I was replaying EO4, and like I always do, I created little mini back stories for my characters. The stories wouldn't leave my head, and I wrote them down. Now I've decided to share them all with you. My characters are-

Molly-17 yo Landsknecht, first female portrait, regular coloring, guild leader

Max-Molly's 13 yo Medic brother, second male portrait, regular coloring

Grace-19 yo Fortress, second female portrait, alternate coloring

Dorian-22 yo Runemaster, first male portrait, alternate coloring

Zarek-21 yo Nightseeker, first male portrait, alternate coloring

Gabrianna-19 yo Dancer, second female portrait, regular coloring

And any of the assorted NPCs in the game. If I add new characters into the guild, I'll let you know which portrait I use, and which coloring I use.

All that out of the way, I don't know how long I'll keep this going; hopefully I'll be able to finish it, but I won't make promises. I'm also terrible at deadlines, so I won't make any. Sorry.

Finally, this is a work of fiction, and EO4 and all related characters, names, places, etc. belong to ATLUS, and not myself. Criticisms are appreciated, and will be used to make my writing better. Please and Thank you!

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"Molly! Look, there's Tharsis!"

I looked up and followed the line of my little brother's finger as he pointed at the city we were headed to. It sat in the middle of a flat plain, below the rise of land we were standing on. It was walled, to keep monsters out, and much larger and more opulent than the small village we were from.

Max bounded ahead, and my eyes flicked around the area, worried about monsters even so close to Tharsis. We were so close to our goal destination, and it wouldn't do for one of us to get hurt now. Not that Max was useless in a fight, but he was a Medic, and a young one at only 13.

"Careful, Max!" I called as I descended the rise after him. Max's purple hair shone in the sun as he slowed and looked behind him, grinning, and his brown eyes flashing. Max may have been only four years younger than me, but he sometimes acted younger than that. Which was probably my fault, honestly.

Our mother died a few years after Max was born, from pneumonia, and our father had to work long hours in the field and garden, so it was left to me to look after Max. And I admit that I let him get away with a lot. He wasn't a brat by any means, but he sometimes didn't think things through. One of the few things he did take seriously was his Medic training and duties. I think that he feels guilty that Mom died, so he decided to pursue a career where he could help people.

Max may be my little brother, but we look nothing alike. He's tall for his age, as tall as me, and I'm 17. He's got Mom's violet hair and Dad's brown eyes, and I have Dad's blue-black hair and Mom's dark blue eyes. I'm stubborn and serious like my dad, and Max is just like Mom, free-spirited and always laughing.

I'm not entirely sure when I knew I wanted to be an explorer; I only know that sitting at home day after day, either married to a farmer or working my family's farm, holds no appeal for me. I wanted to go out and see the world. I also don't know what made me pick up a sword the first time, but since then, I've practiced the way of the Landsknecht. Dad was furious when he found out. I'm a girl, and the oldest. It's my duty to marry into a good family, and to stay home and raise children, or that's what my dad says. I'm not supposed to want to be an explorer, and most definitely not a front-lines offensive explorer. I suspect that Dad may have been more okay with it if I had been a Runemaster or Medic, or even a Sniper, which are traditionally women's jobs. But I chose a man's job. He said I shamed him, and my mother's memory.

So I left. I set out for Tharsis, where they hired explorers regardless of gender. I didn't know that Max would follow me, but I wasn't sending him back alone, and I definitely wasn't returning to our village to bring him back. Not yet.

So here we were, two teenagers from a tiny village, several miles away from the largest city in the Outlands of Etria, on our way to becoming explorers. Hopefully.

It would have been easier for me to get a place in a guild if I was alone. With Max, it would be harder. Sure, he was a Medic, but he was young, and had never really seen battle before. Even if a guild accepted both of us, they probably wouldn't send us out together, and I wasn't comfortable with being separated from my little brother, not in a strange city where we didn't know anyone.

I sighed, pushing the thought out of my head as I trailed Max. One thing at a time—we actually had to make it to Tharsis first, and then we had to locate the guildmaster.

The next few hours were mostly uneventful. Max and I walked, Max chattering on the entire time about all the adventures we'd have. We passed a few other travelers, but nobody talked to us, and we didn't speak to them. We even saw a couple of groups of explorers, and Max stared open-mouthed at them every time, until a male Nightseeker with long white hair glared at him. Max blanched before hurrying ahead. I sent the Nightseeker my own glare for scaring Max, but the Nightseeker just swept his green eyes over me before smirking appreciatively. I felt myself beginning to blush and opened my mouth to tell him to keep his eyes to himself, but one of his guild mates, a Dancer by the looks of her, inserted herself in front of him and gave him a simpering smile.

Scolding myself for getting sidetracked, I followed after Max. I didn't like Nightseekers. They were assassins, and relied mostly on tricks when they fought. They didn't respond well to authority, and usually only looked out for themselves. I sincerely hoped that the guild Max and I joined didn't have any Nightseekers. Or if they did, that Max and I wouldn't be paired with any.

Against my better judgment, I looked back over my shoulder after the Nightseeker. He had his arm around the Dancer, but his eyes were on the back of my skirt. I automatically reached behind me and pulled on the hem of the blue plaid, and he raised his eyes to mine and cocked an eyebrow, that arrogant smirk still in place. I turned and lifted my chin, walking to the gates of the city where Max was waiting for me. I tried focusing on what we were here to do, but I could feel the Nightseeker's eyes on me the entire way.

I must have still looked flushed, because once I caught up to Max, he frowned and reached out to feel my forehead. "You ok, Molly?"

I brushed him off. "I'm fine. C'mon, we need to find the guildmaster." We made our way to the guards at the gate, Max looking like he didn't completely believe me. I ignored him and addressed the guard. "Hi, my name is Molly, and this is my brother, Max. We're explorers, and we're here to speak with the guildmaster."

The guard sighed, not looking up from the papers he was reading. "More for the Yggdrasil exploration? Just go down the main road and you'll reach the Explorer's Guild. It's a great big stone building. You can't miss it."

I waited a moment more, sure there was more information coming, but when it became clear that the guard was done talking, I led Max through the gate.

"What did he mean by Yggdrasil exploration?" Max asked as he kept pace beside me. He was looking every which way, trying to take in all the sights at once. I pulled him back just before he ran into a merchant sweeping in front of his store.

"I don't know. We'll find out when we get to the Explorer's Guild. Watch where you're going." Max nodded, still gaping at our surroundings.

We made it to the Explorer's Guild without further incident, and walked into the large stone entryway. The guard had been right—the Guild was huge, and made completely of stone, unlike many of the buildings around it. Several explorers and groups of explorers were standing around the hall, talking, reading notes, or organizing their supplies. Max followed me up to the desk, and I asked to see the guildmaster. The receptionist pointed to a large, robust man with gray hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Stay quiet and let me do the talking," I told Max as we made our way over to him. He was just finishing speaking to a Dancer and a Sniper, so Max and I waited.

"… And I don't care what happened, he's your leader, and you need to figure it out with him."

The small Dancer piped up, an angry look on her face. "But he's demanding that she apologize! She didn't—"

"Then apologize, damn it!" The guildmaster's roar made me jump, though the Dancer and Sniper didn't so much as flinch. "I'm here to keep track of the guilds and their members, not settle dating disputes! You need to figure it out yourselves!" The Sniper burst into tears and buried her head on the Dancer's shoulder, who gave the guildmaster a dirty look and led her friend away. The guildmaster tugged on his mustache, muttering to himself.

"Damn the Count! This ridiculous challenge of his is filling my hall with nothing but hormonal teenagers and treasure-hungry nimrods! Not a decent fighter among them..." He seemed to realize Max and I were standing next to him, and he focused his laser-like eyes on us. "What do you want? More dating drama? Go ask your mother your questions!" He turned to leave, but stopped when I spoke quietly.

"This is my brother, and our mother died ten years ago. We're here to become explorers and join a guild."

The guildmaster turned back to us, something flickering in his eyes. "Are you now? What are you training as? Landsknecht and Medic, is it?" I nodded, not breaking his gaze. "Well, we could always use Medics, but I'll need to see your form, Landsknecht. We're overflowing with Landsknechts, and we can only take the decent ones."

"My sister is the best Landsknecht in our village! She's better than all the boys!" Max said hotly, glaring at the guildmaster.

"Max!" I hissed as the guildmaster shifted his gaze to my brother, who wilted slightly.

"She is, huh? We'll see about that. This way, lass." Max and I followed the guildmaster, who kept talking in his gruff, no-nonsense manner. "My name's Leopold, by the way. Go by Leo. I just need you to go through the basic motions and moves that you know. I'll be able to tell if you have any real skill. The kid here, we can get him in with a guild right away. Like I said, we're always looking for Medics. You, lass, if you pass, may have to wait awhile before I can find a guild for you."

Max gave me a worried look, but I shook my head. I'd bring up us being placed together once I'd proven myself. Leo led us into a small training room and took his place by one wall with Max by his side.

I dropped my bag and pulled out my sword, stepping to the middle of the room. I swung my sword a few times, stepping as I did so, to warm up my muscles. And then, I moved into my training sequence. Everything else fell away as I thrust and sliced, whirling and parrying against invisible attackers. One of the things that made me different from many Landsknechts was that I didn't stand still. Most Landsknechts stood and waited for the attackers to come to them; I chased the attackers, and I danced around them, making it harder for them to hit me. I could have been a Dancer, with the way I moved, but I wasn't made for support. I was made to be right on the front lines.

Almost two hours had passed before Leo roared "Enough!" I whirled one last time, slashing my blade down, then turned and made my way over to them. Max met me halfway with a bottle of water, but I waved him away. I wiped sweat from my brow and sheathed my sword as I came to stand in front of the guildmaster, who was perusing me from under his bushy gray eyebrows. He nodded his head.

"Well done, lass," he said gruffly. "You're a little rough. Not very refined, but that's to be expected if you're from a village. But you're better than most I've seen. I think we can add you right to the list."

I nodded. "Just one thing, sir." Leo looked at me. "Max and I have to be placed together."

Leo frowned at me. "I don't think that's possible. Not many guilds are taking one explorer, let alone two. And like I said, not many guilds looking for Landsknechts these days."

I crossed my arms, giving the guildmaster a level stare. "Max is all I have, and I'm all he has. We need to be placed together. If you can't do that, we'll leave." Max gave me a wide-eyed stare, and I almost expected the guildmaster to start yelling again. I was surprised when he sighed instead.

"I stopped accepting new guilds because I got tired of training every Jim, Dick, and Bob who walked through my door. However, you have some real skill, and you seem to have a good head on your shoulders." He tugged on his mustache again and looked off into the distance, muttering unintelligibly for a few minutes, before he looked back at me. "Get you three more explorers, and I'll register you as a guild. You can stay with your brother."

I blinked. I hadn't expected him to give me a guild of my own; I just wanted to be placed with my brother. "Really?" I asked stupidly. Leo chuckled.

"Aye. You've got talent, and you don't let people walk all over you." His eyes softened slightly. "You remind me of my daughter, you do. She didn't want no pansy girl job, either. She was a Fortress, stronger than most men."

I lowered my eyes, aware of the implications of him using the past tense. Such subtleties escaped Max, of course.

"Where is your daughter?" he asked brightly. I flinched.

"Disappeared on a mission. She was training new recruits for her guild, and they were ambushed. She knew the recruits wouldn't last long, so she sent them back using an Ariadne Thread. She never came home. That was almost twenty years ago. Most believed she died." Max looked horror-struck.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. Leo shook his head.

"Don't be. She was too passionate to die. Loved life too much. She'll be home one day." He looked back to me. "What's your name, lass?"

"Molly. This is Max."

Leo nodded. "Head to the Dancing Peacock. It's a pub down the street; ask for Kirtida, she's the proprietress. Tell her Leo sent you, and you're creating a guild. She'll let you know if there are any explorers looking to join a guild."

I frowned. "I thought explorers came here to join a guild?" Leo headed back to the hall, and Max and I followed.

"Aye, but many don't like when I tell them they'll be put on a waiting list. The Dancing Peacock is a pub popular with guilds, and some free explorers think waiting down there is a good chance to find one that's hiring."

"But you just said you had a waiting list," Max chimed in. "Why can't you just assign us explorers?" It was a good question, even if it was—as usual for Max—impertinent. Leo laughed, a great, deep, rolling sound.

"Inquisitive, are you? Aye, I do. But I've also told them that I'm not authorizing new guilds. If I pull a few to join the same guild, then the rest will know, and they'll all want their own guilds, the snot-nosed mongrels." The last part was growled at a passing Runemaster, no older than 11. The boy jumped and ran down the hall.

As we headed for the door, Leo stopped us. "Be careful. Society is slowly opening up more to women in more non-traditional jobs, but some people still prefer the old ways. And even some of the more open-minded people won't be okay with a female guild leader. A few men might even try to muscle their way into the leader position once they've joined."

We nodded and thanked Leo, and told him we'd be back before making our way to the Dancing Peacock.