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Splintered ShadowsFollow

#1 Mar 27 2008 at 9:17 PM Rating: Excellent
This is a fiction I just started re-writing and expanding upon. It was originally going to be a Final Fantasy based story (not connected with any of the current games or anything, but incorporating Final Fantasy material such as the magic names and other things along those lines) but I decided to make it a stand alone story. I'm still retaining a Final Fantasy-ish sense to the material, so that it doesn't come off as being totally foreign. In any case, feel free to comment or criticize as much as you like, since that's why I'm posting it up here.

Prologue

The dark silhouette continued to dance about the wall from the flickering candle sitting on a stand by his bed; being the only form of comfort he had from the torrential nightmares pervading his body. A cold bead of sweat crept down his brow off his cerulean hair, followed by him jumping out from the sanctity of his blankets. The past week has been the same for him from nightfall to daybreak, a painful dream that grows increasingly severe the harder he tries to sleep.

For the last six days his mind has always created this same scenario; he leaves his house a few hours after sunrise, leaving for the port city of Zilh while carrying his brother's sword, which he called "Okanashira", after the legendary sea serpent whose bones, in fact the hardest known metal called trypasium, were sculpted to make the weapon. He had often walked that road before, yet still knew that it was indeed highly dangerous to travel it without protection. Often prowling the rocky summits that surround the small dirt trail is a rather large clan of primitive, yet highly vicious reptilian creatures known as Xovanian, who showed little hesitance to kill a passerby.

Walking into a small clearing that marked the beginning of the Kyl'sau Forest, he noticed a few yards away a young woman, lying unconscious on the ground. Rushing to the figure's side, he was immediately struck by her beauty; which could easily rival the divine spirits of the heavens, only to notice a few seconds later a pulsating silver crystal clenched tightly in her left hand. Quickly scooping her up into his arms, the boy became aware of an increasingly loud rumbling in the distance. Few creatures in the forest were of such size, and most would rather shy away from a human rather than charge mindlessly towards one. This left only one deadly monstrosity, the dreaded Py'yon demon, a creature capable of annihilating an entire legion of Dragoons, the finest military force that serve the sovereign of half the known world, Lord Kieun Vlorsutes the XVIII. He knew that there was no way for him to survive a skirmish with the Py'yon, so he quickly began dashing down the road, the reverberating splintering of the forest behind him growing ever closer, until he knew that there was no possible way that he could outrun it. Still, his sense of honor forced him onward, hoping that he could possibly reach the cave that had been a hiding place when he and his brother played together ever so long ago. Suddenly, the trees lining the dirt-ridden path to his right shattered as a lumbering form charged out, causing him to jump back in alarm. The monstrosity he feared, the Py'yon, was before him, its dark gray skin etched with the scars of several battles, but whether against men, Xovanian, or even the Py'yon was the least of his concern. All that mattered to him now was the survival of both himself and the delicate creature he held in his arms.

The beast rocked its head back and forth to throw the multitude of branches driven onto its horns, the twin bone-like protrusions arched towards its snout from their base above its eye ridges. However, these were easily dwarfed by the monstrous horn jutting from its snout, a dreadful weapon that could easily impale a Vinuun bull from nose to tail several times over.

Looking down at the girl he held, he realized that there was no way for both to escape the advent of this beast alive, and the choice that some others would ponder upon came naturally to him, his life would be forfeit to save hers. Rushing towards a nearly impenetrable thicket, he gently laid her down before unsheathing Okanashira. His brother's blade shimmered as the bright blue metal left its scabbard, but even with the precious bone of the sacred serpent of old gripped tightly in his hand, his chances would be slim to even survive.

Glancing once at the girl, he sighed heavily and turned towards the Py'yon, which returned his gaze with the darkest of eyes, those pools of chaos echoed through the warrior's mind as his grip on the sword tightened. Roaring defiantly at this new adversary, the abomination pawed at the soil with its left foreleg, expelling a cloud of dust in an unceasing manner. The boy quickly dashed forward, erupting from the smoky veil with his blade before him, tearing a trench across the beast's side before jumping away. The dreadful roar from before was instantly replaced by a shrill hiss of pain and anger as the Py'yon twisted about and whipped its tail at the youth, who somersaulted over it with relative ease.

Bringing Okanashira about, the warrior lifted his left hand, glowing a bright red as he concentrated his life energy into a volatile form; a deadly fire magic known as the Ennetsujigoku; the Flames of Hell. Dropping his sacred weapon to the ground before clutching his left arm by the wrist, he released the now gargantuan orb of flame towards the Py'yon, engulfing it in a cyclone of energy that spiraled towards the heavens.

Dropping to one knee, the warrior suddenly was struck by the beast, the Ennetsujigoku appearing to be nothing more than an annoyance to it, its tail snapping solidly across his chest with sufficient force to throw him against a tree on the other side of the road. Gasping for air while trying to push himself off the ground, he instantly realized that nearly all his ribs were broken, the pain so unbearable that he collapsed again to the earth beneath him.

Lumbering slowly towards his fallen foe, the monstrosity suddenly swiveled about, hissing angrily as its eyes fell on the girl, her light purple dress flapping about her body, as her hazel eyes falling gently on the silver gem now radiating sporadically. Attempting to shout a warning to her, the warrior, now pinned beneath the weight of the Py'yon's right paw, found that not an ounce of strength could be mustered from his dying form to say a word.

Suddenly, a beam of light erupted from the crystal, quickly lancing towards the sky before expanding outward in a radiating arc, forming some sort of doorway within the cloud surface. Never moving her eyes from the jewel in her hand, she suddenly turned her stare to the portal, screaming, "Ryuun!" Though he initially thought it a hallucination, the boy became in awe at the form that darted from the threshold she manifested, several silvery streams of light that slowly amalgamated into a single entity, its gaping wings quickly filling with air as it darted to the ground, landing before the Py'yon in a sea of tempest dust.

The dragon, or what he perceived as a dragon, was roughly about the same size as the beast which had released his body from the vice grip it had with the soil, but its body was far different. Its entire frame was encased in silver scales, which resonated with brilliance unable to be matched by worldly metal, and as such, created a streamlined shape, as compared to the hulking juggernaut that was the Py'yon.

Its tail struck furiously against the bare path as Ryuun unleashed a dreadful roar from deep within its maw, the song of anger and despair spiraling through it as if made from it. The abomination quickly answered with its own death cry, charging at this celestial summon with its snout horn bent low, only to be met with dead air. The dragon darted with unbelievable speed to his right, missing the initial charge while following up with his own, a deadly swipe with its forepaw, ripping a fissure across the beast's flank before using his tail to buckle its hind legs.

Much as before, the Py'yon screeched in agony, vainly trying to stay upright, only to be struck across the face by another violent blow from the dragon's forepaw; three crimson streams of blood flew from the monster's face as the claws raked through its flesh. Dodging the huge strands of tissue torn off by the silver beast's relentless assault, the boy suddenly found himself pinned beneath the hulking weight of the paralyzed Py'yon, the hulking body shattering nearly every bone in his own body as the dragon took to the skies.

However, not satisfied with merely maiming his quarry, the gray winged monster came about and opened its maw; the air between the jaws slowly began to warp and twist as it took on a bluish aura. The veins across its wings pulsated with similar blue light while the dragon locked his view on the Py'yon before releasing the pent-up energy over top its hide in a tremendous beam. As the charred skin of the abomination melted away, another, far more intense stream rushed from the dragon's mouth, incinerating the monster, and the warrior, instantaneously.


It is always in this moment that he awakens; the span of hours of anguish and torment experienced in a matter of minutes.


Edited, Mar 28th 2008 1:20am by Vlorsutes
____________________________
Lady Jinte wrote:

Vlorsutes' Negotiation Skill rises 0.2 points
Vlorsutes' Observant Parent Skill rises 0.3 points
Vlorsutes' Argument Diffusing Skill rises 0.1 points

#2 Mar 27 2008 at 9:20 PM Rating: Excellent
Chapter 1

Morning,

He stared endlessly at the wax rolling from the near dead flame of the candle, waiting and watching for the Krysna birds to signal the first rays of the sun. Then could he calm his nerves from the restless night before by practicing the art of fighting his father had taught him, the Houken Ryuu. Such a beautifully simple style to learn, but depending on the weapon of choice, it could be a deadly tool to one trained well enough. The siren-like call of the birds perched near his window seal broke him from his concentration on the candle as he quickly hopped from his bed, dressed in his now tattered work garments, and slung his scabbard over his shoulder.

Withdrawing Okanashira from its leather casing, he tip-toed down the creaky wooden floor of the hallway so that he wouldn't disturb his mother and younger brother; only to notice both sitting at the kitchen table as he made his way down the stairs.

"You ought to know by now Dhiyyut that we pretty much wake up when you do anymore", his mother said, smiling at him as she paced over to the stove before cracking a couple of Evamei eggs into the blackened skillet. "Care to eat before going out to do whatever you do in the morning?"

"No thanks mother, I'm not feeling very hungry right now", Dhiyyut answered as he passed by his brother, who instantly sprang from his chair to grab hold of his leg.

"When are you going to teach me how to use your sword?", the red-haired boy exclaimed, stepping back as he pointed at the bone-carved kabutsuchi.

"I'll tell you what, little brother. I'm going to put Okanashira on the floor, and if you can pick it up without much difficulty, I'll begin training you on how to properly use it." With that, Dhiyyut placed the sword on the ground and backed away, watching as his sibling rushed towards it and grabbed onto the hilt, only to find that lifting the weapon was nearly impossible.

"Brother! The sword is way too heavy!", the boy cried, falling to the ground after his third attempt to raise it.

Dhiyyut almost instantly burst out into laughter as he watched his brother fall on the ground for a fourth time with the hilt still firmly grasped within his hands as his face continued to grimace with determination.

"Before you hurt yourself, let me explain something to you. The Okanashira is a kabutsuchi, designed to function as both a sword and an axe, so most of the weight is positioned near the frontward curve, whereas a normal sword would have the majority of it near the handle. You could pick up the hilt easily enough, but you lack the strength needed to hold the entire blade up"

As those words parted from his mouth, Dhiyyut pushed the top of his boot underneath the mystical weapon as he kicked it into the air, allowing the fluid motion of his left hand to obscure its movement as he grabbed the handle and returned the weapon to its scabbard. Nodding to his mother as he pushed open the door, the warrior stepped out onto the land surrounding the base of Mount Irysts, the second largest mountain on the Shikorno continent.

The countryside before him seemed peaceful and quiet; the dew lacing the grass echoing the sun's warming rays as the teenager quickly swung the trypasium blade forward. The air passing over its metallic surface sang with its strength as Dhiyyut rhythmically and flawlessly executed technique after technique, each one more visually impressive than the last. Bringing the Okanashira to a resting place on his shoulder, he suddenly became a stream of disembodied light, reappearing several meters past a tree that fell asunder as he turned towards it in amazement. Never had he performed the Jikoku Seiken Ryuu so perfectly; either his speed or the force of impact would have weakened the attack.

Hardly letting this go to his head, the boy thrust the kabutsuchi into the ground and sat down before it, his eyes slowly closing as he fell into a deep meditative state. The murmuring of the insects, the rustling of the wind-worn leaves, the splashing of the Bokequan Falls; all became quiet as his mind began to leave his physical form. Suddenly, a sharp pain threw him from his dream state as he reached for the back of his head, feeling as a large area of it swelled up before turning around. Standing ten or so feet away was Lyeuntif, tossing a rock up and down in his hand as he grinned at Dhiyyut.

"All this training and you still can't tell when I'm throwing a stone at you! I hope your sword skills have improved more than your senses, or I'm going to win this duel just like the others", the older boy smirked, withdrawing an ornately forged long sword from the scabbard hanging off his belt. Lyeuntif, despite being two years older and quite a bit stronger, found Dhiyyut to be the only remaining competition within the confines of the Mist Valley, but no matter how hard he trained, Lyeuntif proved to be too much for him.

Pushing himself off the ground, Dhiyyut grabbed the Okanashira and charged at his rival, watching with calculating eyes as Lyeuntif continued to leave his guard down like an amateur. Suddenly, the larger warrior thrust his blade forward and formed a thin stream of blood across the cerulean haired boy's cheek before having it knocked away. Jumping away from another thrust, Dhiyyut ran the back of his glove over the fresh wound before staring angrily at his adversary as he drew his kabutsuchi to his side. Closing his eyes, the wielder of the mystical weapon reached into the deepest parts of his spirit and channeled a portion of his life force into the gleaming blade.

Lyeuntif looked on in boredom for a minute before leaping into the air, each jewel within his sword glowing as he too fed his life energy into it. Quickly opening his eyes, Dhiyyut glanced up before swinging his sword in an upward arc, unleashing a powerful vacuum blade towards Lyeuntif, who hastily threw a larger bolt of wind down against it. When the two techniques collided, all air for a split second was drawn to the point of impact before exploding outward in a shockwave. Dhiyyut was thrown off his feet as Lyeuntif was tossed against a nearby tree before falling to the ground.

Watching as a stream of blood ran from his rival's mouth, the younger warrior, using the Okanashira as a support while stumbling to his feet, muttered, "When did you learn to use that technique?"

"Heh…let's just say that I saw what you were trying to do and executed it several times better than you ever could. Face it Dhiyyut, when it comes to swordsmanship, you're pathetic! This… Houken Ryuu that you use; it was created by a poor excuse of a warrior, and now his ******* son has taken up the same sword as his father did, only to bring further shame to himself and his family by using a style that was doomed to failure from the moment he created it!", Lyeuntif hissed as he ran his tongue across the length of the cut on his lip, spitting out blood soon after.

Suddenly, a torrent of light erupted from the side of his left arm, followed by a thick line of blood that burst outward from his bicep. Lyeuntif immediately dropped his weapon in bewilderment before clutching the fresh wound; his pupils dilating as he brought his gaze to Dhiyyut's now vacant position.

"Sokudo Seiken Ryuu. Be thankful that I swung at your arm and not your head for making that last remark…", Dhiyyut murmured as his feet continued to slide forward across the ground from the velocity of his attack, his body still rigidly in the technique's stance. As his momentum subsided, the warrior stood up and, looking over his shoulder, locked his stare on Lyeuntif, still shocked by his adversary's actions.

"You seem surprised Lyeuntif! This has been your desire from the beginning, has it not? You've wanted nothing more than for me to actually fight back, and now that I have, you're too befuddled to move", Dhiyyut said while pacing toward the injured warrior; the blood from his arm continuing to seep through his fingers as he fell to one knee.

"You think…just because you were able to…finally land a blow on me that you can think of yourself as my equal? You got lucky and were able…to strike me while I had my guard down preaching to you! If this were a real battle…situation and you had attempted…whatever the hell you called that technique, I would have sliced you apart before your blow landed!", Lyeuntif jeered as he staggered to his feet and hobbled toward one of the nearby oak trees before collapsing against it.

Dhiyyut grinned as his longtime rival continued incessantly to groan in agony whilst attempting to tear a cloth strip from his belt to wrap over the wound. Eventually though, the good nature of the youth re-emerged, as he quickly uprooted a small plant and, after handing Lyeuntif one of the larger leaves, began to squeeze the contents of the stem against the laceration. Instantly, the gelatinous sap began to pulsate over the wound in such a way that it forced it to close itself up before the acidic nature of the sap cauterized the gash. Lyeuntif immediately wiped the liquid off his arm before holding the leaf over it as Dhiyyut wrapped a vine around it until it held tightly.

"Let me guess…you taught yourself how to do that after all the injuries I've given you, right?", the older warrior mumbled as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Well, there was no sense in just bleeding out or anything, so I quickly learned what medicinal arts I thought I would need and went from there. If you want, I can teach…"

"You? Teach me how to treat a wound? I'll see you in hell long before I'd take lessons from you! You may have hurt me, and you may have dressed that same injury which you caused, but don't think that this changes anything between us!", Lyeuntif hissed, sliding his sword back into its scabbard before walking off towards Melknon, a remote village on the far side of Mount Irysts which has been his home for many years.

Sighing heavily, Dhiyyut turns towards his house before suddenly being bombarded by flashes of his dream: of passing the Kyl'sau Forest towards Zilh, of coming across that beautiful girl, and of his own death from the violent battle. Turning his gaze inexorably towards the immense treeline of the Kyl'sau Forest, the warrior glanced over his shoulder towards his home before walking off to confront his nightmare.
____________________________
Lady Jinte wrote:

Vlorsutes' Negotiation Skill rises 0.2 points
Vlorsutes' Observant Parent Skill rises 0.3 points
Vlorsutes' Argument Diffusing Skill rises 0.1 points

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