"Looking back on history, most would say the coming of the Cataclysm was sudden and unpredictable. They are not entirely correct. A certain buildup of Mist was noted by the researchers of Draklor Laboratories in Archadia and their Rozarrian counterparts, this, coupled with the steady increase in the appearance of powerful elementals, spirits, vampires, undead, and various other such arcane beings, leads me to believe that the more supernaturally attuned residence of Ivalice felt it coming long before the residence of our civilized society ever realized what was going on, even if only on a subconscious level.

Regardless of the buildup, the first strike was beyond what anyone could ever have anticipated. One and a half centuries after the liberation of Dalmasca from Archadian rule, an unprecedented horde broke out of the earth in Rozarria; it was a legion of demons far beyond any the Rozarrian Emperor could possibly repelled, even if the demons had not made their entrance inside the empire, away from the well patrolled borders. The Rozarrians fell, and the land was overrun with diverse Infernal Lords claiming their own pieces of the conquest.

It was then that the second unexpected visitors arrived. Ships saw them arrive at the Ridorana Cataract. A mighty host of winged beings shining with holy light descended from the heavens and built up the ancient lighthouse as a mighty fortress. At first they were praised as saviors, but they soon made their intentions clear. They were not here to save us, regardless of our plight, the only reason they were here was to annihilate the demons, even if they had to kill us all to do it. Entire armies were wiped out when they got anywhere near an angel attack on demon territory.

This led to Emperor Solidor's decision to consolidate and build up his armed forces. As a result, Archadia now has the best equipped and most advanced military in the world with some of the greatest airships ever seen in service only half a century after the fall of Rozarria, far outstripping anything ever seen in history, though even it's forces were hard pressed to hold of the infernal beings. It became the safest refuge for any who wished to flee the expansionist and highly destructive battles of the numerous Infernal Lords and their less numerous but just as dreadful Angelic counterparts.

Nobody at all had anticipated what would happen to the less mundane residence of the world, like the elementals, vampires, and spirits. Some became mercenaries for Infernal Lords and Angelic Generals. Most others went their own way and some tried to establish their own territory for the first time in centuries. Small groups even assigned themselves the protection of the more mundane creatures, namely us.

After many years of constant conflict, the war settled into an unstable stalemate. Now, most of the Infernal Lords are contained in Rozarria. The Angels still patrol the borders of demon territory, but for the most part they remain in the fortress monasteries they have constructed, like the one on Mt. Bur-Omisace. Disturbingly, they also have started to target any being they believe could be helping demon. The white feather is as feared as the black talon.

The arcane natives of our scarred world prowl outside the walls of Rabanastre and the borders of Archadia, though I would be a fool to think none of them made it inside either. Some of these beings are friendly, others are not. Archadia remains the bastion of security for us all who are Hume, Bangaa, Seeq, Viera, Nu Mous, or Moogle. In fact, clans are frequently hired by the Archadian military for hunting just about anything that isn't Hume, Bangaa, Seeq, Viera, Nu Mous, or Moogle. With a depleted military, some cities, like Rabanastre, have actually had to contract clans for the majority of their defense.

Thus is the state of our world"

- The Musings of Nigmog the Magi

"Boy! Get up, it's nearly midday!" My father's voice had a volume and gruff tone entirely at odds to its high pitch. I awoke blearily and stared up at my ceiling with half lidded eyes. I groaned rolled over. Something blue shot through my open bedroom door and smacked me in the face and instantly I was soaked to the skin with ice water.

"AH!" I fell off the bed with a thud. How in hell did that man cast spells around corners? "I'm up, I'm up already!" I shouted. I think I heard a 'humph', but nothing else. I untangled myself from my sheets and quickly dressed myself. I had dried by the time I'd gotten my pants on. That's one of the perks of being half wind elemental.

That probably requires some explanation, doesn't it?

My mother was a wind elemental, a powerful one who took a Hume-like form. I was born the night she stumbled into Rabanastre. She died, but my dad took me in. He isn't my real father, of course. I doubt the crossbreed child of a moogle and an elemental, even one with a Hume-like appearance, would look like a relatively normal Hume anyway.

I stare at my mirror, taking in my appearance. My short wavy white hair, not actually as attention grabbing as you'd think here in Ivalice, was almost completely dry and provided a contrast to my lightly tanned skin. I peered closer to look into my mismatched eyes, one a pale blue and the other stormy gray, another of my oddities, and a source of much taunting as a child.

"Magnus, get down here!" My father's high moogle voice miraculously managed to rumble throughout the house.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way!" I shouted as I quickly finished off my ensemble and pulled on a pair of gray boots to finish my ensemble, a pair of worn black pants, a gray shirt, and an open dark gray kimono. I grabbed my gloves to put on later as I jogged out the door and nearly fell down the stairs in my hurry. My father wasn't the most patient man and I had no desire to get drenched again.

"Well? What do you think you're doing staying in bed so late?" And there was the moogle who raised me, Nigmog the Magi. He sat on a stool in the room that tripled as our kitchen, living room, and his workshop, which was one of the reason's I always try to eat most meals out. Aged scrolls, books, and arcane instruments were strewn all over his desk, the frayed colorful sitting room chairs, the wash basin, covering the nearly invisible elaborately designed rug, there was even one poking out of the oven.

A flask filled with a bubbling glowing blue substance that couldn't seem to decide whether it was gas or liquid sat awkwardly above a burner on his desk, the source of the room's cloying sweet odor assaulting my senses I assumed, and small scraps of food littered the desk's surface. I have no idea how he hasn't managed to accidentally poison himself or turn himself into some kind of hideous abomination in all these years. He seemed like an extension of the room, wearing a robe of mismatched bright colors in his disheveled manner and a small green cap perched crookedly upon his head. His gray fur made him look as old as the scrolls and books haphazardly scattered about, and he was old, which somehow seemed to make the piercing look in his beady eyes and stern scowl that much more intimidating. I had no desire to deal with it.

"I'm going out." I announced suddenly. I made an abrupt turn towards the door. He could be very trying on my nerves, especially right after I woke up.

"Stop right there." He snapped at me. Then he sighed and his tone softened. "We need to talk, the war has developed while you slept." That stopped me. My head whipped around. I was curious and perhaps a bit nervous, the war had been going on for over half a century, he wouldn't mention the war unless the it could possibly effect us at the moment or at least soon.

"You are aware of the Demon Lord who established Raithwall's tomb as his fortress?" He tapped the piece of parchment in front of him, I realized, belatedly, it was a map.

"Yeah, they haven't moved out of there in years though." I hated it when he forces me to lead into his answer, but it seemed to help his process.

"A force of demons entered the Westersands. Maybe just a scout force, I'm not sure, but the angel host on Bur-Omisace sent a skirmish force to deal with them. Nobody's sure what happened, some elementals must have gotten involved if the sandstorm is any indication, but, of course, because of the storm nobody can tell what's going on." I stared at him blankly. Skirmishes were anything but unheard of, why was this special? He sighed heavily at my look.

"This is the first time the skirmishes have occurred in our direction, boy. The point is, the war may be coming in our direction." Oh, that explained it, but he wasn't done.

"I want you to be careful, alright? We're... leaving for Archadia in a week." He blurted out the last part. I was stunned.

"What? Wait, this has been my home my entire life, we can't just leave!" I complained, he was overreacting. "We can't just run for the hills because some fight was in our general direction!" He stared harshly, but his voice remained calm, though it had gained a hard edge.

"We can't just wait for the next battle to be on our doorstep either, then it might be too late. My decision is final." His eyes softened in sympathy, "I know you don't like this, I'd like you to use the next week to prepare to leave... and say goodbye." He sighed out the last part quietly, I only barely heard him. Though that may have been because I was still angry. He pulled over a book and reached down for something behind his desk, signaling an end to the conversation. I turned to go, I wasn't sure where to, but I couldn't just sit quietly after that..

"Magnus," He said quietly. I turned and a blade thudded into the door frame six inches from my face. I nearly jumped out of my skin and openly gawked at him.

"Are you trying to kill me?" He had thrown a sword at me from across the room! I was not even sure how a Moogle could have that much strength, however, he only had a small satisfied smile on his face.

"I just thought I'd tell you that I finished engraving the runes, it should work fine now." He kept smiling. I blinked and took a better look at the sword. It was mine, the simple black hilt, gleaming reflective bladed weapon I had damaged weeks earlier in a brawl with a group of hunters. The blade had a pair of runes on it, one on each side of the blade, both signifying fire. They had been nearly scraped off during the fight. He must have spent most of the past few weeks on this to get it done so quickly and thoroughly. Which probably means he thinks I'll need it...

I yanked the blade from the door frame and gave my father one last mixed look.

"...Thanks Dad."

"Stay safe." He called after me, "And get some milk while you're out!" I could have sworn he was bipolar, but I guess this is his way of showing he cares. I opened the door and stepped out into the overcast streets of Rabanastre.

Note from the Author

Well I hope you all liked that, I promise later chapters will be longer. I intend this fic to follow Magnus as he journeys through Ivalice in search of his own identity. Your characters will become some of the biggest players in that plot, some may even supplant Magnus as the main character at times. So, without further preamble, I present the Bio sheet. Please submit BIOs via reviews.

Name: Magnus Cataegis

Nickname: Mag to his closest old friends

Age: 19

Species: Wind Elemental Hybrid

Gender: Male

General Appearance: Magnus wears plain black pants, gray combat boots, a gray T-shirt, black gloves, and an open dark gray kimono. He has wavy white hair, cut short, and mismatched eyes, one pale blue and the other a stormy gray.

Personality: Though a bit reserved at times, Magnus is known to be a loyal friend and generally possess a friendly demeanor. He can be a bit oblivious from time to time, but on the whole he is quite intelligent. He has a phobia of confined spaces, bearable on the surface but harder for him underground.

Weapon: Magnus uses a one handed sword with a black hilt, its blade has a pair of runes signifying fire on them. They allow the blade to become burn with fire without harming it or the user but remaining lethal to the user's enemies and opens the door for many techniques for Magnus.

Powers: (Secret)

Background: Magnus's mother was a wind elemental, powerful enough to possess a human form. She stumbled into Rabanastre and died shortly after his birth, only days later. He was taken in and raised by the respected the Magi, a venerable mage, who treated him as a son. Magnus spent his childhood on the streets of Rabanastre, playing and getting into trouble with other young residents of city. An old clan member taught him how to use a sword, and Nigmog carved runes into it to enchant it. To this day, he know very little of his own heritage.

Of course, because I plan to more fully develop Magnus and his history during the story, this BIO is little incomplete. This is why I'm going to show you Nigmog's BIO as well, before we get to the blank sheet.

Name: Nigmog

Title: The Magi

Age: 69

Species: Moogle

Gender: Male

General Appearance: Nigmog is gray furred old moogle with beady black eyes who wears a bizarrely colorful cobbled together robe and a simple perpetually crooked green cap.

Personality: Nigmog is a stern parent, and more than a little neurotic at times. Despite his methods, he is very protective of his adopted son and there are few things he wouldn't do to protect him. He is not trusting of strangers, and a bit gruff, but he he tries to be polite, until they give him a reason not to be anyway.

Nigmog loves knowledge and study. His areas of expertise are magic and history. He uses his own expertise with magics as his source of livelihood, enchanting weapons with runes engraved with magicite. Knowledge is one of the few things he'll never turn down, ever.

Weapon: Nigmog only carries a small unremarkable dagger on his person

Powers: Nigmog is a practitioner of magicks. He is skilled in healing and other areas of white magick. His mastery of black magick has let him devastate entire squads of demons with relative ease. His skill in other less famous areas of magic are less comprehensive, he only knows a small amount of time magic.

Surprisingly, he also isn't half bad with his dagger.

Background: In his youth as spry young moogle, Nigmog traveled widely, for he was eager to see the world. He fell in with adventurers and learned magicks from them as he traveled, gradually accumulating a large collection and not insignificant skill. When the Demon invasions began, he spent nearly a decade fighting in the Dalmascan royal army. He quit when the nation began hiring out it's defense to clans and settled down in the city of Rabanastre. He often hunted stray monsters and demons outside the city walls. It was on one of these excursions that he discovered Magnus's mother. The elemental woman was injured, and he helped her back to the city. She died shortly there after, but not before he had promised her to care for her son. After Magnus fell into his guardianship, the old moogle abandoned his trips outside the walls and built up his practice of enchantment to help support the boy and himself. So he has done for the last nineteen years, but now he fears Rabanastre will not be safe if the war threatens to erupt once more.

So now I'll give you the blank version, have fun!

Name: (This is pretty self explanatory)

Nickname/Title: (This is just what your character is called or what they are known as besides their name)

Age: (In years, how old are they? Anything older than 14 is fine really, there is no age cap)

Species: (There is room for a lot of variation here, and while I would prefer it if you remained somewhere in the vein of spirits, undead, elementals, vampires, werewolves, eldritch abominations, Chimeras the result of dark rituals, angels, fallen angels, dark gods and their messengers, etc., and all Ivalice has to offer, Hume, Bangaa, Seeq, Viera, Nu Mous, and Moogles, please feel free to deviate, don't even feel you must be a supernatural being, I left Archadia as the untouched technological city for a reason, you could even make a Judge Magister if you really wanted to, though I recommend checking the reviews first, I don't want too many of those. One thing, no Aegyl, it just gets to confusing for me to have both them and angels.)

Gender: (I think you guys can figure this one out)

General Appearance: (What do they look like? Hair color? Skin tone? Eye color? Relative Height? Distinguishing features? What clothes do they where?)

Personality: (This is where you tell me how your character acts, and their fears and passion. Even their motivations)

Weapon: (Pretty simple, tell me what your character uses to fight their enemies)

Powers/Abilities: (This is all up to you, but don't feel that it must be magic. It can be, but there's a reason I set up Archadia to be technologically advanced, don't be afraid to be a machinist. Don't even be afraid to simply create very skilled swordsman)

Background: (I hear a lot of people don't like this part, but this really helps me get to understand your character, what motivates them, what led them to become what they are now, it's okay to leave me blanks to fill in their past, but do try to put some effort into it)

Remember, I need villains as well as heroes.

Also, if other people have already submitted BIOs, take a glance at the review page to make sure you aren't too similar to something someone else has already done.