the monster would stop down to follow this man all the way down the street.

When the golem had finally catched up and knocked out the warrior, Windstriker was already charging at the creature at his highest speed.

Not a moment too soon, either. The creature was preparing its last strike on the warrior, who hadn't recovered from the last attack yet, as a horse dashed along under its feet, and a human appeared flying high in the sky, two blades pointed at it. The golem regarded this as an annoying fly with a pointy sting, until the two swords pierced through its right upper arm.

This weren't regular stings - Alba's arcane powers coursed through the monster's substance, cancelling the spell that kept it alive. A more powerful being may have been hurt from this, but the golem was only lifeless earth, weak arcane power spread over its complete body. The part that was hit turned into stone instantly, and the remains of his right arm fell to the ground, leaving a puddle of hot magma.

Alba used the rest of her thrust to fly past the creature and land on the ground behind it, where Windstriker, who had picked up Noirif, was riding a half-circle. It was a good horse. The golem was trying to turn around to face Alba again, but it was moving very slowly. It was possibly feeling agony due to its lost limb, but Alba didn't feel compassion for it, it was an unnatural, evil creature after all.

When Windstriker had completed its circle, the monster had barely found to itself again. To Alba's surprise, Noirif was already firmly sitting in the horse's saddle, no, he was actually standing. When he screamed "Want a lift?", Alba instantly knew what needed to be done. After she had sheathed her smaller katana, she jumped sidewards into the air, close in front of the charging horse, then Noirif supported her feet, and using the additional thrust from her horse and the stranger, she performed a jump that lifted her right in front of the golem, which was still struggling with its lost arm.

Focusing her magic again, she sliced through its head two times, and then another time through its body as she was falling down. The golem fell forwads, and a quick summersault through the creature's legs saved Alba from a certain funeral under a few tons of molten stone.

The battlefield looked terrible. There was a huge puddle of hot magma on the ground, creating large amounts of steam that blocked the view. Windstriker had prudently evaded it, carrying Noirif on its back who seemed to be well. When Windstriker reached her and Noirif jumped down, Alba bowed to him.

"My deepest grattitude for aiding me in this fight.", she said, and raised her head again.
"Oh, it's nothing, I don't think I would have survived this without you."
"I'm honored to have fought with you. The palace is safe from this creature now, but I fear it is still under attack."
"Ohh.. Right. I'll have to take care of the defense, but there's still that.. Hey, could you do me a favor? There's this woman that seems to be in a bit of trouble, had to pull her out of it once already. She's with the resistance or something, I think. Could you go after her and make sure she's safe? You can't miss her, she's got a tail and cat ears if I'm not getting crazy."

Alba stared at him for a few moments, a little surprised. This man asked a lot of her, but something about the look on his face told her that it was important. She still had her duty, however.

"I shall accept your task, but I ask you to ensure that this letter reaches the person who is currently ruling Fabul." She pulled out a letter from a bag attached to Windstriker and handed it to Noirif.

The warrior smiled. "I will make sure of it. Look on the road to the south-west, I think they were trying to escape through the tunnels."

Alba bowed again. "May the gods be with you."

Noirif didn't know a reply to this, and neither could he have spoken it out, since Alba had already jumped on her horse and was rushing down the street. The scorch marks gave away where the warrior had come from.

"Everybody up! We're landing any second now!" the captain's voice boomed, no cabin doors able to shield the noise. All were woken, including the wizard reluctant to set his foot on anything. He was eventually successful in rolling out of bed and throwing his grubby garbs back on. The foot soldier nearby, who had introduced himself as Troff earlier that morning, was changing into civilian clothing, in accordance to the strategy of hopefully blending into the crowd as the team investigated. They both slipped out of the quarters and up onto the deck, greeted by the sight of the others - the unfatigued Captain Wake along with soldiers Handel and Chiseler, also in peasant fashions - and a near blinding torrent of rain that saturated all in view. Once gaining his balance on the slick floorboards, Eoin was barely able to make out land only a few hundred yards away. As planned they were a considerable distance west of Fabul's port, greeted not by a potential rebellion ambush but by a tiny camp of fellow Baron forces that brought in and secured their vessel.

A brief bout of shouting past the downpour kept everyone present on the same page, ending with the captain yelling "And by latest we return by nightfall!", all others responding with a loud "Sir!" before all set off to their designated duties. At least, after Eoin had finished digging his hands into the ground and soaking the appendages in mud - a personal ritual for luck that the warlock had practiced since childhood - and enchanting his allies with the fabled Spirit Wave:, a spell that would be of aid in keeping the force's strength maintained throughout their arduous march in the guise of lost peasants finding their way home.

Feral creatures braving the weather inevitably encountered the team as they inched through their wordless journey numerous times. Eoin and the soldiers had to bear more and more scars as they struggled through the waves of precipitation, though indeed they left behind many more severed limbs and a plethora of heads encased in ice. The warlock's only regrets at present revolved around his fatigue, wishing a stave (i.e. walking stick) was within reach. His mind quietened, however, when the walls of the unfortunate city began to reveal themselves in the distance. Eoin's heart panged with a strange mixture of both relief and horror.