Chapter 1: A Stylish Adventure Begins
Summary: A foolish young boy decides joining this guild was a good idea.
The country of Floria was such a bright place. Filled with its lush and diverse plant life, pastel-painted buildings, and cheery people. It was an amazingly peaceful country, and the town of Veritas was no different.
At least, that's what Trace Splinte thought, as he walked through the many streets. He tugged on his teal bandana with gloved fingers, eyes peeled for this guild hall.
The directions he was given was simple: head west down Main Street until he saw the massive building atop the hill. He'd know when he saw it- their "armored beast" guarded its gates.
He felt some amount of goosebumps as he headed in that direction, power-walking through the marketplace, softly refusing the strange wares of the merchants... Was he here before? All these streets looked the same!
At the very least, he knew he was further away from the train station. All he could see was just more buildings and more street. The hilltop one should be nearby, right?
He stopped at the end of the marketing street- grabbing a small, printed map. Based on it, he was…
He was…
Trace's eyebrows quirked in confusion, green eyes squinting at the piece of parchment. Which street was he on? Main street, right? Going forward, he'd be heading west, which is what the kind man at the train station said to do.
But, the guild hall was…
"Eh..?"
He'd ran straight past it a few minutes ago. Thinking about it, this was kind of hill-like, was it?..
Trace groaned and turned around- taking a much slower stride, this time.
The guild hall was not as big as Trace was lead to believe.
The brown haired boy had imagined a massive tower- but this was considerably more modest. A good 3 or so stories, maybe even an attic. He'd seen shabbier guild halls before, and this was considerably better off than those.
The building matched the architecture that Trace had come to love about Floria. The orange-colored bricks and high ceilings were expected for this sort of place, as well as its surrounding garden. Only the few banners hanging signified his location.
On the banners was their guild mark- the head of a horned beast, with its wings raised and spread. Yes- this was indeed the guild he was looking for.
The guild of Wyvern's Flight.
As he walked within the outer garden, walking along the stone floor, he quickly noticed something white on the floor to his side- and upon a closer look, it both awed and terrified him.
This must've been the "armored beast" he was told about. Though, he expected it on the outside of the gates- and not asleep in the shade. It had a guild mark of its own- the same one from the banners, on its right "shoulder".
"Uh- excuse me?" Trace asked the creature, kneeling down to its resting height.
A single eye opened beneath its helm- pure red. Though, not filled with malice, which was a good sign. It looked up at him, expectantly. It seemed to understand his speech perfectly.
"I'm looking to join this guild. Can you point me in the right direction?"
The beast nodded- and lifted itself upright. In this position, it was much easier to tell it was some sort of tiger.. Only thing was its two tusks and massive size. And boy did he mean massive- it towered over his sitting position. He stood up as well- it was close to his height! Sure, he wasn't the tallest, but he was sure tigers weren't supposed to be so large.
The beast began to walk off- but stopped when it noticed Trace wasn't following him. He took the hint, shaking off his surprise and walking alongside it.
It lead him around the guild hall- to a set of stairs at its side. It seemed to lead directly to the upper floors. It nudged at his leg- pushing him forwards.
He nodded, and hesitantly walked up the steps, trying to calm down his nerves. He could do this! He was finally going to join a guild, be the mage he dreamed of! He was excited, beyond words- but with that came a nervousness.
Was he being led to the guildmaster? What did they look like? What were the other mages like? How powerful were they? What types of magic did they use? What did the guild hall even look like?
These questions distracted Trace from what was likely the longest walk up a flight of stairs he'd ever suffered through. "Butterflies in his stomach" didn't even begin to describe how he felt- paired with an insufferable giddiness.
He reached towards the door- gloved hand resting on the doorknob. This would be it- his chance to join an up-and-coming guild, make friends, all of those things! All he had to do was open the door!
He pulled- nothing. He tried once, twice- still nothing. What the hell? Was it locked? Broken?
He jolted as that beast's claw pushed on the door- granting the desired effect. The door opened with a loud creak. It seemed dark, with a faint light coming in from both the afternoon sun and the inside.
Trace took the first steps inside, and the tiger followed behind, closing the door from behind with its tail.
The inside was much more cozy than he thought the attic would be. The floor was a soft rug, with the tables and shelves housing various trinkets- the parts of various monsters, some dusty trophies, a few silver keys, all scattered about. Towards the middle was an empty table and two chairs, facing a fireplace.
One was occupied- by a figure in a dark cloak. All of their details were hidden- their hands adorned in gloves, and their feet covered by boots. They turned towards him- there was a glow of white eyes beneath the shadows of their hood.
"Ah, Tora." uttered the mage, looking towards the white-furred beast. It purred in affirmation, walking towards the cloaked figure.
"...And Tora's acquaintance." their voice seemed to have brightened a bit. "Go on lad, have a seat."
"Yes, of course! Sorry!" Trace exclaimed- louder than what was optimal. He took the cloaked figure's offer, sitting down in the seat opposite to him. Tora had made its way near the fireplace, curling into a resting position.
"...So, sir. I know this may come as sudden, given that I arrived with... no prior warning... But, becoming a full-fledged and legalized mage is my dream. I request to join your guild!"
There was silence. Nervously, Trace turned towards the Guildmaster- their white eyes rather neutral, locked on his figure. Though, after a bit of staring, they began laughing.
"I figured as much. A bright-eyed young boy like yourself wouldn't be here for a chat… Very well."
The Guild Master hopped out of their seat, heading towards a chest in the back corner.
"W-wait huh? That's it? There's- no sort of test or anything?"
They turned back towards him- and shrugged.
"Too tedious. The tourney is happening soon too, so there's that."
"T-tourney? Sir?"
"You'll see soon enough… Where's that stupid stamp…? Oh, kid. What's your magic?"
Trace found himself warming up to the eccentric Guild Master. He found himself chuckling.
"I'm a wielder of one of the Arcane Artefacts!" he said, proudly.
"Oh…"
Why did they sound unimpressed?
"Y'know- one of the rare and powerful Arcane Artefacts!"
"I know..."
Scratch that- they sounded absolutely disappointed.
"Ah, here's the boring legal papers… And the… Stamp… Is… here! Perfect!"
With their hands filled with documents and trinkets, the hooded mage trekked back towards him, dumping all of the papers on the small table.
"I hope you have spare time." they said, sitting back down on the chair with another hearty laugh.
-Chapter 1 END-
A/N: … Well, this is surprising, isn't it?
I'm sure I am or am not rather infamous. The guy who submits the same OC but slightly altered to a billion different SYOC's. The guy who started a P3/P4 parody fic but deleted it without a word years later. The guy who can't review stories so he sends PM's instead.
So, I'm writing stories now!
And I'll actually try to actively update them this time!
As I mentioned in the summary- this is a heavy AU, OC-centric, and experimental. A small little guild, based in an alternate Earthland. All canon characters will likely only be vague mentions- if at all. And it will likely stay that way.
It's completely new- new lore, new magics, new characters that you'll hopefully grow attached to… I'm very excited to start this series. It's like writing a full-fledged novel for me. I know most of you don't exactly share my excitement. But I've wanted to do something like this for a long, long time.
I'm just hoping I find the drive to see this through until the end.
Now, for the Question of the Chapter: what do you guys want to see out of this story? What sort of arcs do you want to see? What sort of characters do you want to see interact? How long do you want it to be? That sort of stuff.
Be sure to review and all of that good stuff. Tear this story a new one if you have to. It keeps me thriving.
Also, at the end of each chapter, I'll provide a small synopsis of each character introduced, or include some basic lore stuff- since I'm awful at descriptions. Imagine these as pictures in a piece of literature- something like that.
Trace Splinte. A sixteen-year old young boy, and the newest member of Wyvern's Flight. A friendly and optimistic individual, with a curious mind.
He wields the Arcane Action Artefact, a Holder-type magic.
Trace is 5'9", with a rather lean build, brown hair, and green eyes. He is dressed in an opened, navy-blue jacket with the sleeves rolled up. Underneath, he wears a white and red t-shirt, navy blue pants, and white sneakers. A teal bandana is tied around his head, and white gloves.
Tora. An animalistic, yet highly intelligent creature. A calm and patient individual, who is soft despite his frightening exterior.
His magic is Furor Divinus, an ancient magic that channels one's inner rage.
Tora is a large white tiger- a saber-tooth, with red eyes. It is donned in gold and black armor- the metal covering his lower arms, backside, and the top of his head. A saddle-like device rests on its backside, as well.
The Guildmaster. An enigmatic dieity. They never take off their cloak, and seldom goes outside, so barely anyone has seen their face. Though, they are rather enjoyable company.
His magic is unknown, as well.
The guildmaster is a tall figure, donned in a dark, hooded robe. Black pants and boots lie underneath it, as well as black gloves. The most anyone has made out are pure white, glowing eyes beneath their cowl.
Next Chapter: The young hero meets even more weirdos.