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Final Fantasy Epic Chapter 1; The First Canto
Topic Started: Apr 13 2008, 11:47 PM (19,844 Views)
AmuroNT1
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The man who destroys worlds and creates worlds
Museum Refugee
The sky over Agol, the capital city of Zamas, was a pale blue, dotted with thin clouds that did nothing to block the bright Astrum sun that shone down upon all as irrevocable proof that winter's cold bite had receeded for another year. The streets of the city were modestly busy, as women shopped for food, children chased one another with wooden swords and shields, and old men enjoyed the beautiful day and the turn of the seasons.

In the middle of town square stood a weather-beaten gray fountain, a lion at the top roaring out a stream of crystal clear water. The fountain was a popular attraction for the citizens, many copper Zen and the occasional silver Kol shining at the bottom as a testament to the hopeful wishes of those who frequented the plaza. Today, however, there was something new. A wooden signboard, standing before what was generally considered to be the front of the fountain, with a piece of parchment pasted to it. It read in slightly large letters:

Quote:
 
Those who wish to answer the King's call to defend Zamas against the ravening horde of Goblins who menace our southern lands, please come to the barracks at the edge of town.


The barracks themselves were sturdy wooden buildings, usually bustling with soldiers and militia training themselves and maintaining their equipment, were today dark and silent. Outside the fence that marked the perimeter of the area, a low platform had been erected; on it stood several barrels, as well as a number of men and women who gazed out at the rabble before them.

The crowd consisted of people from all walks of life: warriors, thieves, mages, clerics, scouts...but they all had one thing in common: they were mercenaries. Sellswords. Soldiers of fortune. And today, more than ever, Zamas needed every one of them.

A large man, clad in brilliant bronze armor and wielding a massive battleaxe, strode to the front of the platform. The azure cloak that trailed off his broad shoulders bore the crest of Zamas, as well as a silver cluster of oak leaves on the collar, marking him as a lieutenant.

"Attention!" cried the big man, his voice matching his stature. "Attention, all of you!"
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Yoshi6400
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Azure Dreadking
A young woman stood amongst the crowd, with the telltale robes of a White Mage and a large two-handed hammer to her side. With the robe's hood back, her long blue hair flowed down her back. Her name? Lufia Arcsys - White Mage for hire.

As the crowd gathered, Lufia felt a bit of uneasiness seeing all the new faces and wide variety of jobs. She also felt a great excitement for the big job opening before her.

When the man in bronze stepped up, she drew full attention and awaited his words.
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The Golux
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Part Magician, Part Logician, Part Idiot

The figure wrapped in the red cloak, leaning against the fence, pulled the wide-brimmed hat down over her head. Dani Coulter was not trying to be standoffish; she was simply trying to avoid the woman who had shown up the night before.

Having Artesia as a roommate at the academy was bad enough; I really don't want to travel with her, she thought. luckily, this job'll give me a chance to get away from this town. My business was doing lousy anyway... She looked around again for the white and red dress that Artesia wore. As much as she'd protested, her outfit really did make her look like a traveler, but that was advantageous when it came to blending into a crowd - far more so than a custom-sewn cross between a dancer's outfit and white mage robes. So the odds were in her favor.

Then the bronze-armored man on the stage spoke up, and she turned to give him her attention.
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Kayurin
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Almost as good as Lowe ^_^
"Well I suppose I can use this as a good experience..." The young Kailan thought into his mind before adding... "Not that the money will last forever, so it's time to earn something with honest work..."

Not that he considered slaying Goblins to be a real 'honest' work, but that was the only thing he was good at... Fighting...

Well no good as his brother, but still...

A cloak covering his armor, the boy silently waited for the man on the platoform to speak... His eyes wandering around sometimes to catch some interesting face...
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Xion Asuka
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"How many times is this now?"

Walking amongst the hustle and bustle of Agol, a blue-haired individual looked upon a small paper in his hands. On the paper was the image of a humanoid being covered in thick fur. After several moments, he heaved a sigh and tore the paper in 2, followed by 4, continuing the process until there were but small fragments left. He then allowed them to scatter among the winds before pressing on.

"Another legend that doesn't exist. At this rate, i'll expend what little gil I have on chasing meaningless fairy tales." he muttered, pulling out a small bag and shaking it. On a low ringing sound could be heard from it, putting him in a slightly-depressive state. "There has to be one legend out there with some truth behind it... And when I find it-" he began, before stopping among a large crowd. Looking around, he realized he had unintentionally arrived at the barracks.

"Come to think of it, there was a small notice nearby that fountain that mentioned a Goblin attack. Well... It's not a legend, but if it'll put money in my bag, i'll take it." the figure spoke, before turning to give the man in charge his undivided attention. The individuals name was Raidou Makoto the Third, wandering adventure and seeker of legends and other seemingly-otherworldly myths. A man who made it his mission to seek out the unknown and uncover it.

... And it wasn't going as smoothly as he had hoped. He pushed forward a bit, standing close to another individual with a cloak on him. There appeared to be a number of strange people here... He wondered if they were all genuinely worried about the town, or if they were just looking for some extra gil like him.
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AmuroNT1
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The man who destroys worlds and creates worlds
Museum Refugee
Seeing that things had quieted down, the Lieutenant nodded. "Thank you. I am Drill Instructor Bart Grimbal, in charge of training His Majesty's armies. Though His Majesty could not be here in person today, he extends his gratitude to all those who have answered his call.

"Now then, everyone form up into groups based off of area of combat expertise." He pointed a hand towards the barrel on the far left. "Frontline fighters line up in front of this barrel." He shifted his hand to the next, and continued on. "Scouts and rangers, like up at this barrel. Then the specialists, mages, and clerics."

After everyone had gotten to their designated position, Grimbal nodded again. Alright, each of you take turns and draw one slip of paper from the barrel in front of you. This will be the team to which you are assigned. Once you have your number, your team leader will assemble you, and then you will be free to move out."

(GM Note: If you want to be part of our group, then just have your character draw a 7 or 13.)
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Yoshi6400
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Azure Dreadking
As Lufia walked over to the crowd of mages, she spotted a familiar figure in red. Running over, she jumped forward and gave her friend a hug.

"Dani!" she said, "Wow, I didn't expect to see you here!"
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Kayurin
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Almost as good as Lowe ^_^
"Frontline fighter eh..." Kai looked all around to soldiers definitely more muscular and though than him... "Well I suppose I'm that..." Shrugging his shoulder under the cloak while moving to the barrel to take his draft...

"It's like a lottery..." He said looking to the number a 13...

"Lucky..."
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The Golux
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Part Magician, Part Logician, Part Idiot

"Lu...Lufia?" Dani moved back slightly under the glomp. "Wow, you gave me a start there... I thought you were Art." She looked around again, double-checking. "So, what have you been up to since the academy?" There were several people ahead of them in line, so they had a few minutes to talk.
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Raxtenko
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The Maleficent

Wonderful. Looks like two of them already know each other, Sendis thought to herself as she sauntered over to the barrel and plucked a number out dantily. She looked at the '7' in her armour clad hand and nodded. Clutching her fist tightly she waited for everyone else to draw a number.
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Yoshi6400
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Azure Dreadking
"Ah, I've mainly been traveling around doing this healer for hire work," Lufia replied, letting go of her friend, "It's nice, but there not very much action in it though... Most of the jobs I've gotten were when I passed through some villages that could not afford their own designated White Mage."

"So, she's here too?" she then said, glancing around along with Dani.
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The Golux
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Part Magician, Part Logician, Part Idiot

"Yeah, she caught up with me last night. I was looking for a way to get out of town anyway - I've been selling potions and scrolls in the marketplace, but it's not very lucrative, and the competition is a little too agressive - but the chance to ditch her is a big plus." Dani shook her head. "I'm not sure where she ended up staying last night, but she knows where my room was, so I'm not taking any chances."
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Yoshi6400
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Azure Dreadking
"Hopefully we can ditch her ASAP," Lufia said, her hand twitching on the handle of her hammer, "If I hear another 'Tablecloth' comment, I'll... I'll..."
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Xion Asuka
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"How many times is this now?"

"Line-up and pull out a number to see what team you get put in? hopefully I won't wind up in a team that can't carry their own weight..." Raidou mumbled to himself, as he casted glances all around to see the various faces. Some appeared to be muscleheads while others looked rather shrimpy... But then again, it wasn't like his own body frame gave an idea of what he was capable of. When it came his turn to draw a number, he reached down into the barrel and pulled a paper out.

"... 'L'? I was under the impression that letters weren't numbers." he spoke. As he did, the person behind him tapped him on the shoulder and told him to flip it upside down. Sure enough, it wasn't an 'L', but the number 7.

"... Oh. Sorry about that..." he muttered, before stepping off of the line. Pocketing the number, he wondered how many other people drew the number 7. Everyone seemed eager to hurry on with the number picking just to get right into the thick of things. Truth be told, he didn't blame them. Alot of them either loved to fight or loved money.
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The Golux
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Part Magician, Part Logician, Part Idiot

"At least she doesn't say you look like a man," Dani, replied, with a rueful half-smile. "She's just being petty with you, though. I heard the results of the physicals said your figure's better." They were near the front of the line now. "Anyway, yeah, she's probably sleeping in after a... busy night."
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Yoshi6400
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Azure Dreadking
"I hope so..." Lufia said, blushing a bit and pulling her robes together out of random habit, "Well, we're here. I hope we'll be in the same team."

Reaching in, she pulled out a piece of paper with the number 13 on it. She then showed it Dani.

"So, what'd ya get?"
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The Golux
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Part Magician, Part Logician, Part Idiot

Dani looked at her slip of paper. "Huh, also 13." She smiled slightly. "Well, that's lucky."
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Yoshi6400
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Azure Dreadking
"Well, since we know each other, we can work together better," Lufia said with a smile, "Kinda like back in the Academy when we were teamed up for some of those practical exams. Hmmm... Think they'll pay more for a better job done on the battlefield?"
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AmuroNT1
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The man who destroys worlds and creates worlds
Museum Refugee
When it looked like everyone had drawn their numbers, the warriors standing on the stage spread out and each raised a hand, calling out a number.

"Sevens, over here!" yelled a young man with chocolate brown hair, wearing knightly clothes and armor and bearing a shield with the emblem of Zamas' army on the front.

"Thirteens! Thirteens, over here!" This call came from a tanned woman with ribcage-length auburn hair who wore hunters' clothing and had an elaborate bow slung across her back.
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Xion Asuka
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"How many times is this now?"

Listening to the man call out the number, Raidou turned his head and began to walk over towards the man. This one seemed like he had seem a fair share of battle... But then again, appearances could be decieving. Looking around at the other members that began to join their group, he stretched a bit and took a deep breath before returning to his normal state of nonaction.

"Each more stranger-looking than the last... I can only wonder how well we'll all work together to get rid of this problem."
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Kayurin
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Almost as good as Lowe ^_^
"Here I am..." Kai moved near the woman, presenting the number to her...

Then he looked around waiting for the others that got into the team...
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The Golux
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Part Magician, Part Logician, Part Idiot

"Maybe a bonus of some sort," Dani shrugged. "We'll see, I suppose." She moved forward into the group standing before the woman.
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Yoshi6400
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Azure Dreadking
Lufia followed along, dragging her hammer alongside her.

"So, have you fought anything interesting since you left the academy?" she asked her friend quietly.
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The Golux
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Part Magician, Part Logician, Part Idiot

"Not really," Dani replied. "Mostly goblins and stuff, on the roads between towns." She scratched the back of her head. "Honestly, I'm afraid I'm going to be a little bit rusty."
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Kayurin
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Almost as good as Lowe ^_^
"Well at least we're getting chicks..." Kai thought before noticing Lufia's hammer... "Chicks with big hammers..." He added to himself in a less happy tone...
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