Disclaimer: Although I own the game, I do not own the copyright. Please do not sue me.
AN: As you will be able to see once you start reading, this is based on the original final fantasy. The Party is (of course) a thief, a warrior, a black mage, and a white mage. The Black Belt and Red Mage will make appearances, however.
Tarin trudged down the ruddy road that lead to Coneria, The City of Dreams. He didn't know why he was going there, but he was sure it had something to do with the strange orb in his pack. He seemed drawn to this place, but he didn't know why. His black hair wafted gently in the wind, blowing into his handsome face, causing him to brush it futilely away.
'This is ridiculous,' he thought to himself, 'Here I am, jaunting along a path half-way across the continent to a kingdom I've never been to with no map, and I haven't made a single wrong turn.'
The forest parted, and Tarin saw the high walls of the kingdom proper. Made of pale grey stone, the parapets seemed almost white in the midday sun as throngs of people milled back and forth at the intersection he was approaching, between the city and the harbor. As he joined the sparse crowd heading towards the gates, the thief glanced around and behind him, taking in his surroundings. Most of the people were fishermen or pilgrims, nothing worth taking from them.
Dust hung in a low cloud about the travelers' feet from the constant use of the path, and the walk had been taking its toll on Tarin's legs for hours now. After what seemed like an eternity, the picaroon finally came to the main gates, which had a guard posted on either side, but they appeared to be only for show, as they questioned none who came or went.
Tarin made to enter the gates but something stopped him. Some strange sensation he couldn't quite identify held him back, as though he were to wait where he was. Sighing to himself, the thief moved off the road and found an unoccupied space of the wall to lean against as he sat gratefully on the soft grass, releasing a breath of relief as he did. For a time, he simply sat there with his eyes closed, enjoying the fact that wasn't walking anymore. Then he opened his eyes and looked around, unsure of what to do next. Just as his irritation with these urges began to be too much, his attention was caught by a man moving down the road toward the gate. Caught, because the man towered above everyone around him.
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Barbatus smiled in the bright sunlight as he walked lightly with the crowd of people headed for Coneria, his wild red hair unaided by the light wind. He constantly took in his surroundings, alert for threats, but his real concern was thieves. Not many men would willingly pick a fight with Barbatus, since he stood nearly two full heads taller than most, and was built like an ogre. His two packs rested beside each other on his back and his feet created mud in the dirt road, still being wet from the ship he had travelled on.
The walk was long, but nearly done as he approached the gates, flanked by city guards leaning lazily on their pikes. However, something kept him from entering. Shrugging this strange sensation off, he turned to his left to find a place on the wall to sit, when he noticed a small man with black hair sitting there, staring at him. Barbatus was accustomed to looks, but generally they were sidelong and hidden, while this man stared blatantly. Still, the warrior by trade would normally shrug this off as well, being that this stranger was clearly no match for him in a fight, but for some reason he found himself ambling up to him, saying "Hey, there."
"Hey, back," came the reply, "Forgive me for not standing, but I've been walking all day and I'm not sure I can."
Barbatus chuckled as he dropped his packs and plopped down next to the dark haired man and extended a hand, saying "My name's Barbatus, but my friends just call me Blotch."
Taking his hand, the man replied "Tarin. So what brings you here?"
The giant laughed and said "You wouldn't believe me if I told you.
Before Tarin could reply, Blotch noticed that they both looked to their left in unison, as though something had caught their attention, although neither of them had been looking there a moment ago. A short moment passed, and Blotch's eye fell on a tall man in white robes, splayed in red, with his hood drawn.
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Xak wiped the sweat from his hooded brow, his long red hair flowing out from beneath his cowl. He had been walking through the grassy plains toward Coneria for the better part of an hour, now, taking the time to circle around the forest that surrounded all but the gates of the kingdom. This allowed him to avoid the majority of the hazards associated with travelling on foot, but taxed his scholarly body rather heavily.
His white robes were splayed in red tiger stripes and now stained green at the hem, and his pack was heavy, holding several changes of clothes, food and one heirloom passed to him from his instructor in the arts of white magic: a crystal ball, just a little larger than a closed fist. As he trudged along, he couldn't help but wonder how warriors and soldiers could spend hours in brutal combat, wearing all that armor and swinging around great weights of steel. He carried a small warhammer at his waist, but after this walk, he imagined that he would last maybe five minutes in a pitched battle before he succumbed to exhaustion.
Of course, that would be assuming that his role was that of a warrior, which he was not. The healing arts were his specialty. Unfortunately no amount of white magic could make him feel rested. He may be able to heal the bruises on his feet, but not the stiffness in his legs, which was the real problem. The white mage's reverie was broken as he was jarred nearly off his feet by a slightly shorter man careening into him at a quick stride, shouting his irritation and continuing on his path muttering. Xak had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realized that he'd bypassed the forest and found himself on the beaten path from the harbor to the city gates.
Regaining himself, the mage turned to his right and followed the sparse crowd. It wasn't long until he had reached the walls, looming over him in the midday sun. At the unseen urging of the orb in his pack, Xak glanced to his left and his gaze quickly fell on a pair of men sitting against the wall, one a bit shorter than average with black hair and leathern clothing, the other a giant of a man in a red tunic and fiery hair. Smiling pleasantly, the healer strode over to them and said "Hello. If I were to guess, I would say that you two were waiting for someone."
The pair looked at each other curiously, and the shorter man said "If I were to guess, I'd say you were, too."
Xak chuckled lightly and replied "Perhaps I am. My name is Xak, a white mage by trade."
The large man rose from his spot on the ground and extended a mammoth hand, saying "Barbatus, but my friends call me Blotch. I pick fights for a living."
The white mage shook the warrior's hand and looked at the other inquisitively. After a moment, he said "Tarin, and you'll have to forgive me, but I'm not all that sure I can stand."
Xak started forward, the thought to check for any injuries Tarin might have in mind, but stopped and looked back toward the gates in unison with the other two, to see a man in night-blue robes and a brown, conical, wide-brimmed hat which concealed his face emerge from within the city, moving directly for them.
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Zane strode purposefully through the streets of Coneria, merchants, traders, salesmen and swindlers called out for any business they could find, but he ignored them. His dark robes and mage's hat kept his face shadowed, and most knew better than to anger a black mage. But intimidation was not his desire, he was focused on the orb he took when he fled his former master as it guided him to the city gates. The orb was all he carried on his person, since he knew these streets well and the dangers of thieves was rampant. But from what he understood, the orb would not let itself be taken from him, so he wasn't particularly concerned.
As he passed the guards on either side of the gate, he turned to his right and strode over to a trio of men who had no reason to be seen together, all looking at him. A behemoth all in red, a warrior from the look of him, a tall man, though still a head and a half shorter than the warrior, in white robes highlighted in red, likely a white mage, and a short, unassuming man with black hair and travelers garb sitting against the wall. As he arrived at their location, the shorter man sighed and said "Hey Blotch, help me up, will you?"
The warrior stepped over and grabbed the traveler's arm and hoisted him up a bit quicker than he expected and he nearly lost his footing, whiled the white mage smiled and said "Good day. Would I be wrong in assuming you are here for the same reason as I?"
After a short pause, Zane replied "Unlikely. My name is Zane, a black mage, as you can tell."
Grasping the black mage's hand, the white replied "Xak, a white mage myself. My acquaintances, here, are Barbatus, though he prefers Blotch, and Tarin."
The other two men voiced their greetings, and Zane said "Now that introductions are out of the way, if you would all be kind enough to follow me, we have much to discuss," and turned back toward the gates.
"Woah, wait a minute," Tarin said indignantly, "why should we follow you?"
The two mages looked back at the men standing still, looking at Zane, who replied, "You've had a strange tugging feeling in the back of your neck, guiding you all the way here, right?"
Tarin and Blotch both blinked in surprise and Xak shot up an eyebrow as the black mage continued "You look like you've been traveling with it the longest. It must be maddening by now, and if you don't follow me, it'll never go away."
With that, the Zane turned again and strode to the city gates. After a moment, Tarin swore quietly and followed, accompanied by Xak and Blotch. When they had caught up with the black mage, Tarin muttered "It had better be close by, because I'm gonna lay down and I won't get up for a long Time."