This is the story of Sun Cosmo, Yun Sollette, Dia Yoren and Sol Tore. This is the tale of the four who stood together, the four who would not abandon a single soul to its doom. This is the tale, of The Last Saviours of Gran Pulse.
************* Timestamp – Present *************
The moon was slowly crossing the skyline, various beasts could be heard fighting in the distance. The sounds echoing across the plains of the Archytle Steppe, enhancing the scale of the fights. This night it sounded as if several hundred beasts were active, even though it was probably only a pack of wild Gorgonopsids fighting against a Behemoth King that wandered into their nest. Hidden in a crevice however, was a small camp, a hooded figure keeping watch while the other inhabitants slept. The small fire that was lit was nothing more than smouldering remains, giving off a very faint glow that could barely be seen from any distance, the breathing from the sleeping humans was barely heard. Keeping the noise of the camp to a minimum, keeping the fire in the least visible place and keeping a watch on at all times at night. In the middle of the encampment, the weapons of each of the members rested together. A battle-worn halberd, the point and blade slightly embedded in the ground, the various notches and cracks in the blade and the chunk taken from the tip adding a more fierce look to the weapon. Resting against the halberd's shaft was a bow with a quiver and an arrow already notched, standing as if it was already aimed at a foe, the carvings on the bow had faded from use and there was numerous cracks in the outer metal layer. Laying on the floor in front of these two was a unique weapon, it was similar in looks to a shuriken, with the exception of being able to combine into a single, serrated blade. The blade contained its fair share of scratches and there was a lot of wear to the hilt. It was currently in the blade form while it rested.
The one currently on watch was wearing a black hide cloak, crafted out of the remains of the hunt the four took part in after they first met. Another item of the camp to take note of was the large pack at the rear, hidden behind everything and coloured the same as the hill in which it was resting against. This pack contained all the supplies the four had left. Life was always harsh on Gran Pulse, its people were always taught to be cautious and not bring any unwanted attention upon themselves, travelling light but prepared was one of the most preferred means of getting about Gran Pulse, second to that of Chocobo travel. If you were lucky enough to be able to tame one that is. The pack was coated in a mixture of plant extract and mud to mask the meat and healing supplies within. Out of the four of them, the one who came up with this idea was Yun Solette. A large, well-toned female from the Yun tribe. Renowned for their hunting prowess and their unrivalled knowledge of the landscape of Gran Pulse, they were always looked to when hunting or surviving was required. She currently resided in the tent closest to the watchman. The camp location was picked by Sol Tore, the oldest of the group. Standing a bit shorter than the rest, he is a male from the Sol clan who have a keen intuition and a cool and level mind. They were mediators between other clans and the first to call a union to combat the Vipers from Cocoon. He was currently resting in the tent near the rear of the encampment. The group owed a lot to Dia Yoren. Yoren was the smallest and youngest of the group. Hailing from the Dia clan, he has an immense amount of knowledge in healing salves and medical treatment such as it was. The kiddo has enough energy stored inside him the others wondered if he was running off magic. Yoren was snoring softly in the middle tent.
This segment of the Steppe contained no-end of trouble. Hunting for food became even more dangerous than ever before and all of them usually ended up getting wounded in some form or another. Sollette has a nasty scar across her forehead where a Amphisbaena managed to hit her while her guard was down, adding to the numerous scars she has previously attained. Yoren managed to take a nasty bite from a Megistotherian, to his abdomen. The bleeding was troublesome to stop but it hasn't stopped him from being his usually energetic self. Tore was sporting a completely bandaged right arm after a group of flans decided to merge and overpowered him, the swipe of their arms damaging the bones and heavily bruising his arm. Yoren pointed out how lucky he was to protect his chest from the assault. It would have most likely broken them, putting him out of commission and at this stage, out of commission, would mean out of time.
Time...something the group didn't have much of left.
The last member of the group, the one currently on watch, did not have a tall or muscular frame. He was fairly slim and his muscles were defined but nowhere near as pronounced as the others. Here sat Sun Cosmo, one of the remaining members of the Sun tribe after the first few conflicts with the Vipers had caused heavy casualties to the clan. Cosmo currently had a bandage over his left eye, which on Gran Pulse, is roughly the same as cutting your lifespan to be lucky to last another week at best. This wound came from a Ochu . This foul beast caught the group completely unawares and shortly into the fight, Cosmo took a nasty hit to his left eye. After Cosmo had his eye hit, the others went to overwhelming the beast with sheer force, and dispatching it to apply treatment to Cosmo. Now, with his left eye possibly permanently damaged, Cosmo was given advice from Tore. You can still smell, you can still hear and you can still see with your right eye. Do not let this break your will, stay strong and play it smart. We are almost at the finish. One last stretch. One last plain. One last item to complete.
This advice brought Cosmo to the position he was in now, resting against a small rock, keeping his right eye looking out beyond the camp and using his hearing to compensate. Some elder's used to speak of how the human body has a will of its' own and can compensate where the brain cannot. Sharpening the senses, boosting adrenaline at times of danger, battling poisons and infections. Keeping itself alive, where the brain cannot keep track. The Sun tribe have always held the belief that a human is not one, but three. In Mind, they train their children to think then act. In Body, they teach the young adults to fight or to smith. In Soul, they teach everyone to stay true, stay focused and above all else, stay true to yourself.
The Sun believe that once they master all three, they can act in unison and unleash a human's full potential, while other clans focus on one. The Yun with the Body, The Sol with the Mind and the Dia with the Soul. Most clans were not religious, preferring to believe in their own power and abilities. However, some did revere the Fal'Cie as a higher being, others thought of them as the keepers of Gran Pulse. Others just thought they were the strongest from their era and as such have continued to live on. The humans were divided on higher beings, but in when it came to the Sun's teaching's, they did not dispute. While they may not be practicing them the same as the Sun, to reach the zenith of one through the mastery of all three. They chose to master one completely or two to a high degree. No other clan could reach the Sun's level of determination to reach the zenith, but no Sun member has reached the zenith as of yet. It has been over a hundred years since the last member of the Sun clan reached the zenith, and with the clan size dwindling, very few remain and out of those, even less have an even remote chance of reaching it.
The cloak shifted as Cosmo moved his position to a slightly more comfortable one against the rock. It has been about a month now since then. Cosmo thought to himself while his good eye kept scanning the perimeter. We have certainly come a long way, and not just in terms of distance. Flexing his hands slightly under the cloak, Cosmo let out a quiet sigh. Time was something all Humans never had enough of. Certain Humans even more so.
At least I can say, I have no regrets now. We are almost there, our time is almost up but we are at the last chapter of this. To move forward and to complete this, we must succeed. Otherwise, it is not only our lives at stake...
Cosmo let his head roll back and look up to the sky, it was a half moon, which didn't cast too much light as to let the feral creatures of the plains locate the group any easier. It all began...roughly a month ago now...