Sandy

OOC: Zid, you didn't notice that the snow in the forest melted after Shiva's defeat, since it was her doings. It is currently summer in the game. ;) [FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue]Gale halted his small entourage at the sign. They had exited the Weeping Woods and ahead of them spread the once beautiful Windale Fields. Now all the crops and the flowers were brown and barren. The numerous windmills located here and there had stopped without the wind where the area had received its name. "Everybody listen up! I know you're tired from all the fighting, but we cannot rest for long. The Templar Knights are probably now searching the area beyond the city walls. Luckily they are only after a Holy Heir and her guardian, and not a party of eight humans, a droid, a chocobo and a moogle. We will descend here from the hills down to the Windale Village that you can probably see in the horizon, and find an inn there. For this, we have make up a cover-up story. My suggestion is that we pose as a group of mercenaries on our way to Rosaria to offer ourselves to the highest bidder among the Houses. Everybody agrees?" The party mumbled approvingly. "Good. That's settled then. Remember that we have to be quick, since we have to get across the Mistral Moors that lie between us and Camelot before the dusk falls. From the stories I've heard it is the last place I would like to spend the night." "Afraid of the ghosts, are you?" Aster teased. "I've fought the spirits of the ancestors that dwell under the moors, and they aren't as tough as they are frightening. A good stock of potions and healing spells will banish them in no time." "Alright, but still there is no excuse in dragging behind. Anybody who does that is left there. Understood? Good. Now, let's walk." The party started to make its way down the hill towards the village. People behind Gale made quiet conversations, but the mercenary prefered to walk in peace, and everybody let him do so. That was until Gale heard swift steps approaching him, escorted by a bright chime of jewelry. "It wasn't me, you have to believe me!" Serisay said seriously. "I don't know any secret passages to Miraclion, and I have no motives to follow you! I seriously don't know why I'm walking with you at this moment." "Then explain to me why the assassin we met in the tunnels looked exactly like you!" Gale said, stopping suddenly. He faced the Arcane woman, who also had stopped. The others walked passed them, but lingered a little further ahead. "I... don't know", Serisay muttered. "Unless it was somebody who had a personal grudge against me... Somebody who wanted to frame me... Somebody who had unfinished businesses in Miraclion..." "Who would be such a person?" Gale wondered. "My sister", Serisay said sadly. "Sade." "What?! Sade the Soul Reaver? [I]She[/I] is your sister?" "You... know her?" "Oh do I?! She almost murdered my mother! I mean... the Queen..." Gale's face blushed. "I didn't realize you were the prince..." Serisay muttered. The other slowly approached them, gathering around them. "I'm not a prince! The Queen isn't allowed to have children..." Gale's voice broke. "I'm sorry... Actually, I ahven't told you everything about my motives. I'm here to search for my sister. The Emperor send me..." "You're here to finish off your sister's job, aren't you. That's why you are walking with us now, isn't it? You want to kill Beatricia." It was now Serisay's turn to blush. Everybody stared at her suspiciously. "I... I am observing the situation. I am disobeying direct orders now, and you cannot imagine how hard it it for me", Serisay whispered. A single tear appeared at the corner of her eye. Gale looked at the woman. She was obviously torn apart from inside. Finally he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, I know. I am doing the exact same thing now. But let us forget this now, and hurry to the village. It is already afternoon, and everybody are exhausted." He motioned to the others to move on, and the party continued in silence. Serisay stayed behind, staring at her feet. After a dozen steps Gale turned to look at the woman. "Are you coming?" [/COLOR][/FONT]

[FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue]Everybody gathered to take a look at the relic Shiva had dropped. "Winter Rune?" Gale wondered. "Does anybody have the silightest clue what is it's purpose?" The serious-looking Arcane woman approached the rest of the party. "This is a mystic icon of the Demon Shiva. Demonologist use these runes to call Demons to aid in battle. However, summoning them is very dangerous, because if the Demonologist isn't strong enough, the conjured Demon might break loose and cause havoc in both sides of the battle." Everybody gazed at the woman silently. "Oh," Gale finally said, breaking the silence. "Thank you for the information. I think it might be best if I took care of this - wouldn't want to leave these kind of things lying around." Gale took the item from Beatricia. As the party's interest in the item dispersed, they noticed the sudden change of temperature around them. The blue forest was actually melting - and fast. "Uh, my boots are wet!" Logan whined. Beatricia swiftly mounted Boco, away from the water flowing to the pond. Suddenly they heard a thump near them. As they turned, they saw the formerly frozen girl collapsed in the sleet. "Whoopsie, I think we forgot something..." Logan said with a disturbing smile. Trying to show off their chivalry, both Aster and Gale raced to the girl in an almost comical way. What made the situation more comical was that it was actually Wedge the Droid who reached her first. "Wake up, human", Wedge commanded, shaking the girl a bit too hard. "Uh... Ah... Ough... H-hey!! Eek! Get off me!" the girl bounced up, pushing the droid over. Her leap, however, ended short as she bumped into Biggs, who was approaching them behind her. "Uh, hello..." Biggs uttered, his pale boyish face blushing as he held the girl in his arms. "Hello to you too", the girl said softly, almost flirtatiously. "What a recovery", Beatricia said dryly to Gale, steering Boco next to him. "My my, how far did my voice really reach for having so many saviors?" the girl asked smiling. Gale stepped forward. "Consider yourself just lucky, miss..." "... Kaeli", the girl answered, pulling away from Biggs's arms. "Although you can skip the 'miss' part. I'm just a lowly merchant, I have no need for courtesy. Money, however, will do just nicely." "You want us to pay you for saving you?" Gale asked incredulously. "It was just a [I]joke[/I]! By gods, have you no sense of humor?!" the girl asked, rolling her big eyes. She corrected her beige turban and wiped the sleet of her heavy-looking cape. "So, what's your story? Who are you anyways. You know, it's rude not to introduce yourself when a person tells you her name." "Give me a break", Gale sighed. "Alright. My name is Gale Godspeed, and I am a mercenary from Miraclion. My job was to secure Beatricia's - that girl on the chocobo - safety because tonight she was supposed to become the Holy Heir to the Throne of Mertonia. However, fate intervened in the form of Aster, that armored guy with a spear, who was assigned to kill the Holy Heir. Luckily Beatricia, not actually thrilled about becoming the heir, managed to convince him otherwise, so now us three are headed to Camelot in Rosaria to meet Aster's employer. Although first we needed a way to get out of Miraclion, so my friend Logan - the crimson-coat with a dorky smile in his face - helped us to find a thief who would guide us through the secret tunnels. The best we could find was Cortez, that gloomy guy over there." "Thanks a bunch..." Cortez snapped. "Your welcome. The guy you so willingly embraced is Biggs, and his metallic friend who tried to help you in his inhumane manner is Wedge. And finally, this dark woman with fancy hair is called Serisay. She assaulted us in the tunnels and apparently followed us here." "I told you, it [I]wasn't me[/I]!" Serisay replied between glenched teeth. "Yes, that's what [I]you [/I] say. But anyway, here we are, a totally random group of people who just heard from a Demon of the Core that they are destined to do [I]something[/I]." Kaeli's jaw had dropped sometime during this review. She snapped it shut, and shrugged. "Sounds like an adventure to me. Mind if I join you?"[/COLOR][/FONT] OOC: There, now the main parts of what has happened until this point in the story should be clear to everybody. Continue as you wish!

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][FONT=Century] [I]Caught between a gate and a battering ram[/I], Gale thought. There was an icy Demon right behind the next corner, and now they were faced with the assassin that assaulted them earlier. "Did you follow us?" Gale asked suspiciously, pointing the Gilventure at the Arcane woman. "Excuse me?" the woman asked, still in a defensive pose. "Have we met before?" "What are you talking about?!" Logan shouted. "You [I]attacked[/I] us in the tunnels!" The woman shook her head in confusion. A sudden shriek interrupted them. "It's the demon!" Cortez exclaimed worriedly. "She's coming!" "Let me handle her!" the woman suddenly replied. "I've fought Shiva before." "Look at that, she knows the Demon's name. A friend of yours, maybe?" Logan smirked. The woman sighed in frustration, and leaped over a few crystallized bushes. The others looked at Gale, who nodded. "We'll follow." At the glade they encountered a small but apparently very deep pond, with a frozen surface. The ice was broken at the center, and above the lake floated a figure of a devilishly beautiful woman with ice-blue skin and white, flowing hair. She looked down on them with shining eyes. The Arcane assassin stood at the edge of the pond, next to another woman, who was apparently frozen by the Demon. "Ah..." the Demon sighed. "How nice that all of you have come to greet me. You will make a fine gift for my Masters. Not one, but seven Destined Ones." "What is she blabbering about", Logan asked, leaning towards Gale. Gale couldn't do anything but shrug. He had no idea. "I don't know what you are talking about, fiend", Gale finally replied. "But the only thing we're destined to do is to destroy you!" A wide grin spreaded to the Demon's perfect face. "Give me your best shot", she said coldly. The Demon Shiva lifted her arms to the air, sucking energy from the frozen forest around her. "We need to split up!" Gale shouted to the others. "Logan, Beatricia, come with me!" "But what about Boco and the moogle?" Beatricia shouted back with a worried tone. "They're scared to death!" "By gods, don't worry about your stupid pets [I]now[/I]!" The assassin suddenly stepped in front of Gale. "I can take her place. I have experience with this specific lady." The mercenary gazed at her suspiciously. "I don't even know your name, or where you come from! How do you suppose..." "My name is Serisay. I am the Honor Guard of the Child Emperor Shin Ra of Arcane Empire. Is that good enough for you, soldier?" Gale had no other option but to give in when facing a person in such high position. "I... guess it is. Come along, then." Both of the parties prepared for whatever the Demon had in store for them. *Engaged in battle with Demon Shiva* [U]PARTY 1:[/U] Gale - level 6 - HP: 300 - MP: 30 - Sword Art, Paysword Logan - level: 5 - HP: 225 - MP: 40 - Red Magic, Magic Slot Serisay - level: 6 - HP: 325 - MP: 45 - Paralyze, Mimic [U]PARTY 2:[/U] Aster - level: 6 - HP: 350 - MP: 15 - Jump, Dragon Soul Cortez - level: 5 - HP: 245 - MP: 10 - Steal, Distract Biggs/Wedge - level 5/5 - HP: 250/300 MP: 5/10 - Blitz, Go Wedge!/Rocket Fist, Recharge [i]The Demon took the initiative by releasing the energy she had gathered from the forest. "DIAMOND DUST!" she shrieked, blasting both of the parties with a rain of sharp icicles. All suffered a great loss of health points. "Ungh..." Gale gasped as he stood back up. "We can't take another one of those! Let's team up, people!" "Alright, I'll try my magic slots!" Logan shouted, shaking off shards of ice from his shoulders. "Wish me luck!" Logan began mumbling magic words for the spell, and both Gale and Serisay took this opportunity to slash Shiva with their weapons, the Gilventure and the Twin Blades, respectively. "Here we go!" Logan uttered finally, his pale eyes glowing with inner force. "Poison!!" A blob of green ooze hit the Demon, with no effect. "Blizzard!! ... Whoopsie." The ice-elemental spell hit Shiva, restoring her HP instead of damaging it. "Ah..." she sighed pleased. "I thank you, foolish human." "Let's try another trick!" Serisay exclaimed suddenly. "You know Fire-spell, don't you?" Logan nodded, depressed of his mistake. "Cast that, and I'll repeat it!" "Huh?" Logan said confused. "Just go ahead!" Serisay urged him. He fell into the light trance again. "Do I know you?" Shiva suddenly asked, turning her attention to the Arcane woman. "You seem familiar... Yes, now I remember! Serisay of Arcabad, how could I have forgot the woman who almost defeated me?" "You can forget that 'almost' part this time, *****!" Serisay screamed. At the same time, Logan released his ball of fire. "Outch! That... hurt!" the Demon shrieked between her glenched fangs. "It's going to hurt some more! Fire!!" Serisay exclaimed, throwing another fireball at the demon. Gale was astonished. The woman could mimic their moves! "Keep going, you two!" Gale urged them. "I'll use these potions..." Gale felt an unexpected grasp at his heart. For the first time in his life, he wasn't at the first row in a battle. At the moment he was just a mere... medic! It really made him feel confused.[/i] [/FONT] [/COLOR] OOC: Hope your happy with the statistics I gave your character, Cyriel! EDIT: Added some description on the flow of the battle. Members of the second party, feel free to continue! I'll only wait for a day, though, before moving on. As a sidenote, I'm truly happy this is rolling again! :D We currently have seven of the nine players gathered in one place, and that's just great! Just hang on, I've thought that parts of the main plot is revealed to the characters at Mistral Moors. Before that, however, the party should visit [B]Windale Village[/B], where all the crops have failed due to the unnatural coldness. Just guess which one of the Seven Scourges is behind it. ;) Oh, and [B]if you want to end the battle with Shiva, make her drop the key item "Winter Rune"[/B] - it will be needed later if somebody is going to upgrade to Demonologist job.

[FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue][I] The combination of physical attacks and elemental magic that the two parties used proved effective. Howling one last time the Boogie exploded into a rain of goo. *End of Boss Battle. 250 EXP gained. Beatricia level up to level 4 (HP: 220 MP: 110). Biggs&Wedge level up to level 5 (HP: 250/300 MP: 5/10). 2000 gil gained, 3xAntidotes gained* [/I] "Somehow I can't really appreciate this victory much..." Logan said dryly, wiping off the slime from his red coat. Gale rolled his eyes, and turned to the thief Cortez. "Alright, we beat the giant blob, but we still don't know how to get accross." "Look!" Beatricia yelled from little distance. She pointed at the pool. It was bubbling ominously again. "Oh no, there's more?!" Logan yelled disbelievingly, but Aster shook his head. "No, I think it's... a bridge?" "So it is true! The rogue legends told that there was a bridge over the western sewer pool, but a monster formed from the goo sank it under it's weight!" Cortez explained, his yellow eyes shining. "And [I]now[/I] you tell us?" Gale said, lifting his eyebrow. "Interesting mechanism..." Biggs said, stepping on the narrow stone bridge without railings. "Is it secure?" Gale asked cautiously. "Yes, come on over!" the Astenian boy said waving his hand, and sprinting across to the other side. The others followed carefully. Gale eyed down to the pool constantly, in case the Boogie had developed offspring. * * * The sun was rising when the diverse group ascended from the other end of the secret tunnel. They were now encircled by an extraordinary forest of blue crystals. The morning light made the dew on the crystals and blue grass gleam beautifully, and glowing insects of the night flied quickly to their holes, away from the daylight. "Oh, how lovely..." Beatricia gasped, and made a few prancing steps. "Don't get too overjoyed. The Weeping Woods is a hazardous place. I wish the tunnel had extended under it", Gale said, looking around as alert as ever. "Bah! This is nothing compared to the bog of Rosaria: I tell you, fighting a fiend is a lot challenging when you can't see it", Aster said belittlingly. "Well, we'll see if you're right when we get there", Gale replied. Then he turned to the other companions. "Alright, I guess this is goodbye then," he said, aiming his words to Logan, Cortez and Biggs and his droid. "I thank you for your help, and who knows; we might bump into each other again in the future." "Wait wait wait... You're just going to leave me behind?" Logan asked incredulously. "That won't happen, buddy; I'm going with you! Besides, you'll need a mage in your party." "Are you sure about this, Logan?" Gale asked, receiving an affirmative nod as an answer. "Alright then, you can come..." "We'll come too", Biggs said then, glancing at Wedge. "Wedge says that you're... important to us, somehow, and I don't really have anywhere else to go..." "Fine, you can come as well!" Gale snapped. He turned his eyes on Cortez. "I assume you want to join us too?" "Uh, the thing is... The quys at the guild aren't probably very happy that I revealed a secret tunnel to the son of the Que... the Master Templar Knight, so I guess I'll stick with you. Who knows when you next need a swift hand to reach somebody's pockets?" "Hopefully not ever. But that's settled then", Gale said, looking at his five companions - seven, if you counted Wedge and Boco. "This bunch is going to Camelot." [/COLOR][/FONT] OOC: Remember to use the map of Northern Mertonia when you continue from this, guys! [img]http://otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=17841[/img] EDIT: No reply for ages, thus I do my trick. ;) I'm not willing to let this game die just yet, so please, people, post, or at least PM me why this game is so lame that you don't want to! I think this story is developing greatly, but correct me if I'm wrong. Well, just to spark up everybody's inspiration, I'll post more myself. (Seriously, if you feel your character can't do anything else, you should at least deepen the relationship between your character and the others.) *** [font=century][color=royalblue]As the sun of Crescence climbed to the top of the sky, the diverse party of very unlike companions strode forward on a narrow path in the eerie Weeping Woods. "Funny..." Logan remarked. "It's almost noon and the sun is high up, yet my breath is steaming. Is it just me, or do you others also feel like winter's coming early?" Gale blew once for a test, and nodded then. "It really is getting chillier here, but it's only late summer now. This doesn't seem right..." "Maybe the magic of these crystals is affecting the weather?" Beatricia reckoned, but Logan swiftly shook his head. "No, the crystals don't emit any unusual power. But there's something in this forest anyway..." Then they heard a quiet, sobbing voice coming nearby. "Listen!" Gale hushed. "Kwark!!" Boco replied, going along with the tention of the humans. Aster gave it a stern look, and it managed to look almost ashamed. "I'll go first", Gale said, unsheathing the Gilventure. "What a surprise..." Aster commented. "Our brave leader volunteers to face the dreadful weeper hiding in a bush!" The mocking laughter of the dragoon made Gale want to use the Gilventure on the man's throat, but his contemplations were interrupted by the source of the sobbing voice. It was a tiny, light blue moogle with minuscule purple wings and antenna. It crawled from under the bush. "Aw, how cute!" Beatricia exclaimed. "What's the matter, little guy?" "It...it's so cold... kupo..." "Yes, we noticed that", Gale said coldly, receiving a murdering glance from the priestess. "Any idea why it's so cold here, then?" "It... it is the Demon... kupo..." "Come here", Beatricia said warmly, wrapping the creature inside her white cloak. "Did that thing say "Demon"?" Cortez asked. "As in a Demon from the Core?" "Do [I]you[/I] know anything about it?" Gale asked. "Sure! In case you didn't know, Arcane Empire - that's where I'm from - has entry to the Grail Plains leading to the exposed Core. So all the creepy critters from the Core take pleasure in raiding my country from time to time, and they're usually lead by one or two Demons. Those guys are major, the most powerful monstrosities the Core has to offer. Trust me, we don't want to mess with one of them!" Everybody looked at the thief silently for a long moment. Gale blinked, and finally spoke first. "They can't be that bad." Then he turned to the moogle, curled up in Beatricia's arms. "Where exactly can we find this Demon?" he asked, receiving a horrified gasp from the others. "Y-you can't be serious!?" Cortez exclaimed. "Didn't I just tell you..." "We can't just let any Demons wander around here freely, can we?" Gale asked, not trusting to his reasoning even himself. But something inside him told that the Demon needed to be banished. The moogle whispered something. "What was that?" Gale asked, turning around swiftly. "It said that she lives in a pond", Beatricia told. "She? The Demon? Alright, let's split up to search for a pond. "Are you really out of your mind?!" Cortez raged on. "I'm not going to do any Demon-hunting! We don't even have a Demonologist among us...!" "Whoa! Wait there, buddy!" Logan interrupted. "Aren't the Demonologist all gone? That trade of magic is forbidden!" "Not in my country. Believe me, if we want to beat a Demon, we will need a Demonologist to take it under control!" Gale looked into Cortez's yellow eyes. They showed various feelings, but atopmost fear. "Alright, then..." he said slowly, turning to the others. "What do you others think? Should we go and search for this Demon?" [/color][/font] OOC: You do know who is the demon I'm talking about, right? Coldness? Female? Begins with "s", ends with "a", has a sex-disease in the middle? Yup, that's her. ;)

OOC: Cyriel, I'm going to let it slip this time, but in the future PLEASE WRITE FROM YOUR OWN CHARACTER'S POINT OF VIEW! You are Serisay, and you should write what [i]she[/i] sees, experiences, and how she fights. Otherwise, it is totally alright that she ran into the rest of the party at the sewers. Also notice that both Gale and Aster leveled up in their previous battle to level 6. I will post all characters' statistics soon, so there won't be any further mix ups. Do continue! :D EDIT: Here're the statistics to all of the 9 main characters AND Wedge and Beatricia. I will update this frequently, as I don't have time to finish this now (and also the statistics change often). But don't worry, I'll repost this to every page with updates. [SIZE=1][B]Gale[/B], the Mercenary (Sage) [U]Statistics:[/U] Level: 6 - HP: 300 - MP: 30 [u]Weapon:[/u] Gilventure (golden longsword) [U]Commands:[/U] Sword Art (use following moves using a sword): *Slam - damage with stunning effect *Power Break - decrease target's physical strength *Armor Break - decrease target's defense against physical attacks *Magic Break - decrease target's magical potency *Mind Break - decrease target's resistance against magic *Slash - damage all opponents with halved effect *Rasp - damage target's MP Paysword (boost attack by spending gil) [u]Support Ability:[/u] Counter Attack (retaliate when hit physically) [B]Aster[/B], the Dragoon (The (Sic) Shape) [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 6 - HP: 350 - MP: 15 [u]Weapon:[/u] Kain's Lance (dark lance) [U]Commands:[/U] Jump (leap into air to avoid attacks and cause increased damage when landing) Dragon Soul (tame a dragon and call it later to aid in battle) [u]Support Ability:[/u] War Cry (increase power and speed when HP is critically low) [B]Logan[/B], the Red Mage (inti) [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 5 - HP: 225 - MP: 40 [u]Weapon:[/u] Blood Sabre (red sabre) [U]Commands:[/U] Red Magic (cast following offensive and defensive spells): *Fire *Blizzard *Thunder *Water *Poison *Doom *Cure *Barrier (Protect & Shell combined) *Sleep *Blind *Silence *Life Magic Slot (use learned spells randomly with double power) [u]Support Ability:[/u] Element Eater (absorb fire-, ice- and thunder-elemental attacks) [B]Biggs[/B], the Gagdeteer (Zidargh) [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 4 - HP: 220 - MP: 0 [u]Weapon:[/u] Mavericks (duel gloves)/Rifle (long range gun) [U]Commands:[/U] Blitz (perform combined attack using either gloves or a gun) Go Wedge! (call Wedge to aid in battle) [u]Support Ability:[/u] Sentinel (sometimes Wedge comes to block enemy's attack) [B]Wedge[/B], the Droid (Zidargh) [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 4 - HP: 275 - MP: 5 [u]Weapon:[/u] N/A [U]Commands:[/U] Rocket Fist (attack with blasting effect) Recharge (restore HP) [u]Support Ability:[/u] N/A [B]Serisay[/B], the Guardian (Cyriel) [U]Statistics:[/U] Level ? - HP: ? - MP: ? [u]Weapon:[/u] Twin Blades (two machete-type swords) [U]Commands:[/U] Paralyze (damage with stopping effect) Mimic (copy the previous ally's attack) [u]Support Ability:[/u] N/A [B]Cortez[/B], the Thief (Jokopoko) [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 5 - HP: 245 - MP: 10 [u]Weapon:[/u] Poison Daggers (knives with poisoned tips) [U]Commands:[/U] Steal (take items and gil from enemy) Distract (lower target's accuracy) [u]Support Ability:[/u] Alert (avoid getting ambushed) [B]Ascencia[/B], the Fencer (Arcadia) [U]Statistics:[/U] Level ? - HP: ? - MP: ? [u]Weapon:[/u] Briar Rose (thin rapier) [U]Commands:[/U] Lunge Art (perform special moves using a rapier) White Magic (cast restorative, defensive and holy spells) [u]Support Ability:[/u] Parry (increase evasion of attacks and spells) [B]Kaeli[/B], the Merchant (Wondershot) [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 3 - HP: 180 - MP: 50 [u]Weapon:[/u] Vajra (gadget with thunder element) [U]Commands:[/U] Spare Change (throw gil at enemy to cause damage) Dice (cause random damage based on a roll of dice) [u]Support Ability:[/u] Mix (combine items to make more effective one when party's situation is critical) [B]Rakurai[/B], the Fighter (Shanghai) [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 6 - HP: 295 - MP: 40 [u]Weapon:[/u] Kali-Yuga (rod) [U]Commands:[/U] Rod Art (perform special moves using a rod) Black Magic (cast elemental and status ailing spells) [u]Support Ability:[/u] Roar (decrease opponents' strength, speed and accuracy when HP is critical) [B]Beatricia[/B], the Healer (NPC) [U]Statistics:[/U] Level 3 - HP: 195 - MP: 95 [u]Weapon:[/u] Dual Staff (white staff that can be divided into two shorter sticks) [U]Commands:[/U] White Magic (cast restorative, defensive and holy spells) Light Prayer (restore a little HP to all party members without spending MP) [u]Support Ability:[/u] Critical Barrier (automatically have protect- and shell-statuses when HP gets too low)[/SIZE] You might notice that I made slight changes to some statistics and commands, the most noticeable is the change of Ascencia's ability "Fervor" to a more practical "White Magic", which involves all curative and defensive spells. Hope you're okay with this, Arcadia. Also, some of you haven't had a single battle yet, so I don't know what your character's level, HP and MP are. You can also PM me if you'd like to add/change any info on the commands, weapons etc. But as said, I will update this later when I get more info. (I will also fill in the blank spots when I have the time) *** EDIT: Yes, I used the copy-delete-repost trick to get this up to par again. Evil me. ;) [FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue]After encountering the strange invader the party continued onwards, finally reaching the slimy, gas-filled sewage system. "Any idea who that person was?" Logan asked Gale when they stopped to gasp some breath. "I don't care; I've had enough of dark-cloaked figures lately. I have to admit that she - if she really was female - looked vaguely familiar." "Not... Sade after all, was she?" "No, by all means! I'd recognize [I]her[/I] even from a crowd of hundred!" "Will you two be quiet?!" Cortez hushed snappishly. The Archane youngster had been shaky and jumpy during the whole journey through the tunnels, as if he knew they could meet death behind the next corner. "What is it?" Gale asked. The others - Logan, Beatricia, Aster and his chocobo, and Biggs and Wedge - gathered behind him. Ooze dripped slowly but loudly from the walls around them. "We are at the entrance of the last hall we need to cross. [I]If[/I] we make it through there, we reach the Weeping Woods." "I sense there's a 'but' belonging to that sentence", Aster mused. "Uh..." Cortez sighed, his face paling. "See for yourselves." The others walked to the mouth of the tunnel. It lead to a huge hall with brickstone-walls. It was filled with liquid that couldn't really be described as anything else but slime. Sickly green gas oozed from it, and from time to time a big bubble rose to the surface, only to explode a little later. "Absolutely utterly [I]disgusting[/I]!" Beatricia gagged. "We need to cross [I]that[/I]?" Logan asked incredulously. "We can't really swim in that... crap." "Well, there [I]was[/I] a boat, but... it sank," Cortez said with a shrug. "Why did you bring us here then?" Gale said furiously, grabbing the rogue from the cleavage. "I said be quiet, or..." the thief didn't have time to finish the sentence, as a mighty, deep howl rose from the pool. Suddenly the slime started rising towards the ceiling. Soon it formed three holes vaguely resembling eyes and mouth. "... or you'll wake the Boogie", Cortez finished with a desperate tone in his voice. The Boogie attacked them like a poison green tidal wave. [I]*Engaged in battle with Boogie!" PARTY1: Gale - level 6 - HP: 300 - MP: 30 Cortez - level 5 - HP: 245 - MP: 10 Logan - level 5 - HP: 225 - MP: 40 PARTY2: Aster - level 6 - HP: 350 - MP: 15 Biggs/Wedge - level 4/4 - HP: 220/275 - MP: 0/5 Beatricia - level 3 - HP: 195 - MP: 95[/I][/COLOR][/FONT] Continue from this, folks!

[font=Verdana]I noticed a certain lack of Final Fantasy avatars, so I decided to make four from FF12. Here they go:[/font] [font=Verdana][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=18101[/img][/font] [font=Verdana]Category: Final Fantasy (XII)[/font] [font=Verdana]Name: Vaan[/font] [font=Verdana][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=18102[/img][/font] [font=Verdana]Category: Final Fantasy (XII)[/font] [font=Verdana]Name: Ashe[/font] [font=Verdana][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=18103[/img][/font] [font=Verdana]Category: Final Fantasy (XII)[/font] [font=Verdana]Name: Fran[/font] [font=Verdana][img]http://www.otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=18104[/img][/font] [font=Verdana]Category: Final Fantasy (XII)[/font] [font=Verdana]Name: Balflear[/font] [font=Verdana]Hope they're okay...[/font] [font=Verdana][color=teal]Images hotlinked. -Syk3[/color][/font]

Heh, thankies everybody! :blush: I promise to give a shot at drawing other characters from FFLLCC as well. Zid, I don't know the exact hours I dedicated to the drawings, but I did all of them in two or three parts (sketching, inking, coloring), which each took from half to one hour, so do your math. ;) I know it's a bit quick, and some of them (especially Telle) even look a bit hastily made. (with her big giant head...) But all in all I'm very satisfied with these fellows. :D Wondershot, I'm not 100% sure if Gilventure was one of the names of the golden sword, but I think it is the best name for it. And both the name and the looks fit very well to mercenary's job (the sword will change when Gale changes his job). Any more questions?

OOC: Great to get this going on again! But inti, I really don't know where you got the idea that Beatricia knows Black Magic? She's done nothing but cast a "Cure" spell on Biggs once, that's all! Logan's the Red Mage, not Beatricia! I think she should remain purely "whitey", as she is our party's main healer until Ascencia joins in. Edit, please? :toothy: But everything else is totally alright with me, and I shall continue from this point on. And to those who don't know, the Waltzes are inspired from FF9 (where they were called Black Waltzes, kind of über-Black Mages). In this game they are so powerful that the party won't fight them... at least not now. ;) [FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue]Boco the chocobo carried Gale and Aster deeper into the narrow alleys, but all the time the Waltz was floating behind them, it's yellow eyes flaring. Then it came, as Gale has expected it would sooner or later: a dead-end. "Uh oh..." Aster said, his annoying smirk finally wiped off his face. Both men dismounted Boco, raised their weapons and faced their destiny. They were both so hypnotized by the horrific glare of the approaching menace that they didn't hear the rattle coming from the wall behind them. "Hey, have you lost your minds?! You cannot fight [I]that[/I]! Come away from there!" Gale spun around to see that a door had opened on the wall, and Logan was waving to them to hurry inside. Aster grabbed Boco's bridle and lead it into the dark tunnel. Gale gave a final glance over his shoulder to see that the Waltz had landed and was rapidly reaching him. It had already raised it's hand to cast some type of blaster spell. But it wasn't quite fast enough, as it's ball of energy hit the closing door that looked just like a piece from the wall. The spell made the door slam shut, and Gale was left in total darkness. "Hold on! My torch was blown out... There!" A fire flared, revealing Logan's wide smile. Then Gale started to distinguish other figures: Boco and Aster, and Biggs and Wedge, and then finally Beatricia and Cortez. "Are we all here? Good. Now, Cortez, where to next? Hurry up, since I reckon that Waltz will soon find out how to blast it's way in." "Uh..." the thief gasped, his face paling. "This way, to the sewers." "Eww!!" both Logan and Beatricia exclaimed. "Oh come on, ladies! Let's move on!" Gale said, positioning him second after Cortez on their little procession.[/COLOR][/FONT] OOC: I finally got a chance to scan this here: yes, it's Gale! (Four more original characters made in same style can be viewed [url=http://otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=38112][b]here[/b][/url]) [IMG]http://otakuboards.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=17966[/IMG]

It's been a looong time since I've been able to show-off my own original art, but now I'm back with brand new pictures - better than [I]ever[/I]! There're five characters which I've made inspired by the Final Fantasy series, mostly by the newest games. There are many elements in the pics I've borrowed from the games' characters, but I want to stress that NO direct copying ever occurred. Here are the characters explained individually: [B]Gale[/B] - a mercenary with blue hair and a serious attitude; he's the character I play in my RPG Final Fantasy Legends & Legacies at the Adventure Arena. Yes, his sword is very much alike to one of Tidus's swords - it's even named the Gilventure - but it is purposeful, and I'm not even trying to claim rights. ;) [B]Kiev[/B] - a red mage with magical guns (which my cousin thought to be hair-dryers :rolleyes: ). My favorite of the bunch! :D [B]Sierra[/B] - she's a dancer of some sort, probably a religious one. Her weapons are two balls, but despite their appereance those DIDN'T fall off a christmas tree! [B]Yuan[/B] - his job is bit of a mystery, but he's a vagrant of some sort. He has a loin-cloth that resembles that of Jecht a lot, but the details are different, so nobody can sue me! :toothy: [B]Telle[/B] - yes, a viera hunter! With garments resembling a lot Rikku's thief suit in FFX-2. But I really needed some inspiration on the clothes at that time - you wouldn't want to see the first version of her! So, here they are; all attached! You'll be probably seeing quite a lot of them in the future if you're going to participate in my RPGs, as I intend to use them as my characters! ;) Well, give me your opinions! Are they even any good? :smirk:

OOC: Alright, the survival of this game is now up to THREE people: if inti, Zidargh or Jokopoko won't post soon, my [I]precious[/I] (saying it like Gollum) game will die out! So... please? [FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue] "So, Boco, huh?" Gale asked amusedly, when he and Aster were racing through the empty streets of Miraclion on the Rosarian's chocobo. "I didn't give him the name, trust me. But he's a loyal steed despite the name - the most reliable chocobo in the whole stables of Camelot." "Not very fast, thoug, is he? With this speed, the guards will catch us by foot." "I highly doubt that. Go, Boco, go!" "Kwark!!" The yellow chocobo dashed to a run. Suddenly there were two City Guards on the street ahead of them, but Boco courageously ran them over. Then Gale realized that they had arrived to the main street leading to the Euphony Street and the Temple. They had made a full circle around the city! The chocobo seemed as astounded as Gale, as it made a sudden stop. There wasn't a soul in sight. "Alright, where to now?" Aster asked whispering. "We need to find the others. They must've found Cortez by now, and are probably on the sewage system too. As soon as we find them, we can leave this accursed city behind..." Gale's murmuring was interrupted by a ghastly, spine-shivering sound coming from the Temple's direction. The Euphony Tree was shining more brightly now, an eerie green light, more than just reflection of the light of the moons at the sky. As Gale and Aster turned their looks on the Temple up the street, they saw three glowing figures flying out of the dome. "What are those?" Aster asked with just a touch of fear in his voice. "Waltzes!" Gale gasped, as he knew very well what the figures were. "The Queen has released the Waltzes on us!" As he spoke, one of the glowing figures spotted them, and twirled down on them from the nocturn sky. It was wearing a long, black robe, and it had black raven-wings. It's eyes were two burning balls of fire. "It saw us! Now we really have to get out of here!" Gale said in the verge of panic. "Can't we fight it?" Aster asked, as Gale's nervousness spread to him as well. "Fight a Waltz? Are you insane?! Let's go already!!" Swiftly Aster turned the Boco around, and they rode it back to the narrower streets. But the Waltz was gaining in on them. [/COLOR][/FONT] OOC: Inti, Zidargh, Jokopoko... Save us!!!

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][FONT=Century]Gale and Aster landed silently several blocks away from the Templar Knights. "Let's not make this a habit. You're heavy", Aster said with a smirk. Gale rewarded him with a murdering glare. But he had to admit that he'd begun to trust this dragoon, that even though he had been on a mission to kill Beatricia, he was just fulfilling his orders - just like Gale had been. He realized that they both had defied their authorities, that they were in a same position. Only that Aster had a good reason for defying orders, and Gale did not. "Was that really your father?" Aster asked suddenly, as they continued to walk westwards on the dark streets. "Yes, I am the son of the mighty sir Armus of the Templar Knights. Little good it has done to me..." "I know what you are thinking. The common people think that us belonging to the nobility have everything in order, but carrying the responsibility is hard. My own father wouldn't be very satisfied with my current job as a freelancer for the Rebellious..." Aster ended his confession to a faint laughter. Gale couldn't even look at the man. Strange feelings boiled inside him. Had he found a... soulmate? "Hey! There they are! Catch them!" Gale was snapped out of his contemplations by two Royal Guards rushing towards them. Gale realized that they were near Jaide Palace, and the chocobo they were fetching. But first, they had to get rid of the guards they were confronting. *Engaged in battle with two Royal Guards* [U]PARTY: Gale ? Level: 5, HP: 232, MP: 25 ? Commands: Attack, Sword Art, Paysword, Item Aster - Level: 5, HP: 268, MP: 10 - Commands: Attack, Jump, Dragon Soul, Item[/U] [I]Gale and Aster were ambushed, so the Royal Guards had the initiative. They both attacked different targets, but Aster evaded. Gale, however was hit with a stunning effect. Aster used one of the potions they had received earlier on Gale. "Thanks", Gale whispered. Then it was his turn to act. Gale charged the Gilventure by feeding it some gil - not much, though, because his purse was rather empty. The Guards attacked again, both at Gale, but this time Gale countered. Aster used his amazing jumping ability, and disappeared from the battle. This startled the guards a bit, but they recovered soon, when Gale slashed the other with his boosted sword. The Royal Guard fell to the ground. This made the other guard furious. "You betrayed your country! You betrayed your Queen! Die!" But at that moment Aster returned from his aerial trip, and pierced the guard with deadly force.[/I] *Battle won. 100 EXP gained. Gale level up to LV 6 (HP:300 MP:30). Aster level up to LV 6 (HP: 350 MP:15). 1000 Gil gained. 2xPotion gained.* "Good work. And... thanks again." Gale muttered. "You aren't blushing, are you?" Aster said, lifting his eyebrow. "No!" Gale's embarrassing moment was saved by sound of somebody running with great speed down the streets. The two raised their weapons in battle stance, but soon lowered them as they saw who - or rather, what - the comer was. "I bet that's you chocobo, right?" Gale asked Aster, who nodded and rushed to meet his loyal steed. [/FONT][/COLOR] OOC: Sic, I'll leave it up to you to decide the color and the name of your chocobo (so please post quickly so I can post again! :sweat: ).

OOC: It's about half a day's journey from Port Junction to Miraclion. There is a wide and straight road between them, so there should be no trouble in traveling. I want everybody to notice this fact, though: there is ONLY one official entrance to Miraclion, and it is on the south side (the road from Port Junction starts there). This is because of the IMPASSABLE Soulflow (one can't even touch the water without the deceased attacking). The only other way to the city is the way of the criminals: they have built secret tunnels under the Soulflow, connected to the sewage-system. At this moment Logan, Biggs (&Wedge) and Beatricia are seeking Cortez, who knows the tunnels. Gale and Aster are distracting the guards, but they will later join the others (when the others have found the tunnels). On with the game! (And off with my perfectionism. ;) ) [FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue]Sir Armus approached his son like a thunderstorm. "Where is she? Answer me! What did you do to the Holy Heir?" Gale felt his heart racing as he confronted his father's thundering glare. "We are taking her away. She doesn't want to become a Queen." Gale wondered where he'd find the courage to say something like that to his father. "It is not up to her to decide, son - and it certainly isn't up to you, either! Now show me where she is, and I'll consider talking to the Queen, so that she won't punish you." The Templar Knights approached Gale and Aster, encircling them. The dragoon leaned closer to Gale. "I have a plan..." "I won't fight my father!" Gale gasped. "You don't have to do that. Just jump on my back." "What?!" Armus got frustrated. "How is it going to be? Will you surrender, or will we take you down? The girl cannot escape on her own." Gale glared him opposingly. "It's neither!" With a fast turn he hopped on Aster's back, clinging to his neck, and the dragoon bounced off the ground using his magical lance. The stupefied Knights - along with Gale's father - were left far below, on the ground. [/COLOR][/FONT] OOC: Remember, Sic, that you can't just jump over the wall because of the Soulflow, alright? EDIT: Attached a map of the northern regions of Mertonia. The tunnel the main party is going to use will lead to the Weeping Forest, which has blue-leafed vegetation, lots of ponds, and blue crystals rising from the ground. Please use this info when posting! ;)

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][FONT=Century]Gale looked at the four people - five, if you counted the machina creature - who had suddenly become his companions. Everybody looked at him expectantly - well, except Aster, who still had his amused smile on him. It was apparently up to him to decide how they would divide. They couldn't just all go after Cortez, because the guards would spot them at any second. They needed to split up. But how? The idea cleared up in his mind. "Alright, here's how we're going to do: Biggs and Beatricia will go with you, Logan, to find the thief. Apparently the machine... uh, Wedge knows where Cortez is. Beatricia needs protection from this Aster-guy, and I need somebody powerful to aid me in distracting the guards. Remember that Rosaria is to the west, so when you find Cortez, tell him to direct you to a tunnel leading to that direction. Me and Aster will head that way too, because Aster's chocobo is there - it might become useful during our trip. Is everything clear?" "But..." Beatricia said worriedly. "How will we find you?" "Don't you worry about that. Just go now, quickly!" Gale stayed behind with Aster to watch as the three humans and the robot dashed away. Then he turned to the dragoon, nodded to him, and unsheated the Gilventure, as the guards surrounded them.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue]"No! Stop it!" The voice was Beatricia's, coming from behind Gale. He didn't take his eyes off the metallic being's yellow lanterns, but the tension eased. Finally Gale gave in. "Alright, I won't hurt your friend, but you have to explain why you attacked us?" Gale demanded, but felt immediately foolish, when he remembered who - or rather, what - he was interrogating. [I]"Why am I talking to a machine?"[/I] Meanwhile, Beatricia hurried to the Astenian boy - Gale remembered that the machine-creature had called him Biggs earlier - and used a "Cure"-spell on him. The boy rose up slowly, wiping dirt off his clothes and bag. Gale turned to face him. "Go on, start talking!" Instantly the machine was between them. "It's alright, Wedge", the boy murmured. "I was acting foolishly..." "I'm deeply sorry - ", Gale replied sarcastically. "- but we have no time for foolishness! We need to get out of this city unnoticed, and unless your metallic friend can fly us all over the wall and the Soulflow - which I highly doubt - you are on our way! Now scram it!" "Tell him we know where his friend and the thief went!" Wedge said quietly to its master. "But Wedge... we [I]don't[/I] know that!" "Yes we do. Trust me." The Astenian just shrugged, and turned to Gale again. "We have some information I think you will find useful." Gale studied the grinning boy carefully. "And what's the cost?" Biggs glanced at his mechanical companion, and gave it a cunning wink. "We want to come with you." Gale was stunned. "But you don't even know us, or where we're going!" "We don't mind - as you can see, we're not from around here. And whatever you're up to, it sure sounds interesting." Gale sighed deeply, and then glanced at the Rosarians. Beatricia nodded approvingly, and Aster the Dragoon just smiled amusedly. Suddenly there were loud noises echoing in the dark and quiet streets: shouts and marching footsteps. The guards had noticed their escape! [/COLOR][/FONT]

"We fell for that [I]big time[/I], didn't we?" Rude commented, as the five of them were gathered in Turks HQ's conferess room. "Shut up!" Reno snapped. The man was sulking in his chair, sitting as deep in it as possible. "We all messed up," Elena said coolly. "And we have only ourselves to blame. We should have more plans, take more things into consideration..." "We're only humans, Elena", Rude said with a slight smirk. [I]"Speak for yourself, jerk. Humanity equals weakness."[/I] Elena noticed that she had lately had similar thoughts in an increasing amount. The supressed inner side in her said that she was pushing herself too hard, aiming too high, but she also felt that her life had no other purpose than to be the best - the lesson taught to her by her late father. Later, her icon Tseng, the former leader of the Turks, had encouraged these thoughts, but only after the mass destruction caused by the mysterious man Sephiroth she had begun to dream about a glorious future. She knew she was holding the keys to the throne of the entire Planet, but she also knew it wasn't yet the time to use them. She let her eyes go through all her companions in the room, pondering if any of them would deserve a place next to her - only one step lower, of course. But then the thoughts shattered as she realized it was still soon to think about such things. If she wasn't careful enough, she could lose everything before she even had anything. She regretted her foolish act of bravery earlier that night. What had she thought? Was she really ready to give up her life for the other Turks, a bunch of moronic hogs? Definately not, she said to herself. [I]Definately yes[/I], her inner thoughts argued.

OOC: It's great to see that you posted as well, Wondershot! Now we have all those who I approved in the game. And I even managed to fill the ninth spot: welcome Rakurai, the half human, half beastman martial artist, played by Shanghai. I'm so happy everything I planned worked out! :D Oh, and Wondershot, actually the Al Bhed language bothers me, since this isn't FFX, and there're no Al Bhed people (even the Astenian people aren't supposed to be like the Al Bhed). I'd approve it otherwise, but I really don't understand it, and it doesn't fit in Crescence, where everybody speak the same language (just to make some things simpler). You understand this, don't you? :) But keep that direction, nevertheless, I highly appreciate the use of imagination! *** [FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue] Gale opened the door of Beatricia's quarters a little to peek if there were any guards at the corridor. The entire fifth floor of the palace seemed empty, though. He reckoned that even the Royal Guards trusted him enough to leave him protect the girl by himself. Gale had doubts if this was good enough a reason to break that trust - not to mention the trust the Queen had given to him. "We're clear", he said to Beatricia and the man who both stood by the window. The man - who Gale still considered as an assassin - offered his hand to Beatricia. "I can help you down easily", he said. "You just have to trust me." "You expect me to trust you, even though I don't know your name?" the girl replied flirtatiously. "Don't forget he tried to kill you", Gale groaned. "My name is Aster, from the House of Blue Rose", the man said with a bow, ignoring Gale's remark. "Now, shall we get down? The yard seems empty." Beatricia nodded, and hugged Aster tightly. Aster put the sharp end of his lance against the legde, and leaped out. Gale rushed to the window. He expected to see both the man and the girl he was holding squashed to the hard paved ground, but instead he witnessed the man to land smoothly using his spear in a seemingly impossible way. "How am I going to get down?" Gale wondered by himself. He saw Aster asking Beatricia something, assumably if they should leave him up there, but Beatricia shook her head, and pointed the lancer to go and fetch Gale. In a moment the Rosarian was back at the window, this time offering his arms to Gale. The mercenary sighed, and tied his arms around the lancer. He wondered if the man would be able to get them both down safely, since Aster was over a palm's lenght shorter than him. But to his amazement they were down at the dark yard within seconds. The speed made Gale feel dizzy, but he quickly shook the feeling off. "This way",he whispered to his companions. Despite the late hours, light was still shining from several windows of the palace, and Gale wondered how long it would take for the Royal Guards to notice that they were gone. He led the Rosarians out of the palace grounds and into the sleeping streets of Miraclion. Even the taverns and Inns were silent, as all customers had either gone home or to their rented rooms. "My chocobo's this way", Aster whispered suddenly, pointing at the opposite direction than where they were heading. "But our destination's this way", Gale argued. We can get your bird later - maybe it will even be of use in our escape from this city." After about half an hours walk the three of them reached the pink building of Moogle Mansion. Gale hoped that Logan had managed to keep the thief Cortez captured, as he surely knew the secret tunnels leading out of the city, under the impassable Soulflow. Gale knew there were such tunnels, but he also knew that the people of the underground had complete control over them, using them in their illegal businesses. But the city guards were helpless, because the Church didn't want to take any action against the criminals for some reason. But Gale was going to make a certain criminal help [I]him[/I] that night![/COLOR][/FONT]

Great job, Shanghai, you're in! Your character has enough depht, but not too much to make him dull. ;) Join the game anytime at Adventure Arena - you have quite a lot to read there in order to catch up with the story. ;) The recruitment for this game is now officially over, so no more sign-ups!

OOC: Sic, you have read my mind - honestly! Well, I guess that plot-twist was kind of anticipated, but [I]still[/I]... wow. * * * [FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue]Gale faced the angry girl with precaution. "Good day, milady. I am Gale Godspeed, sent by the Queen to protect you..." he said, bowing his head. "Ha! I've heard about you! With you by my side, I'm sure to lose my life!" Gale blinked his eyes in astonishment. "Well, I guess it's better to just abandon this world than become a puppet queen for my aunt..." the girl murmured. "What, did you expect I'd be jumping in happiness because I got the 'honor' of becoming the Holy Heir? This is just a scheme my aunt put up to get hold of the Thrones of both Rosaria [I]and[/I] Mertonia!" "Excuse me", Gale coughed to cease the girl's seemingly endless blabbering. "Before you go any further with your ranting, could I inquire your name, milady?" The girl was clearly amazed that Gale didn't know who she was. "My name is Beatricia, and I am the niece of Lady Fuchsia of Rosaria, from the House of the White Rose!" "Oh, that explains many things..." Gale muttered. "Excuse me?!" Gale sighed, as he realized he was only making his next night worse. "Alright, I think we should move inside. It's not that safe out here." Gale saw that Beatricia was going to fight back, but he spoke before she could utter a word. "As your authorized guardian, I am responsible for your life with my own, and frankly I'm not willing to die because of a spoiled noble brat that you, milady, seem to be. So, prove me wrong and let me escort you inside the Mansion. It is getting late, and I advice you get some sleep because you have a long night ahead of you." The girl gaped for breath, but finally marched inside, grinding her pure white teeth. Few moments later they arrived at the door leading to the quarters reserved for Beatricia. She went in, but when she was going to close the door in Gale's face, he prevented it with his hand. "Excuse me, but I'm going to get undress." "Do I have to remind you that I am your personal guardian, thus I'm not allowed to leave you out of my sight even for a moment." The girl blushed, and Gale didn't feel any more comfortable either. But he knew his duties, and wasn't going to let an immature girl make him change them. "Fine!" Beatricia shouted, stepping away from the door. "Why don't you invite the whole Royal Guard to watch as well?" "With that attitude, I just might do that!" Gale snapped as he closed the door behind him. Again, they faced each other for a long minute, but suddenly Beatricia bursted into tears. "Huh? What is it?" Gale felt helpless watching the girl cry - he had a bad feeling that he had caused it. The noble women from Rosaria tended to be more sensitive type, no matter how proud they would act. Beatricia fell sobbing to the large bed with generous silk sheets. "I... I didn't ask for this! I can't do this! Why me, why did she have to choose me?! Just because I'm strong in magic?" The girl looked straight at Gale. "Tell me, why did my aunt put this weight on me? She knows I can't carry it!" "I... honestly don't know", Gale shrugged, not knowing what he should do. "Please, help me, Giles!" "Erhm, it's Gale, milady. But how can I help you?" The huge, sky-blue eyes seemed to fill Gale's mind. He couldn't resist them... "Take me away", Beatricia whispered. Gale was going to answer, when suddenly he heard a noice coming outside the only window of the room. He walked to investigate it, opening the window to peek outside. The quarters were at fifth floor, so he reckoned nobody was going to just bust in from it. He was wrong. With amazing swiftness, a hooded figure jumped through the open window, knocking Gale to the floor with his decorative lance. But Gale was well trained, so he was quickly back on feet. Swiftly he drew his yellow longsword, the Gilventure, and confronted the assassin. *Engaged in battle with Assassin* [U]PARTY:[/U] Gale - level:5, HP: 250, MP:25 - commands: Attack, Sword Art, Paysword, Item The hooded assassin charged first with tremendous speed. Gale got hit, but he used his "Counter" -ability to quickly revenge the attack. Then he made the "Sword Art" -move "Slam" to damage the assassin, and stun him to lose his focus. Gale charged up the Gilventure with "Paysword", spending 500 Gil to add extra 50 points of damage to his normal attacks. But the assassin amazed Gale by jumping to the ceiling by using his lance. The man hung on the wooden beams, outside Gale's reach. Gale decided to use a Potion to heal his wounds, but as soon as he had done that, the enemy landed on him, spear first, causing loads of damage. Suddenly Beatricia interrupts the battle by joining it. *End of battle; no items, gil or experience gained* "Stand back", Gale shouts to her, spitting blood. "No, wait! You are from the Blue Rose, are you?" the girl asks from the assassin. The man is holding his spear threateningly. "It's the crest on your cape that revealed it. Lord Rougan of the Red Roses send you, didn't he?" The man nods. "Yes. He sent me to kill you, Beatricia of the White Roses." "There's no need to do that. I want you to take me to him - alive, if that is possible in any way." The man lowered his lance in astonishment, but Gale was even more surprised. "Milady... That man just tried to kill you - in fact, he still hasn't stopped trying!" "I need to speak to Lord Rougan", Beatricia said to the assassin, ignoring Gale totally. "Can you make it happen?" Gale thought that it was the big, blue eyes that made the assassin nod. "I think I can. I have a chocobo just a little walk away." The man jumped on the ledge of the window. "Milady, are you serious?" Gale hissed to Beatricia, grabbing her by the arm as she was going to follow the assassin. "He can still try to kill you!" "Then come with me", Beatricia said simply. "What? I can't do that! I have a mission..." "To protect me. Listen, I'm not going to be announced as the Holy Heir tomorrow, no way! You can either help me or not, it's your choice. Just remember who you will have to aswer to, if you stay and I leave. You cannot make me stay, you know that too. So, which way will it be?" Gale cursed in his mind. How could he be driven to this situation?! Beatricia looked at him expectantly, and the man by the window studied him as well. "You're right. I cannot stay here. But we need to get some back-ups, if we are going to leave this city - remember that there is just one way out. Let's stop at the Moogle Mansion Inn, I've got a friend there." Beatricia glanced at the quiet man behind him, who just shrugged, as if it didn't matter to him. Then the girl turned back to Gale. "Let us be on our way then!" she said merrily, as if summer had just entered her world. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[I]Damn those SENTINEL ********![/I] Elena cursed on her mind as she stepped in yet another pond of smelling ooze. Tunnels were Elena's least favorite place, even though her job was described as underground activity. She was most comfortable in tall buildings, such as the Turks HQ. She wished she could be there that moment as well, just sitting on a comfortable leather chair, shouting orders through a microphone, with a slutty secretary fulfilling her every wish. She wanted to be... well, the best adjective she could find was "excecutive". But no, she was stuck here in slimy subway tunnels with four sweaty goons who had guns for penises and penises for brains! Reno was the worst. Elena glanced at the red-headed man with disgust, as he made yet another one of his arrogant comments. Rude, who walked some way behind him, wasn't much better, but at least he kept his thoughts to himself instead of blabbering them out everywhere. Elena hadn't formed much of an opinion on the two other guys, Van and Murisai, but they were both [I]men[/I], so nothing good was expected from either of them. But it wasn't the time to act just yet. It was still time to observe, making mental notes on everybody and everything. Elena Foxtrot was aiming to the top, and nothing could ever stop her from reaching it. *** [I]OOC: Heh, I wrote some seriously feministic stuff there... Wonder if I've found a whole new side of myself? Anyhow, don't worry about Elena seeming a bit one-sided now, she'll learn her lesson... ;)[/I]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][FONT=Century]"Hello there, sir. Is something wrong?" Gale practically jumped around when he felt a hand touch his back. This time the man who approached him wasn't familiar to him at all. First of all, the man - no a boy, actually - was clearly Astenian, and he'd never been to Astenia, neither he knew anybody from there. The boy was also with a strange mechanical creature of some sort. "What do you want? I'm busy, if you didn't notice!" Gale snapped. "We... uh, I just saw you and wondered if you were alright?" "Thanks for your concern, boy, but I think I'm old enough to take care of myself." Gale turned back and continued his walk towards west. Yet, he couldn't help overhearing the following conversation between the boy and his mechanical companion. "Uh, Wedge, why [I]did [/I] we seek him out? He didn't seem very friendly..." "He is important, master Biggs. Just wait and see." Gale shook his head. Whatever those two had in mind, he decided not to think about it any more. Instead, he had to focus on how to make it through the night. An unofficial Holy Heir was a perfect target for political plotting, the history proved it. It was certain that at least one assassin would attempt to change the future that night, and it was Gale's duty to prevent it from happening. Finally he arrived at the Jaide Palace, a big mansion - or a small castle - with walls and columns made of green marble. The roof was sparkling, and Gale knew it was because of the jade rocks embedded on the panels. The palace was the Queen's favorite summer house because of the rich and fertile garden growing on the back yard, surrounded by high walls. It was said that some of the exotic plants in garden were transported all the way from the Forests of Eternal Rains. There were two Royal Guards on the entrance, and Gale approached them. "I am Gale Godspeed. The Queen has made me the personal guardian of the Holy Heir." A wide grin spread on the guards' faces. "We know who you are", the other of them said. "Step inside. The Heir is waiting for you at the garden." Gale nodded and went into the building, only to reappear from the otherside a moment later. There he saw her, by a fountain, wearing a long, white robe, but her golden hair descending freely along her back. She turned, and their eyes met. Her innocent blue eyes were teary no more - they were filled with hatred.[/font][/COLOR] * * * OOC: I reckon there's more to Wedge than it looks, am I right? :smirk:

[FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue] "[I]Finally![/I]" Gale thought as the doors leading to the Room of the Thrones opened. He prepared himself, wiping off the last of the dust from the travelling, checking if his armlets and knee-covers were firmly fastened. Sir Armus appeared on the doorway in his shiny armor of white and gold, immediately shadowing Gale's worn-out clothing. Everything in the Knight Master reflected his mightiness and proudness. "Come", Armus said bluntly. Gale walked into the room obediently. One of the Queen's attendants knocked on the floor with his ceremonial staff. "May the Trinity bless Her Holiness the Queen Fuchsia of Mertonia, the Holder of one of the Three Thrones, the Highpriestess of the Trinity and the Protector of the Euphony Tree!" Gale walked forwards a few steps, then kneeling down, his gaze fixed on the polished mosaic floor. "Look at me, my mercenary", commanded a voice that was deep and warm yet cool and strict. Nobody possessed a similar voice as the Queen Fuchsia had - and nobody could resist it. "Look at me, and tell me why you have failed?" Gale lifted his eyes to look at his mother. She sat on a high throne, which was actually located between two similar yet empty seats symbolizing the two other nations of the Troika Continent. Her long hair glimmered in all shades of green - just like the Euphony Tree. The hair flowed from under the star-shaped golden tiara to her waist, and mixed with the bright red dress she wore. The pleats of the dress flowed down along the stairway leading up to the Thrones. The sleeves were long and pleated as well, but the front of the dress was wide open, showing more breast than Gale wanted to see. He did everything to avoid looking at the cleavage. Unfortunately that meant confronting the Queen's face. She was truly a beautiful woman: everything in her was symmetrical and streamlined. But in her eyes Gale saw something very different: despite the distance between them Gale could see the eyes glittering like two emeralds in a bright sunlight. The eyes were filled with power and magic, and Gale felt that she could see right into his soul. There was also something else in them, something Gale hadn't seen before, but he couldn't tell just what that something was. Trying to find an answer, Gale opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "Very well. I don't need any excuses. You were given a mission, my mercenary, and you failed. I authorized you to take any means necessary to bring me the Soul Reaver - dead or alive. Words cannot express my disappointment in you, and there is no reason I shouldn't slay you dead to that very spot." Gale gasped for air, but he couldn't take his eyes of the Queen. She had him under a spell. "However, I am willing to give you [I]yet[/I] another chance, as you have been such a loyal servant to me. Rumors tell that I'm becoming weak." Gale was totally taken by surprise. This was news to him; his mother, weakening?! How was that even possible! She wouldn't allow a sick people in the same room with her, even if he or she only had a cold! "The rumors speak the truth. My health is at balance, so it is my responsibility to name a successor for me - a Holy Heir. I have been testing young women all over Crescence for some time now, but tonight I have finally found her." Gale immediately knew that the Queen was talking about the white-cloaked girl. [I]"But why had the girl cried?"[/I] "But as an unannounced Holy Heir she is vulnerable to political tactics. I will officially announce her status tomorrow, after which she is untouchable by all laws, but until then she needs personal protection aside from the Royal Guard. I'm assigning you, my mercenary, to protect her with your life. The reward will naturally be generous if you succeed in keeping her safe and sound for this night, but if she dies, I expect you to be dead as well. Am I understood?" "Yes, my Queen, but... why me? There must be many better guardians for her in this Temple alone!" "But you are the only one I really trust. You won't betray me." For a short moment, the Queen stared at her son with compassion and... love. But that look soon drowned in the chaotic power of the eyes. "The Heir has been transported to the Jaide Palace in the western part of Miraclion. She is waiting for you there. The Guard will be informed of your arrival, and they will inform me when you arrive there as well. The Audience is over." With these words, the Queen rose up and walked behind the Thrones, disappearing between columns. Gale also stood up and turned to leave, but then he noticed his father approaching. "You have your orders, son. Go fullfill them, and don't you dare to disappoint me!" "But father... Did she really mean it when she said she trusted me?" "Her Holiness means everything she says. Now go!" "What about her illness? Father, I have to know!" Sir Armus looked at his son sternly from under his thick, silver eyebrows. "I can tell you that it is not in her body, but in her mind. To our luck Her Holiness is wise enough to act before the disease takes anymore control of her. Now, go already!" Gale nodded seriously, and walked out of the room, through the corridor and the central hall, out of the Temple and towards the Jaide Palace, where his destiny awaited him. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[FONT=Century][COLOR=RoyalBlue]Gale stood in front of the double doors leading to the Queen of Mertonia for the second time that day. He approached the guards, but before he could open his mouth to speak, the doors opened. The white-cloak walked out, escorted by a dozen Royal Guards. As the party walked past him, Gale caugt a glimpse of the person's face. It was a young woman, under twenty years old with bright blonde hair and big, light blue eyes. A tear fell from the corner of her eye. The girl and her escorts proceeded out of the Temple, and Gale turned to face the guards. To his surprise, there was another figure on the doorway below the enormous statue of the Goddess. It was sir Armus, leader of the Templar Knights. His father. "So, you have returned." "Yes, father. I wish to speak with the Queen." Armus studied his son's face, but his own face showed no emotion whatsoever. "I see. I'll inform her Holiness that you are here." The older man turned on his heels, and Gale followed him to the hallway. They arrived to another pair of doors at the end of the corridor. The two guards in front of it opened the doors to sir Armus, but closed them on Gale's face. Gale felt trapped in the corridor. He couldn't back away, but he couldn't immediately face his destiny. He could only wait. [/COLOR][/FONT]

OOC: Sorry for rushing on with the story, Jokopoko and inti, but I just... have to. ;) * * * [COLOR=RoyalBlue] [FONT=Century]Gale shook the thief, who stared at him with frightened eyes. "Spit it out! What do you want?" "Uh, sorry sir... I'm just a thief, I didn't intend anything - " " - Other than mugging us and taking our gil, right?" Logan continued with a smirk. "I [I]really[/I] don't have time for this! Logan, take him to the guards - I'm going back to the Temple." The thief panicked. "No, not the guards!! I'll do anything for you, but just don't give me in! I was just trying to survive..." The thief fell to the ground, his eyes teary. Gale felt something move in his heart. He knew how tough the world could be, yet his sense of obedience told him to take the man to the city guards. "Uh... I'll have to consider this. At least tell us your name." The thief turned his golden eyes to Gale. "It's Cortez, sir." "Alright. Logan, take Cortez to the Moogle Mansion, and [I]keep him there [/I] until I return." "Huh? Me? Why?!" Logan said astonished. "Just do it for me, please?" Logan glanced a pondering look at Cortez, who was still kneeling in front of Gale. "Well, I guess I can do it. But just be back soon, alright?" "I will", Gale promised with a nod. He left the mage and the thief behind on the alley, and made his way back to the Temple of the Trinity. The second trip there was no easier than the first, as Gale still didn't know what the Queen would do to him.[/FONT][/COLOR]

I have to TOTALLY disagree with you, Gelgoog! I bought FFTA not so long ago, and MAN was it a disappointment! Aside from the naïve storyline and shallow characters ("Bohoo, my hair is white in reality, and I can't return to my homeworld because of that!"), I've almost ripped all my beautiful shiny hair off when trying to tolerate the battles. The battles were: 1) way too easy - I beated the final boss in less than ten minutes without no problem whatsoever 2) freakingly frustrating - who enjoys watching battles with every second attack misses?! And not just your attacks, but the enemies' attacks as well!!! 3) oddly unbalanced: sometimes I got like seven people battling one boss, and sometimes I had three people against seven enemies - and they all had to be defeated! It's the game designers luck I'm a sucker for graphics - and all those races and jobs were neat! ;) But major disappointment anyhow... I haven't had much experience in RPGs outside the FF-series, but I agree that Grandia 2's salvation was its battle system. Otherwise it was way too short and easy (first time I got a Game Over was losing in the third last boss battle), but the battle system itself was really fun! The way the characters moved to the different sides of the battle-field, and how you could prevent the enemy from making its next move. The special abilities were great, too, although due to the shortness of the game, I couldn't get them all (it would have meant I'd have to go through the same areas and battle the same monsters over and over again...Gah!). Well, that game is in the past now, and I can remember with false warmth... :smirk: Dessie was right about the fact that usually those who adore the FF-series' battle system haven't had experience with other RPGs much. I fall in to that category, but actually I don't play games for the battles - I get my pleasure in them from the other sections. ;)

OOC: Inti, it's not a castle, it's a Temple, with a capitol T! ;) And please at least try to spell in common English, just for the sake of my understanding - you don't expect a Finnish dude such as myself knows all the words they say differently on the other side of the globe (meaning Australia?). Besides, your character is Mertonian, not Australian. :smirk: Well, great start everybody, let's keep this on! * * * [color=royalblue][font=century] Gale walked alongside Logan, his childhood friends. He had only seen him occasionally past these few years, ever since Logan started his apprenticeship. But of course he knew about the assassin Gale was after - there wasn't a soul in the whole country who wasn't aware that the Queen had been assaulted. In Gale's opinion it had been a rather foolish attempt, no matter how powerful Sade was, because nobody could exceed the Queen in magic. She was blessed by all the three deities of the Trinity, granting her knowledge on all the types of magic: offensive, defensive and restorative. Yet, somehow Sade had managed to escape, and the Queen had trusted him to capture the assassin... She had really trusted him... "You seem awfully quiet, buddy?" Logan exclaimed as they were nearing their favorite Inn. "Now can you finally tell what happened? How did the assassin defeat you?" "She escaped, alright?! She could've just kill me, but she decided to leave me alive with my shame..." "Ouch... So you were on your way to tell your moth... the Queen this. I reckon she won't be very happy. Oh, here we are!" They stopped at the door of a weird, two floors high house with pink walls, red roof and a sign with a drinking moogle above the door. "The Moogle Mansion! Wow, we haven't been here together for quite a while. Come on, let's go in!" "I shouldn't..." Gale hesitated, stepping back. "Aw, please! We walked all this way!" "No." Gale said, turning away. He turned just in time to catch a cloaked figure jumping to the shadows of a nearby alley. "What's up with all these cloaked figures?!" Gale sighed. "What are you talking about?" "I think we were followed. Come on." "What... Gale, what about the beers? Gale, I need beer!!" Gale marched to the alley, Logan hurrying behind him. Carefully he stepped forward. Suddenly the figure dropped on Logan. "Hey, get off!!" Gale grabbed the cloak, tearing it away from the assaulter. It revealed to be a young Archane man. Gale dropped the cloth and seized the thief instead. "Who are you? Explain yourself!"[/font][/color]