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Unity
Jul 22, 2005 1:11:00 GMT -6
Post by Kain on Jul 22, 2005 1:11:00 GMT -6
This will be an ongoing story I'm writing, that I'll do piece by piece in "chapters." It will cover every area of the game, so it won't be finished for quite some time (though I'll probably get at least the second part done in a day or two, if I can). I'm a bit long-winded, but I hope you enjoy this story.
"You have been gathered here today, warriors, to investigate the appearance of the Hunting Grounds and the Chaotics that have plagued our world for so many years," King Gregory IV of Dainan paced back in forth in the main hall, briefing myself and six strangers.
"You are to first investigate unconfirmed reports of an intelligent Vampire lurking in the Cathedral of Dainaria, my peoples' ancestral kingdom. Investigators who claim to have laid eyes on this being say there's a key of some sort to the Cathedral in the ruins of the town of Dainaria. In order to prove or disprove the reports concerning this intelligent Vampire, you must first go to Dainaria."
An extremely wealthy-looking man with short black hair and very dark skin stepped forward. Could he be King Toronious of Anara?
"Not only does Dainan support you, but Lirea, Anara, and Hassen do as well. This expedition is a joint effort between the four remaining kingdoms of our world. We have gathered the equipment and other supplies you requested, and we'll gladly provide you with anything else you may need on your travels." As a Daine, I had been taught discipline all my life (though I didn't gain the dislike of casual conversation and dry sense of humor that my people were known for), but while we were being briefed, I couldn’t help but study the six strangers I'd be traveling with...
There was a Hassite Knight, sturdily built, wearing a large, gray suit of armor with a Longsword at his side. His blood-red eyes were piercing, even when he wore his helmet. I believe he was to serve as our party's leader.
I next studied our group's White Mage, a Lirean woman with fair skin and long, golden hair. Her face was partially hidden by the hood of her white robes, but I caught a glimpse of her deep green eyes and apple-red cheeks.
The Black Mage that would accompany us was short, with midnight black robes and a pointed hat to match. I couldn't make out any of his features very well (save for his pointy nose), not even what race he belonged to. However, his eyes had a faint yellow glow, detectable even under the thick shadows of his hat and robe collars.
A stocky Anaran Fighter was among our ranks. He had dark brown skin and mid-length black hair that extended slightly past his strong, broad shoulders. It was obvious he had been through many battles; he had numerous scars on his face and arms, but he still kept a happy appearance.
The next member was a Ranger, who wore a flowing green cloak and light leather armor. He appeared to be from Lirea but had some Anaran blood, as his skin was slightly darker than that of most Lireans, as was his short hair. He glanced at me as I studied him, and I couldn't help but notice the animal-like rage in his eyes...
The last member of our party was a Dragoon, like me. Her hair, which was dark brown, almost black, flowed from the back of her helmet. She had a slight tan and thin pink lips, and her soft blue eyes were truly striking; I felt as though I could get lost in them. Judging from appearances, she seemed to hail from Dainan, but she didn't wear the colors of that kingdom (or any other kingdom). She looked so glum...I wondered to myself how someone so beautiful could ever get caught up in the chaos of the Hunting Grounds.
My thinking was interrupted by a slender, blonde-haired woman who stepped forward to say something...I figured she must be Commander Jorias of Lirea.
"You always have a place to stay in Lirea, travelers."
Lastly, a reserved Hassite, King Balosook, spoke to us. He seemed saddened by the issue at hand...he let out a short sigh and said,
"Please, find out all you can... May Nexus aid you in your travels."
With that, we were ordered to take the equipment we'd asked for and gather at the bridge to South Kreland. I saw the Guisarme I'd requested on a rack with the other weapons and reached for it, but I wrapped my hand around it as soon as someone else did. I looked up and to my right, and saw the female Dragoon that was to join our expedition. I guess she asked for the same weapon as I did.
"...You take this one," I gave her a smile and said.
She stared at me for a second or two, as if wanting to say something, and then she returned my smile and lifted the weapon off the rack. I walked past her and grabbed the only other Guisarme, which rested at the end of the rack. After I got the rest of my things, I met the party at the bridge that connected Dainan and South Kreland; I was the last of our group to arrive. The Hassite Knight asked us our names, and introduced himself as Luun. One by one, the rest of the party gave their names.
"Hello everyone, I'm Maria," the White Mage from Lirea was the first to speak.
"I'm called Vasarii," said the Fighter from Anara.
"...Hi. I'm Ezates," the Black Mage told us.
The Lirean Ranger said in an apathetic tone, "Dario."
"The name's Arthur," I answered as I looked over at the female Dragoon, who had yet to say anything.
"...I'm Victoria," she softly replied with her lead leaning forward, staring at the ground.
"…Now that that's out of the way, we should head for Dainaria," Luun thought aloud as he walked forward and motioned for us to follow him into the chaos.
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Unity
Jul 22, 2005 11:10:21 GMT -6
Post by Kain on Jul 22, 2005 11:10:21 GMT -6
Luun was at the head of our party as we made our way through the grasslands of South Kreland, with Victoria close behind; Vasarii and Maria were next, followed by Ezates and Dario. I was in the back of the line, frequently looking over my shoulders checking for any signs of Chaotics. In my left hand, I firmly grasped my Guisarme; my right hand stayed close to the hilt of my trusty knife. It was a weapon that had saved my life many times, yet showed no signs of wear. Our party was approaching the forests near the ruins of Dainaria when an order was issued:
“Wait,” Dario commanded. “Chaotics are close by.”
Luun stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at the Ranger. “Are you sure?”
“…Of course I am.”
Luun looked down at his feet for a few seconds, possibly recalling that Rangers are very in tune with nature. Or was he thinking of what orders to issue?
“Keep your guard up. Be prepared for a battle at any time,” our leader ordered.
The rest of the party nodded and drew their weapons; I now held my Guisarme with both hands. As we continued walking, I noticed that everyone seemed tense, even the usually-apathetic Dario. As we were about to exit one of the forests closest to Dainaria, the Chaotics struck, appearing seemingly from nowhere. Numerous Imps danced in front of us, smirking as they pointed their rusty daggers (stolen from fallen Investigators, no doubt) in our direction. Unnaturally large Spiders crawled forward, their fangs dripping with deadly venom. Finally, three Great Panthers, their fur, teeth, and claws stained with blood, leapt forward, ready to pounce. This battle would be the first test of our ability to fight as a team…
Ezates held his arms outward, palms open, and chanted something in a low voice. Razor-sharp blades of ice immediately flew forward from his hands, massacring a group of Imps and Spiders. To anyone who had never been in battle before, the large crimson puddle that formed around their corpses would have been sickening, but such sights were commonplace in the life of warriors such as us. One of the few remaining Imps lunged at Maria, but its attack was halted by Vasarii, who clove the monster in midair with his mighty axe. Luun single-handedly defeated one of the Giant Panthers, hacking and stabbing it repeatedly while avoiding its attacks; he was truly a skilled swordsman. Maria used Harm magic on another Giant Panther, and Victoria, seeing that it was weakened, ended its life with a single blow from her Guisarme. She was graceful, even in battle. I, along with Vasarii, finished the last of the Imps and Spiders. Dario was left with the last Giant Panther...he transformed into a Cougar, and slaughtered it. He quickly knocked the monster on its back and stood on top of it, digging his claws into the Giant Panther’s chest. The Cougar went immediately for the Chaotic’s neck, ripping its throat out. From that moment, the Panther was nothing more than a corpse, but Dario kept attacking it. It was as if he had no control over himself… Eventually, the Cougar crawled off of the mangled remains of the monster, and Dario reverted into his human form. He seemed…troubled.
After the battle, Luun ordered that we keep moving until we reached Dainaria.
“It isn’t far away,” he told us.
He was right. We trekked through another small forest, and then we finally laid eyes upon Dainaria. It was a horrible sight: a once-thriving town, reduced to nothing more than another casualty of the Hunting Grounds. We stopped outside of the ruins to prepare ourselves for the coming battles, and Maria used her White Magic to heal any wounds we sustained from before (I was glad Victoria hadn’t been hurt). After healing the others, Maria came to me and placed her hands on my face where I’d been cut by Imp daggers. She chanted some strange words to herself, then a faint light emanated from her soft hands, healing my wounds; in fact, I felt better than I did before we started the expedition.
“I think that’s everyone,” Maria told Luun.
“Then let’s go.”
Luun marched forward into the ruins, and the party followed close behind. I walked beside Victoria, whom I caught studying me with a faint smile on her face. As soon as I saw her, she looked away, towards the ground. I asked myself why she never said anything (and what she was thinking while she looked me over), but I couldn’t worry about it while we were investigating Dainaria.
And so, we entered the dead town…
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Unity
Jul 24, 2005 10:53:58 GMT -6
Post by Kain on Jul 24, 2005 10:53:58 GMT -6
Dainaria had been thoroughly destroyed by the Chaotics. Homes and shops had been reduced to mounds of rubble, and not even the stone walkways were spared from the destruction. The skeletal remains of the town’s inhabitants littered the scorched ground, and the few structures and pieces of furniture that remained were covered in dust, blood, and cobwebs, among other things. Spiders, rats, and other small creatures scurried about, almost as if they had conquered the area and claimed it as their own.
Luun had no idea as to where we’d start looking for this key (and neither did any of us), so it was decided that we’d start from the entrance of the dead town, and work our way back. We hadn’t even begun our investigation when Ezates spotted a figure approaching us.
He pointed northeast of our location and said, “...I think there’s something there.”
We all stopped what we were doing and peered out past one of the few buildings that was still standing (it seemed to be a shop), and saw what appeared to be a woman…but we soon realized the woman wasn’t quite…human. Most of the skin on her face, arms, and legs had been flayed, and what little was left swayed back and forth as she staggered towards us. Her tattered and torn garments appeared to be forest green, though they were now covered in dried blood. She had several deep claw marks across her stomach, and something appeared to have bitten into her neck multiple times. The woman’s mouth hung open, allowing low moaning sounds to escape into the air. Others like her poured out from various places among the ruins; there were a few men, but mostly women and children. There must have been hundreds of them.
Luun pointed towards the entrance, and in his usual calm tone said, “We’ll have to run.” It was odd, seeing him act so calmly while the rest of us could do nothing but stare at the mob, horrified.
We turned around and headed back, but the creatures had already moved to block the entrance off; we had no choice but to run straight ahead. Luun trailed behind us, trying to make sure the rest of the party was able to escape them. Vasarii soon stopped in his tracks and headed in the opposite direction, towards our leader.
“Leaving him would be dishonorable.”
Vasarii stood side by side Luun, and they fought off any creature that staggered close to them. Those of us who kept running had no place to go except for a small building in the upper-left section of the town; the rest of the areas were blocked off by the Chaotics. As soon as we entered, I immediately noticed a set of stairs leading to some lower level of the town. Ezates, Maria, Dario, and Victoria bolted down the stairs, kicking up small clouds of dust with each step. I stayed above ground.
“I’ll get Vasarii and Luun. Dario, protect the others.”
Dario looked down at the ground, then ran his fingers through his hair and replied, “…I’ll try.” He usually seemed so apathetic; I briefly wondered what about this situation caused this response in him, and then went back for the other two members of our party.
I could hear Dario’s sword being drawn from its sheathe as I cleared the door of the small building. I ran outside and yelled,
“Luun! Vasarii! Come on!”
They had been battling the monsters with little success, and immediately fled as soon as they heard my voice. Their armor didn’t seem to slow them down at all. Vasarii and I entered the building first, with Luun following close behind. The building had no door (it laid outside, ripped from its hinges), so we attempted to barricade the entrance with whatever was lying around—large pieces of debris, furniture, anything. We ran down the stairs, again barricading the entrance with whatever we could find. I didn’t say anything to anyone else, but I was a bit afraid we wouldn’t be able to get back out…
We rejoined the rest of the group, who were okay, for the most part. The only person who wasn’t was Maria; the sight of all of those undead women and children had caused her to begin vomiting. Poor girl… Ezates had been holding Maria’s hair back, and he stayed close to her, making sure she was okay.
“Are we underground?” Vasarii asked.
“…Looks like it,” I replied.
“We may as well search this area,”Luun said.
Dario leaned his upper back against a wall, his arms folded. “Tch. As if we have a choice.”
Luun shrugged Dario’s comment off and drew his Longsword. “Keep your guard up.”
We journeyed further into Dainaria’s subterranean level in the same line formation that we were in during our journey into South Kreland. I surveyed the area as I watched for signs of Chaotics. This part of Dainaria was largely intact, though still damaged by the destruction of the town. Judging from the large amounts of human skeletons lying on the ground, the sacks of rotten food and pails of stagnant water strewn about, and the almost maze-like nature of the area, this may have been where some of the townsfolk hid in a desperate attempt to survive… Whatever purpose this level of the town once served, it was nothing more than a mass-grave now.
We continued walking until we came upon a small room in the farthest reaches of the underground level. There was little about it that separated it from any of the other rooms we’d passed, except for one thing… Tick. Tick. Tick. A small brown clock hung on the back wall, apparently still in working condition. Luun cautiously moved towards the device, the sound of crunching bones signaling his every step; the party followed close behind. He slowly extended his arm to open a small door on the front of the clock. He gradually opened it, and when the door was fully opened, a peculiar green light poured out, and then disappeared after a few moments. Luun then removed one of his gauntlets and showed us an odd marking on his right hand.
“Could that be the key the king of Dainan spoke of?” Ezates asked, still staying close to Maria. Even now, she was a bit sick.
“…I believe it is,” Luun replied. He stepped to the side, and waved his arm towards the clock. “Receive the marking.” One by one, we approached the clock on the wall and had the odd mark imprinted onto our hands. I felt slightly stronger than before after doing so, for some reason. Maria even seemed less sick afterwards.
Once everyone had received the marking, a sparkling light appeared to our right.
“Hmm. …I think this is some sort of portal powered by magic,” Ezates told us. “It might take us above ground.”
“We may as well see where it leads.” We followed Luun into the portal. Within a second or two, we were above ground, near the entrance of the dead town. The undead creatures we’d encountered before had apparently broken through at least one of our barricades… We were lucky we made it out when we did. In all probability, the undead monsters were in fact underground, but we took no chances; we ran from the town and closed its gates to make sure the Chaotics of Dainaria couldn’t very easily follow us.
It was already nightfall, and we were all exhausted. We knew it was a risk, but we decided to camp out in South Kreland…
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Unity
Jul 28, 2005 0:07:36 GMT -6
Post by Kain on Jul 28, 2005 0:07:36 GMT -6
We found a suitable camping ground on the plains near the ruins of Dainaria, and decided to rest there. Luun wouldn’t allow us to make a campfire, for it’d act as a beacon to Chaotics, but the starry night sky along with the full moon shining down on us made it easy to see our surroundings. The heat wasn’t needed either, as it was warm and slightly breezy outside. Maria suggested that we sit down and get to know one another better (perhaps in some attempt to form bonds of friendship), and Luun thought it was a good idea, as did most of the other members of the group. We sat down in the grass; Ezates sat with Maria, Vasarii with Luun, and Dario sat alone, away from the rest of us. Victoria sat down next to me and gave me the same shy smile that I had already grown to love. She looked down at the ground for a few seconds as if thinking about something, and then removed her helmet and scooted closer to me. Victoria leaned against me, and rested her head on my left shoulder, and then took my right hand into hers. I was taken aback at first, but I responded by putting my left arm around her and holding her hand with my right; both actions almost seemed involuntary. I didn’t know why she was doing what she was doing, nor did I know why I was doing what I was doing, but…I liked it.
The group spent the next hour or so sharing various stories—why they studied under their chosen guild, tales of previous battles in the Hunting Grounds, those sorts of things. Vasarii was the first to share:
“I was born into poverty, and my family had trouble making ends meet. Often, other citizens of my land of Anara, even the very wealthy, would help my parents provide for our family. I saw their benevolence and wanted to repay their kindness in any way I could, so when I came of age, I decided to become a Fighter, vowing to defend those who needed protection.” Vasarii pointed to the scars on his face. “As you can see, I’ve kept that vow.”
“In Lirea, there are lots of people, including children. When I was younger, I really enjoyed tending to the small children that lived around me—bandaging their cuts, putting ice on their bruises, things like that. When it was time to decide what guild to study under, I guess White Mage was a natural choice for me.” Maria smiled as she spoke, and her apple-red cheeks seemed to get even redder… She was really cute in a sweet, shy way.
“…Losing our home in the caves of the Polar South was an event my people still haven’t recovered from,” explained Luun. “To this day, it saddens us. I felt becoming a Knight would give me the strength to explore the world and investigate; I felt a strong need to find out what happened to our planet, so that one day, the people of Hassen may dwell peacefully in our caves once again. I joined this expedition of my own free will in order to do that. I know there are lots of people depending on me—depending on us…” He acted as though he had more to say, but he just stopped there.
“I had seen the raw power of Black Magic even when I was a child; my father was a Black Mage. I became a Black Mage not only to follow in his footsteps and to make a tradition of studying in this guild, but because I had never been physically strong; I was born frail and weak. I thought that using my mind to harness Black Magic would make me powerful in my own way.”
Now it was my turn… I’ve never enjoyed talking about myself (in fact, I hated it), but I felt like I had to say something.
“I, uh…became a Dragoon because I’ve always been a bit of a loner, and this guild fit my nature very well,” I said, biting my lip. “I guess—I guess I’d just rather be left alone, on the outside looking in.” Having Victoria on my shoulder and her hand wrapped in mine didn’t seem to suggest that… “And, uh…that’s all.” I felt very awkward afterwards…and stupid. I just held Victoria tighter, closer to me, perhaps in some attempt to seek comfort.
A few minutes of silence followed my “turn.” I guess they saw how awkward I felt when talking in front of others…
“Dario, how about you? What’s your story?” Maria asked.
“Just leave me alone.”
Maria started to ask Dario again, but I think she knew she’d get the same response. She then turned to the only person who had yet to say a word: Victoria. She was still leaning on me after all this time, periodically resting her eyes. She seemed so peaceful.
“Victoria, what about you?” Maria asked.
Victoria didn’t say a word, but the blissful look on her face soon changed into one of sadness. She lifted her head up from my shoulder and looked at me with tears in her eyes; just seeing her like that made me want to cry, too… Victoria then wrapped her arms around my lower back and just cried on my shoulder. I couldn’t do anything but hold her in my arms and try to comfort her; I’d never felt so useless in my life. She was an enigma to me; I just couldn’t understand her at all. I wanted to help her, but I didn’t know what was wrong, and I was afraid she’d become more upset if I asked. I wished that if I did give her comfort (like her actions suggested), that at least she’d open up to me, even if just a little.
The rest of the party sat in silence for a few minutes, glancing back and forth at one another, and then stood up from the circle, set up their tents, and retired for the night. I guess they felt uncomfortable with what was going on, and decided to just leave us alone… I must have sat with Victoria, holding her, for at least another hour before she said anything.
“...Thank you,” she said, still crying a little. Victoria lifted her head from my shoulder and looked me in the eyes, placed her left hand on my cheek, and gave me a soft kiss on my lips. I could feel my heart beating faster as she did so…it felt incredible. I still remember what it felt like the very first time her soft lips were pressed against mine… Victoria stood up and walked away.
“...See you in the morning.” She set up her tent and went to sleep.
I thought to myself, “…So that’s it, huh? No explanation?” …She was really hard to figure out. I stood up, the last member of the now-broken circle, and set up my tent and slept.
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