-Prologue-
Ten years ago
The legendary warrior and his companions
Defeated an evil threat
With the legendary Holy Sword
Evil and Mana disappeared
And the world was safe again...
Well, they say that time flows like a river
And history often repeats itself
But today...history will not be repeated
It will be created!
*Claude Augario*
Ah...Gold City...how I loathe this place. Who Am I? Why, I'm Claude Augario, only son of the Augario family. My parents...I don't hate them, but I don't agree with their views on life. They think most people that don't live here are barbaric and unsanitary. In fact, just about everyone here thinks that way. And I'm the oddball for not agreeing with them.
I'll get off this island eventually, just you wait! One day, I'll travel the world...I might even go on an adventure, one like the legendary hero...
*****
Gold walls, gold doors, gold grass, gold trees! A magnificent sight the entire island was...but not for Claude. This was everyday life to him, and he was sick of it.
Claude covered his eyes as they began to adjust to the early morning light within seconds. He peered through his window out at the city while blocking the still-rising sun with a hand over his head. The setting was the usual; gold everywhere and the inhabitants of the city bustling through the golden roads and pathways, twisting and weaving between houses.
Not a very big city; and not many visitors came to Gold City despite it being on the global "must visit" list of places to travel to once in your life. The attitudes of the island's inhabitants and its location gave a sense of isolation. And then there was the fact that the island was sinking...
Claude spotted a gathering of people near the edge of the island. "I wonder what's going on..." He dressed and headed down the stairs of his house...
*****
*Niko*
They aren�t going to leave me alone until they were sure that I�d shelter myself and my future family like they had did with me, are they?
�Please, we just want you to be safe. You know there are a lot of humans out there who are afraid of anything different from themselves.�
Stupid question� maybe if you two ever left this house and saw for yourselves, you�d realize a lot of them aren�t like that.
�Yes Niko, listen to your father, it�s a dangerous world out there.�
Not dangerous enough. Nothing ever happens here, nothing interesting, nothing important. Heh, if you think it�s dangerous now, I wonder how you would have liked it during the time when the legendary hero had to save the entire world from being destroyed.
�Niko? We know you�ve always wanted to go off and explore, go off on adventures and the like, but we just want you to know it�s not like you think it is out there.�
I wouldn�t know, I was never allowed to go anywhere without being watched like a hawk.
�Are you listening to us Niko?�
Well� I guess there�s only one way out of this.
�Yes, I know how you feel, I understand you�re worried about me. But I�m past that all now. I�m an adult now and I realize not to waste my life on some glorified grandeur trip. I�ve learned a lot from you two about this world. When I find a mate, I�m going to raise our children just like you did, so they grow up cautious and safe as well.�
�Aw Niko� we�re going to miss you. Please, promise you�ll visit us as much as you can.�
�I promise.�
Not for a while though. I love you two, but you kept me fenced in. It�s time to finally take hold of what the world has to offer! I�m going to finally taste adventure, do something important with my life. I�m going to be a hero someday� I can feel it.
* * *
It had been maybe two weeks since Niko left home. Most of that time he spent just traveling. He had made it to the lower lands by this time and had even visited a city or two. What he found had not excited him too much. Potos seemed to be pretty much a quiet little community. He couldn�t imagine anything ever happening there; certainly not the stories he had heard of. Although he had left in search of adventure, he wasn�t at a total loss. He had never been out of the desert for his entire life. He had already past most of the upper lands and had even seen Gaia�s Navel on the way. Niko was curious by nature, and he found himself almost in ecstasy roaming the forests, admiring nature.
As he walked, he thought back to the old days, when his friends would visit. It wasn�t very often, but the wait was worth it. The only time he could ever wander some distance away from the den, to play the parts of heroes and villains. They would play rough too; often coming home beaten and bloody, bruises and bite marks covering each other�s limbs. Niko took a particular liking to their rough housing, and eventually got to the point where he�d often be the one coming home in almost the same condition as he had left it. He was just getting really into fighting when he learned that most of his friends had gone off on what he heard (but what his parents assured him weren�t) adventures of their own.
Though the people were nice in Potos, there was simply nothing to do there. Though normally he would be ecstatic at the thought of making new friends, especially ones of a species he had hardly ever made contact with, he was looking for an adventure. He had left in search of any opportunity to volunteer himself for a quest, an expedition, anything. He had heard from one of the villagers that the Kingdom of Pandora was a pretty busy place. There had to be something there for him to get into. It was a long walk, but certainly shorter than the walk from Kakarra. Not to mention the fact that had he decided not to go, he would have never ran into them.
He had heard about them from another villager. Something about them coming from the �haunted forest� but Niko had never seen this place. Whether or not they came from this haunted forest, there they were. It was a group of maybe about 6 or 7 werewolves, and not the kind he had heard about in stories either, that were humans by day. Despite the fact that they were slightly different species, these were beings like himself! They�d certainly make good friends to travel with. At first, he simply watched them for a day, trying to work up the courage to talk to them. They seemed a rowdy bunch, but from what he had heard while spying on them, they seemed to lead quite adventurous lives. After the second day, he finally mustered up the courage to introduce himself.
Coming out of his hiding spot, he approached the group. At the time, they were lounging around, cracking jokes about each other, as they often did in their downtime. As each of them noticed, they all turned their heads and slowly became silent, staring at Niko.
�Hi!�
Niko�s greeting was returned by the same blank stare.
�Umm� I was just passing through, on my way to Pandora, and I noticed you fellows here and I thought I�d say �hi,� you know� us all being kind of the same� heh heh��
They continued staring at him, some throwing each other looks and raising their eyebrows.
�Anyway, I�m from Kakarra desert. I walked all the way here, just kind of been exploring, visiting towns, the like.�
One finally spoke up. He seemed to be the alpha male of the group.
�What are you doing here kid?�
�Oh, well, I left home looking for adventure, quests, anything interesting. My
parents never really let me wander and now that I�m on my own, I�ve been looking for action.�
�How old are you?�
�Well, I�m 17, and I..�
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by another wolf.
�He�s a puppy, haha!�
Before he could say anything in his defense, Niko was asked another question.
�You�ve never been away from home before?�
�Well, no, my mother even made me promise to settle down and raise a family. I told her I would but as soon as I left, I went off looking for adventure.�
�Wouldn�t want to make mother angry now would we?�
At one of the wolves� comments, the rest began to snicker. Niko wasn�t quite sure he got the joke but let out a single chuckle, as not to let on that he didn�t understand what was so funny.
�So pup, this �adventure� that you like to make so much mention of. Where do you expect to find it?�
�Well� actually� I was wondering� since you seem like you lead interesting lifestyles� and since we�re kind of the same� Could.. you take me with you?�
The werewolves looked at each other, as if contemplating whether or not to agree to his request. Suddenly, they all broke out into wild laughter, leaving Niko a bit confused.
�[i]You[/i] want to come with [i]us?[/i]�
Niko looked down at his feet as he answered.
�Well� yeah.�
A second burst of laughter sounded, even louder than the first. Another wolf struggled to speak through his hysteria.
�Do you even realize there isn�t even a need for heroes anymore? I mean ever since..�
�Wait!�
The alpha male spoke up again, quieting down the group.
�Sure, you can come with us.�
Niko was elated.
�Really?! I can!�
The other wolves began to crowd the head and whisper to him.
�What are you doing?! We can�t drag some kid around!�
�Hey, we can use an errand boy. And if he acts up, we�ll dump him on the side of the road.�
He turned back to Niko and spoke up again.
�Welcome to the pack!�
*****
*Bade London*
"*Sigh* What in the name of the Goddess herself are we going to do, the villagers are dropping faster then flies" sighed the Mayor to himself as he had so many times before. "The last visitor here said he would try his best to get that tail, but I doubt he will be capable of it. If only there was anyone left with enough will and strength to make the journey out into the world and find one�" He was standing outside in front of the now very dry watering hole.
A small, sad, emaciated looking boy was standing near him, wondering what would ever happen to him now. This boy is Bade London; his now recently deceased parents had died during the horrible drought, which had so far claimed many lives. He had lived here in Kakkara Village for his whole seven years of life, and never before been so alone. Clenching a flute in his small hand, he too stares into the now very dry watering hole, which should have still been providing the sustaining liquid of life, which would allow his parents to still be alive. As he stares into it's very empty he reminisces on the past�
********************************************************
His father was once the lead hunter in the small village. Always having lived a happy life Bade never worried about a thing. He simply lived his days by running around with the other young boys, never a care in the world.
"Bade come in, your father's just returned at it is dinner time!" Yelled his mother from the door of their little house. Bade reluctantly pulled himself from playing and went to eat with his family.
"Game is becoming a little more rare, it's harder to hunt these days." Bade's father said to those around him at the dinner table. "It is this damned drought, everything is dieing. If we aren't careful this village may be in for some serious trouble. There is tell of a magic item which restores water to lands which are waterless�" Bade, not even paying much attention, never knew the significance of this until it was too late.
After dinner and going out to play with the other boys for a while, Bade returned to go to sleep that night. As he lies in bed, his mother played a tune he almost loved more then anything on her small flute. It had been a gift from her father, and was one of her most important possessions. The flute somehow seemed to be quite an important item to him.
"Mommy?" Inquired the boy, "Can I try the flute?" His mother hands him the flute and warns him to be careful, though it would be a bit difficult to do so with it's sturdy design. He blew a few notes and attempted to play a melody in vain. "Can you teach me how to play?"
After a few weeks of lessons he was able to play a few tunes himself, and had almost mastered the one that he loved so much.
The water soon ran out.
His father was first to go. He had been taken to bed for several days and suffered from sever dehydration. Bade could not imagine a death more horrible, and things were soon to get worse.
As the days went on, more and more fell. The boy was lost as his friends fell to the lack of water. Miraculously, he was capable of surviving off of the tiny stored ration of water he received.
Now his poor mother had finally fallen to the drought. He stared at her, as she lay unconscious in her bed. He could not understand how this possibly could happen to his mother. This person who had protected, clothed, fed, and entertained him all his life was now about to leave him.
As he sat beside her, she managed to awaken for a short time. "Bade�" she said weakly, "I want you to have my flute� I� I pray this fate does not happen to you� I did not raise you so, so some accursed drought could take your life� you were meant to do more�" She passed into unconsciousness then and was never to awaken. Bade played a sad melody that night.
And so Bade has fallen to having a happy full life to having no one and nothing to look forward to in a matter of months. The next day he blankly stared as some of the remaining men buried his mother. He wandered about the streets afterwards, seeing or hearing nothing. As he wandered, he approached the watering hole where the mayor and an aid were standing nearby.
********************************************************
As the boy thought, a huge shadow appeared around him, blocking out the merciless sun so much so he could even notice. He looked upward and saw what appeared to be a beautiful white dragon, which made its way down and landed near the hole. A young man, woman, and what seemed to be a young short girl jumped off the dragon and approached the mayor.
Quickly the remaining villagers gathered around the sight. As he watched he noticed an extraordinary look appear on the mayors face. It was one of happiness, something he hadn't seen in months on anyone's face. He watched as the young man handed the mayor an item, one that the mayor was trembling at the sight of. He held it up, and Bade saw many faces light up with this joy as well. He hadn't a clue what was happening but the sight of these happy faces excited him. In a manner of moments the mayor tossed the item into the empty hole, spoke words that he could not understand, and screamed in delight as water suddenly burst from the hole. He and the rest of the village rushed forward and drank from the now plentiful supply.
The man, who he soon learned was named Randi and was apparently the bearer of the ancient and powerful Sword of Mana spoken of in legends, required no thanks but the village deemed him their hero and savior, even handing over one of the moogle belts which they were famous for. Even though he had lost his parents, at the sight of all this joy he was capable of enjoying himself.
********************************************************
Years later, Bade is taken out by the hunters of the village and trained in the arts of hunting his father was famous for. Outfitted in the garb of his father, he was always prepared to go on the hunt. He saw his duty as his life, he knew what could happen to people who are malnourished and never wished that fate on anyone. He never wanted to see his village ever suffer again, and he would die before he would ever allow it.
He became masterful at navigating the desert, and over time he discovered a mysterious, hidden place. It seemed to be a place where the world would end and a vast emptiness, seemingly full of stars would begin. He felt he was being called to the place, almost believing something was actually calling him. Bade just stood and stared into the abyss, but soon enough snapped to his senses and realized he had game to deliver, he could return some other time, and so he did, many times.
Many stories came into the small village about their hero Randi. Stories in which he had conquered the Empire and saved the world from the power of the Mana Fortress and even that he was a Legendary Mana Knight who had been capable of defeating one of the God's own warriors, a Mana Beast.
After years of his life as a hunter, once again the water seemed to be drying. The flow was dieing and a sense of fear was in the air. All could see the magic of the Sea Hare's Tail was fading. Bade would not allow the horrors to begin again.
"Sir?" inquired Bade approaching the mayor, "About the Tail�"
"So� you've noticed?" the Mayor interrupted.
"I doubt anyone could have missed that�"
"I've been hoping it had been my imagination, but many have brought it to my attention." Sighed the Mayor.
"I wish to go out and find a new Sea Hare's Tail sir."
"What? We need you for the hunt."
"There are plenty of capable men to take my place. I know and can survive the desert; you know this. I can manage through it and can travel to the ocean from where I can find what we need."
"I� It is your choice lad�"
"Which I accept readily sir" Bade said quickly and surely.
"The Goddess knows we need this� *sigh* You may go, we will provide you with what you need�"
That night after stocking up on supplies and resting throughout the day, Bade set off on a journey which would turn out to be more then anything he could ever imagine.
Randi, Secret of Mana & Seiken Densetsu � Square-Enix
New Testaments, Claude Augario � ClaudeLv250, Niko � Nikovich , Bade London � Dalamar86