Greetings, whoever may be reading this. This is my first FFTA story, a retelling of the missions of Marche's clan. I might jump around the timeline occasionally, so be warned. The beginning takes place just before Marche arrives. Without further ado, here's the first chapter.
….
Rain sighed, adjusting his dark blue soldier's cap in Cyril's pub, the Prancing Chocobo. The main lobby and bar area was mostly empty at this time of night, most of the patrons having left or gone to bed. In the dim light of the candles, only two customers were still awake: a large bangaa with deep red scales who sat at the bar and drank from a large tankard of alcohol, and Rain himself, sitting at an empty table with his thoughts. The barkeep was the only member of the staff still awake, absentmindedly cleaning glass mugs with a rag.
The bangaa looked up from his drink at the young man. "Ssssomething wrong, Rain?" he asked, hissing loudly in his deep baritone voice.
"I'm just bored, that's all," the soldier said. "We haven't had a mission in weeks, not since Rolf handled that one about a lost cat." He let his head fall on the table with a dull thunk, thick brown hair pushing out from the brim of his hat. "I just want to fight something, Theodore!" The bangaa warrior nodded and took another drink of ale.
"Let'sss hope Montblanc comessss back with ssssomething good. I couldn't ssstand another day of Rolf'sss lecturing." Rain smirked at the mention of the clan's resident nu mou. Rolf had good intentions, but he insisted on constantly trying to educate anyone who would listen about the history of Ivalice. The information usually wasn't that boring, but the mage's slow, deep voice tended to put people to sleep.
"I'm with you on that one," he said with a laugh. Then he sighed again and got up, sitting down next to his friend. "Man, when I joined the clan, I really thought there'd be more action than this." Theodore nodded.
"Remember the day Montblanc asssked ussss to join?" he asked, a smile spreading across his scaly face. Rain grinned in reply.
"How could I forget? That was my first time in prison."
"And my third," said his clanmate. "If I recall correctly, it sssstarted with sssomeone challenging you to a fight."
"Yeah, and then calling in the rest of his clan when I beat him." Rain scowled at the bitter memory. Then his expression softened as he continued, "And then you ran up and started beating the living crap out of them with a tree branch." The bangaa simply shrugged and took another gulp of his drink.
"What can I sssay? I like to hit people."
"That's the understatement of the year," Rain snorted. "You literally knocked one guy out without even meaning to."
"It wasss hisss fault for coming up behind me on the backssswing," said Theodore with a laugh. "Unfortunately, I forgot to check the lawsss that day."
"And apparently your branch counted as a staff, so you got sent to prison," Rain filled in. "And I got the same for trying to use it when you disappeared."
"I ssstill don't know why you thought that would work."
Rain laughed. "Neither do I, actually." Theodore simply shook his head. They turned as slow footsteps echoed through the nearly empty pub.
"And then," said Rolf, the nu mou still in his white mage robes, "Montblanc thought you'd make a nice addition to the clan." He sat down on Theodore's other side and ordered a drink. "So when you two got out, we asked you to join," he concluded.
"Can't sleep?" Rain asked. Rolf shook his head.
"I really wish there were a spell to cure snoring," he said sadly. The soldier laughed.
"Catherine keeping you up again?" he asked, naming the clan's only viera. Rolf nodded. He was the only member of the clan allowed to sleep in the same room as Catherine, because he was apparently much more mature than the others. Rain had protested this at first, arguing that he was far more trustworthy, but that was soon found to be false when the viera had caught him peeking into her room while she changed. The soldier still had a bruise from that encounter.
"I swear, sometimes I think it would be better to shove a pillow over her face while she sleeps." This started both Rain and Theodore laughing again. "By the way," Rolf began, looking pointedly at the bangaa, "I heard your remark about my, 'lecturing', and I'm quite offended." Theodore stopped laughing instantly.
"I, uh, er…" he sputtered, trying to come up with an excuse or explanation, but both eluded him. Then Rolf patted him on the shoulder, chuckling.
"Just kidding, Theodore," the nu mou said. "That was sort of the point, after all."
"What do you mean?"
"I may be a mage, but I still enjoy annoying you two," Rolf smirked. He thanked the barkeep when his drink, much smaller than Theodore's, arrived. The bangaa shook his head.
"Well, perhapssss if we recorded your lecture, we could jussst make you lisssten to it to help you sssleep." This was answered by a small laugh. The healer was about to respond when the pub's door squeaked open, two figures stumbling tiredly inside. At this time of the morning it was unusual for any new faces to come in, and when such a thing did happen, it almost never ended well. Rain and Rolf immediately stood up, the soldier's hand springing to the hilt of his sword. Theodore put down his tankard and gazed at the new arrivals carefully, looking for a way to gauge their strength in the darkness.
However, the clanners' fears disappeared when the smaller of the two figures spoke, his familiar, chirping tone setting their minds at peace. "Well, kupo, that took longer than expected!" A moogle waddled out of the gloom, his little wings fluttering to dry themselves from the rain as his red pom-pom bounced above his face. A human followed behind him, wearing a typical soldier's cuirass with a short sword at his side. Theodore's armor clanked as he stood, smiling as he addressed the pair.
"Ah, good to ssssee you, Montblanc!" he said as he clapped the rather fat moogle on the back. "Who'sss thissss you brought with you?"
"This is Marche, kupo," said the moogle, stumbling a little from the bangaa's strength. "He's gonna join the clan, kupo, if that's alright with you guys." Theodore gave the boy a quick once-over.
"He sseemsss a bit green, but he looksss ssstrong. A few daysss of training with me and Rain, and he'll be good to go."
Montblanc smiled at his approval and turned to the human and gestured at the other members of the clan, pointing to each as he introduced them and their role in battle. "Marche, kupo, this is Theodore. He and Rain over there are our main close combat fighters, kupo. They watch our backs as Rolf and I cast spells, kupopo! Catherine, our archer, is probably asleep, kupo."
"Wow," whispered the soldier. "Everyone looks so tough!" He couldn't help but stare at Theodore and Rain in particular, both fighters covered in scars, their armor scratched and dented. The other human smirked.
"The clan does some pretty rough work, Marche. You'll end up looking like us soon enough!" The bangaa next to him nodded with a smile on his face. Marche gulped.
"If I may ask," began Rolf, "how did you meet this boy, Montblanc?" The black mage shook his head, laughing a little at the memory.
"Kupopo, he got himself into a sticky situation with some bangaa. Apparently he'd never seen one before, so he made the mistake of calling one a lizard, kupo!" Theodore's jaw dropped.
"No wonder they ssstarted a fight!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't know!" Marche raised his hands defensively. The massive bangaa just shook his head and once again picked up his tankard. Trying to change the subject, Marche asked, "So, uh, does this clan have a name?" Montblanc scratched his head, slightly embarrassed.
"Ah well, we're sort of a small clan yet, kupo, so we don't really have one." He snapped his fingers, an idea springing into his mind. "How about you make one, kupo? It'll be like a mark of your initiation!" Marche's face went red.
"A-are you sure, Montblanc? I mean, I only just joined up…" The moogle simply nodded, refusing to debate it.
"Of course! Make it a kupo one!" Still surprised, Marche racked his brain for a good title. He looked around at the clan members, each skilled in their own way, each determined to make the best clan in existence. They were more than strong; they possessed something that Marche could only think could come from an otherworldly plane. Then it hit him.
"What about… Aether?" Montblanc grinned, his pom-pom bouncing as he nodded.
"I like it, kupo! What about you guys?" he asked, turning to the other clanners. Rain agreed, and Theodore and Rolf raised their mugs into the air. "Then it's decided, kupo! Henceforth, we shall be called Clan Aether!"
"To the clan!" shouted Theodore, raising his tankard again and draining it, slamming the empty mug down on the bar table. Rolf did the same, minus the last part.
And so began the legend of Clan Aether, a group born in the dark of a pub that would one day become the most respected and feared in all of Ivalice. This is their story.
….
Not a very long first chapter, but I like it. I'm not expecting a lot of reviews, but any at all would be much appreciated, especially if they contain criticism. So far, our team is laid out like this:
Theodore: The giant warrior bangaa, experienced and strong.
Rain: The human soldier, quick with a word and more so with a blade.
Rolf: A nu mou mage, wise and yet mischievous.
Montblanc: A moogle mage, enthusiastic and optimistic.
Catherine hasn't been introduced yet, so she's a blank slate at the moment.
And finally Marche: The reluctant soldier, trying to find his way back home.
This should be an interesting group, I think. In any case, next time we'll go on to describe the first mission. Until then!