Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Tales Of Symphonia, I Only Wish I Did.
This fic is based upon an idea i had in my head while staring down a bottle of beer in my local bar. As obsessed with ToS's characters as i am, i began to wonder ...has anyone actually explained the journey that allowed Tethe'alla to become the flourishing world? Try as i might, i couldnt find a reference, so without further ado, here is my interpretation of that story.
The Before Time
Chapter 1: The Conveyance of the Oracle.
The sun had just risen on the sleepy hollow that was Sybak, the Church of Martel had rang it's bells to announce the arrival of the morning as villagers in the hustle and bustle hurried to open their stores. This particular morning held significance to one individual whom lived in this village. Her name was Elena Calavera and she was a student at the up and coming Sybak University, bright and enthusiastic almost to a fault, she had recently been lectured and shown the art of healing from her teacher. However, special though this child may be for the healing ability she has been nurturing, she holds a much more important task, she was to become known as the Chosen of Regeneration when her time came. Having just reached 16 years of age, she was expecting the oracle to be conveyed any day now.
Feeling both a little anxious and excited about the journey which would soon lay ahead of her, the young woman walked into the Sybak University classroom to be greeted by a long time friend of hers, a young man named Rydan Hershaw who was also trying to learn the arts of healing, however unlike his friend he wasnt quite as accomplished in the arts try though he might.
"Morning Rydan" Elena chirped cheerfully
"Whats so good about it?" Rydan muttered whilst holding his head in his hands, he looked rough, which was unusual as a man with his 5 ft 8" frame normally looked like they could hold himself well, not so it seemed.
Elena stared into his friend's dull green eyes "You werent out at the bar again were you?" she inquired.
"Im only taking advantage of being 18 which is something i believe you still cant do" he stuck his tongue out at Elena, always eager to annoy his younger friend.
"Well whatever, least i wont have Miss Rouge down my throat today then" she retorted...this friendly banter always seemed commonplace between the two though they both wouldnt acknowledge it as such.
At that moment 'Miss Rouge' walked in, she was approximately 30 years old and wore a vibrant red blouse as befitting her name and she had jet black hair along with piercing red eyes, Elena was convinced her intellectually challenged friend had a crush on her although he had always been quick to deny any such accusation. However she looked across at her friend to see a vacant stare emerging from him, she sighed 'only thing more obvious would be a puddle of drool around his chair' before returning to her essay book which had been placed in front of her by one of her fellow classmates.
"Good morning class" Miss Rouge addressed.
"Good morning miss" the class replied montonously and in unison.
The teacher started chalking up the lesson plan for the day on the board...just like any other day, only today would be different.
Mizuho Village: Same Time
Riptos Fujibayashi had long since been one of the best ninja's the village had ever known, he was an astute young man about 19 years of age. His 5ft 11" frame fit his job well, he had rough black hair which he found he couldnt conceal under a traditional ninja mask so he allowed his boyish face to remain in the open much to the dismay of the current chief of Mizuho.
"You will get your identity revealed one of these days Riptos" the chief had said to him.
"That isnt going to happen Chief, anyone who has seen it is in this village or has fell to my hands" his hands drifted to his weapons of choice, they rested on a pair of solid silver Saidons with crimson hilts. He had picked the colour specifically to contrast with his navy blue outfit.
"Maybe so, but how long til someone gets away and tells the King of Meltokio what you look like?" the Chief retorted with real concern underlying his voice, "You are supposed to be the next chief of this village when i pass on".
"Your concern is unjustified, I will be just fine, if you really are that concerned about me getting involved with the King, then I can reside in the village for a while" Riptos added half heartedly.
"I would like that besides, your little brother has missed you, I believe he wishes to train under you, maybe you can use this time to do that."
Riptos was snapped from his daydream by that aforementioned brother, "Come on bro, are you gonna teach me how to fight then or what?" he heard the almost overly cheerful voice of his little brother.
"Knock it off Reval, im in no mood for childish foolings today" Riptos snapped.
"You promised though or were you lying, dont make me invoke the tradition" Reval jested with a serious undertone in his voice.
With that Riptos stood and surveyed his younger brother, he was taller than he was last time he visited Mizuho, he stood about 5ft 6 and had began to fill out a bit, guess that was to be expected for a 15 year old. Reval was beginning to look more like his father each time he came back. He had furious red eyes and hair to match just like dad did. Riptos smiled and thanked Martel that he had taken after his mother and kept a more normal black hair and blue eyes.
"What's so funny?" Reval asked
"It's nothing, here you will need these" he tossed a pair of Wooden Sai at his little brother and pulled out a pair of his own from the backpack.
They both adopted a fighting stance, Riptos showing more professionalism and experience, "Show me what you got kid" he said.
With this Reval charged both Sai drawn, Riptos merely sidestepped his little brother and smacked him on the back with a hilt of his Sai.
Reval was knocked down but shown his tenacity by standing straight back up, dusting his clothes off and running once more at his brother "Try this one , Flare Strike", a red wave of energy passed in front of the running apprentice catching Riptos off guard.
Riptos saw the energy wave heading straight for him, taken aback that his brother already had a grasp of some techniques, he backflipped over the energy into the branch of a tree before jumping behind Reval and cracking him down to the ground with the other Saidon. "Im impressed, since when did you have the ability to use Energy attacks like that?"
"Chief Taisuke taught me in your absence, told me to break your confidence a bit too"
Riptos rolled his eyes at this, the chief is always looking for ways to bring Riptos's confidence down a peg or two, but until he found someone that could rival him properly he felt it was justified.
"Okay im going to have to reset my plans for you little brother if you have already got a grasp of Techniques such as that" Riptos mused.
Before his brother could answer, a bright shaft of light seemed to erupt from Gaorrachia forest, piercing the very heavens themselves. Riptos & Reval couldnt help but stare at the shaft and think of what it means. 'The Chosen has just been summoned it seems' Riptos thought.
"Reval, wait here, inform the Chief that I have went on a small trip"
"You are going to the hidden temple arent you?"
"Yes, but I do not wish for the Chief to be aware of it just yet"
"I wanna go too, I wanna meet the Chosen"
"Im sorry brother, but you do not have the necessary skills to survive that forest just yet"
"Is that the real reason, you think im weak dont you?" Reval retorted almost angrily.
"I just dont want you to get hurt, you are the only family i have left, i do not want to lose you too" with that Riptos threw a smoke bomb at his feet and disappeared.
Reval stared at the ground and mused "What about me huh, you are all I have left" he muttered before walking back towards the Chief's house.
Sybak
Elena and Rydan had noticed the Oracle being conveyed in the nearby forest.
"Guess its that time then" Rydan mused giving Elena a friendly pat on the shoulder.
Elena sighed "I guess you are right" she turned to Miss Rouge before asking the dumbest question in the world. "Miss may i please be excused from class to save the world?"
Rydan slapped his forehead as he heard numerous chuckles from other classmates, the teacher just stared in disbelief, "Just go already" she said. "And good luck, our prayers are with you"
Elena thanked her classmates for everything, just before she left she felt her shoulder get tugged gently, she turned to see Rydan with the sneaky look in his eyes.
"Surely you can get me out of class too" he inquired.
"Why?"
"Well i can like, you know escort you to the temple and stuff, i heard the forest is dangerous" he pleaded.
"Ok, Miss Rouge, may Rydan come too?"
The teacher saw the innocent expression on Rydan's face before rolling her eyes "Fine but be careful".
Rydan punched the air in victory, "Come on let's go" he exclaimed as he swiped up his sword which had to be hung up outside the classroom.
Elena hung her head and sighed "Simple things" before picking up her Scythe.
Rydan waited outside and called to Elena "You ready?"
Elena nodded with determination in her resolve and strode off with her friend to the dark forest which lay ahead.
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Whew finally done with the first chapter, always seems to be the trickiest one to write...character introductions are tricky lol. Anyway, i intend to have a party of approximately 6 or 7 characters in the Chosen's group so if anyone wants a character added, put a review up and e-mail me the particulars. The best ones for the plotline will become characters.
A/N Many people may have noticed Riptos's last name is the same as Sheena's but the reason for that being that his family are ancestors of Igaguri and Sheena. Anyway i hope you all enjoyed the first installment.
Peace out til next time.
