Abstract: I've developed what believe to be an interesting setting and cast of characters. However, I don't feel that I'm a good enough writer to do the real setting justice. Happily, the cannon very easily lends itself to fanfic writing.
Crimson Expanse, Chapter 1: Heartbroken SOLDIER.
The man overlooked the lost valley. It was a beautiful and strange place. Gaia had formed a deep, wide crevice. Inside, foreign vegetation glowed a strange green. His target sat in the midst of those strange woods: The Forgotten City. He scratched his chocobo behind her neck. "Don't worry Choco. We're almost there now."
He had been traveling with Choco for quite a long time. The stable had been about to release her to the wild, despite Choco being a perfectly good chocobo. Despite the massive discount on the bird, it was still expensive enough to reduce his funds nearly to zero. Yet, he rarely regretted it.
The pair had spent many a day killing the local monsters, building up experience and gil. There were many close calls, but he was a SOLDIER and Choco was a good mount. They eventually felt prepared to go on. They got the last bit of information that they could from Edge, then went to brave the swamps.
It was a terrible experience. They had to get to the other side of the continent, but had no means to get over the mountains or ways to buy a passage around. That left the ancient mythril mines. Choco had rested for a week, then they sprinted through the swamps. The Zolom had chased them, faster than anything. They had an okay start, but the monster was steadily gaining. Choco put on a burst of speed, and they reached dry ground. He reined Choco in and turned to watch the snake stop in frustration. It was a creature of the swamps alone.
It didn't. The massive snake built up speed and crashed out of its swamp. Without needing to be told, Choco turned and kept running. He heard the snake smashing small bushes as it slithered. He turned in his saddle to look. Bad idea. He could count teeth in the huge maw (two, and they looked pretty deadly).
The big snake suddenly reared up. If it had been human, the sound would have been a scream. From a snake, it was just a blood curdling hiss. The Zolom stopped, and Choco slowed. The rider turned around and saw a magnificent and chilling sight. There was a broken tree trunk standing there, impaled upon it was the skeleton of a giant snake. The Zolom didn't seem to be willing to approach any further, but hissed and watched. It was still there when he carefully removed some bone from the monolith. The last thing he saw as he led Choco into the disused mines was the huge reptilian bulk and the bleached bones.
Leading a chocobo through underground caverns is no easy task at the best of times. Choco had a good bond with her master though, so they managed with some difficulty. The continued sound of hissing behind them certainly helped. They made it out of the mines, and back to welcome daylight.
They raided a nearby abandoned reactor for scrap. The reactor components themselves had been removed long since, but there were scraps from numerous skirmishes. Grave robbing had a statue of limitations, right?
With the extra gil, they had bribed their way onto a supply ship at Junon to the Northern Continent. Now after the long journey, he was finally within sight of his goal. Done with his introspection, he once again said, "We're almost there now, Choco."
Dolux, former SOLDIER, First Class, began his descent into down the cliffs, on his way to the Sleeping Forest and then the Forgotten City itself.
Reviews appreciated. Feel free to bleed it pretty heavily. Corrective criticism is always good.