Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any characters contained therein.
"Commander Aurion, they're coming"
"Good. Now we can test these new crystalline battle enhancers."
Silence invaded Gaoracchia Forest as a battalion of soldiers, all covered in gleaming black mail, stood hiding behind trees. Sharp, white blades were held ready as a soft thumping noise was heard, steadily growing louder. With a crash, an army of white clad men came marching through a small clearing, armed but unready.
They were heading through the bright, lush forest towards Iselia, the magitechnology development center of the Sylvarant Kingdom. Their target was to stop the invention of a new weapon, the exsphere. The crystalline enhancer was a small orb that would attach to the body and develop using the energy of its wielder. It could amplify the strength and speed of a person more than ten times over. Other effects, however, were yet to be noticed.
"NOW! STRIKE!"
A sudden rush of action overtook the serene forest. A horde of men, faces covered in black helms, ambushed the white-robed mages. At the head of the assault was Cruxis Aurion, commander of the Sylvarant army. Upon his head lay a black, hardened dragon's skull. His eyes shone through the open holes in the skull, daring anyone to battle him. Red hair, long and streaming, fell through the slight gap between helmet and armor. Below it shone a new suit of obsidian armor, framed in a night-blue cape. The symbol of Sylvarant, a V-shaped shield split down the middle by a sword, was engraved upon the armor and sewn into the back of the cape. In his hand was the treasured weapon of his kingdom, the sword forged of living flame, Flameberg. Its golden hilt glittered in the light of the rising sun, showing its splendor. A blade of fire extended forth, its pure elemental energy emitting a heat so warm that no lesser man would have been able to wield the devastating sword of destruction.
The Tetheallan mages took up their positions, gathering their staves and spell books together. Many were forced to suddenly warp away for their lives. A few sent feeble spells flying into their opponents' ranks, but they achieved little effect. The Sylvarant army held the advantage of surprise and they were utilizing it well. Finally, the white-clad mages broke apart and began building a barrier, holding out their assaulters. The ranks in the back began to unleash mid level spells, striking mainly with "flame lance", "ice tornado", and "thunder blade". The swordsmen broke off, distracted by the sudden barrage of magic and obstructed by the barrier.
A single warrior, holding a blazing, red blade, rushed forth, striking and splitting open the glowing, green barrier. With a single swipe, his magical blade left six of the mages burnt. Although the Tetheallan aonis infusion gave humans the ability to use magic, it didn't provide much resistance to it. As more joined in striking through the opening, the mages began to fall back.
However, just when victory for Sylvarant seemed inevitable, a sudden blast of thunder struck down. The "indignation" tore through the armor of the swordsmen, searing their flesh. Cruxis Aurion bore through the assault, leaping forward as soon as it faded away, resuming his constant onslaught in the hope of giving his men time to recover. The tides of battle seemed even when the commander of Sylvarant suddenly jerked back, falling forward. He held himself at his knees, flaming blade digging into the earth as he leaned upon it.
Something was wrong. A streak of pain shot through Cruxis' body. A jolt jerked him. The exsphere was reacting to something. It seemed to be draining more of his energy than it should. The warrior grabbed at the crystal stuck upon his neck, yanking at it, but something held him back. He had a very bad premonition about this. However, as the mages of Tethealla advanced upon him, he knew he had no choice. He couldn't fight with this side effect of the new weapon, and if his band failed, then Iselia would be destroyed. His family, his wife and his son, Kratos, would both die.
Drawing upon some inner energy, Cruxis pulled hard, removing his exsphere. The result was not what he had expected. Along with the crystal's energy, something of his had been torn away. He felt his consciousness leave him as he saw his foes back away in fear. He had a dim awareness of having become enormous. The last thing he held in his mind was that no matter what happened, he couldn't let these beings get to his family.
That night, a large, green mutated entity lay upon the grass of Gaoracchia Forest. Blood slowly seeped out of his long green arms. His distorted body groaned in pain as its spirit left it.
Reinforcements had arrived, and even in his frenzied state, Cruxis had not been able to fend off three simultaneous "indignations". In the dead of darkness, a beacon was lit. The magitechnology center of Iselia was burning. Sylvarant lost much of its research on exspheres, these newly developed amplifiers of a person's ability. However, it learned a piece of knowledge that Tethealla had only recently found out: A mount that could prevent the leaching of a person's soul would have to be made.
A lone group of refugees fled away from the burning city. Kratos' mom, Maria Aurion, led them across Tethealla territory, heading towards the far-away city of Triet, another of Sylvarant's major centers.
Well, that's my first ever fanfic. I hope you like it. If you read it, be sure to review. The first chapters a little short, but the next few should be more than twice as long. And please, no flames.