After the defeat of Queen Remedi, Ivalice remained at peace. Marche and his clan continued to explore the vast land of Ivalice. Their explorations and their accomplishments did not go without notice. Soon, stories and rumors about Marche's clan spread over Ivalice like wild fire. Over time, Marche became as well known a name as the Totema and other figures of legend. During this time however, unrest and conflict was stirring underneath the blanket of peace and prosperity. After the death of Judgemaster Cid, a new Judgemaster was soon appointed. This new Judgemaster, who only went by his new title, was not the same as Cid. He was cruel, ruthless, and had those who broke the rules punished more severely.
The Judgemaster, under the "orders" of King Mewt, increased the severity and restrictions of the law. Soon, the clan could barely fight without breaking or violating some law. The clans and ordinary citizens were not happy about this, and riots broke out in every town and city, outraged at the abuse of the Judgemasters power. A large mob of disgruntled citizens of all races marched on Bervenia Palace, and eventually burned it to the ground. The Judgemaster was caught in the blaze, and the other judges were hunted down. Oddly, King Mewt and his family disappeared soon afterwards, never too be seen again. Rumors have it that he fled to another country; others put him in a clan that resides in Tubola Cave.
After the burning down of Bervenia Palace, many a man tried to fill the power vacuum, but none succeeded. The people of Ivalice no longer wanted a person to lead them, to set rules for them. They wanted to create their own rules, live their own lives without law. The only leader's that were accepted were the leaders of the clans. Without any law to stand in their way, the clans progressively got larger, more powerful. Some clans even got close to a hundred members, a figure unseen before! The leaders had trouble keeping their members paid and happy, so soon they began to control businesses and other such enterprises. There was one clan in particular that stood out among the rest, its name Clan Imperia.
The leader of Clan Imperia, Cicero Cilini, a human, had anticipated the revolt of Ivalice's citizens against the law system and monarchy. He predicted that the clans would soon afterwards strive for power, so he made preparations beforehand. He gained the trust of several businesses who promised to stay loyal to Imperia, so long as they paid an annual fee. When the Revolution, the overthrow of the law, broke out, Cilini was in a prime spot. His clan soon became one of the largest in Ivalice, but there was something that he had not anticipated. A rival clan was emerging on the scene, and its name was Energie. Clan Energie had been sneaky, not revealing its true strength until sometime after the Revolution. Soon, the two started pressuring other clans to join them, all in a strive for power.
Our story begins in a small house in the slums of Cyril, home base to Clan Imperia.
The rising sun cast a golden glow on the city of Cyril, waking those who slept in the higher buildings of the town. For those who were not awakened by the suns rays, the church's bell rang out seven times, signaling seven o' clock. To shop owners and merchants, this was their time to start opening their shops and stalls for the customers to come. In front of some shops, people waited anxiously for it to open, for reasons kept to them selves. For most of the townsfolk, this was their call to start their daily chores. In short order, the main section of the city was abuzz with the varied races of Cyril's citizens.
In a small house in the slums, a Nu Mou awakened. It was not the sun that did the deed, the house was surrounded by larger buildings that blocked the sunlight, it was the church bell. He sat up, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out. He stretched, wincing as his sore muscles began to move. He muttered something under his breath, something about beds. He stood up, and shuffled over to the door. Hanging on a nail was his robe, white with red triangles on the bottom and ends of the sleeves. He put the robe on over his nightshirt, and slowly opened the door. The door creaked, and he immediately looked behind him to a small bundle of blankets. The bundle shifted, and a small red ball poked out of it. The ball belonged to a moogle, a small creature measuring at a foot and a half at the highest, not including the ball. The Nu Mou sighed in relief; he hadn't waken the moogle up. If he had, he'd have to face one of the moogles many tricks. He did not want that this early in the morning.
The Nu Mou quickly stepped into the other room, closing the door behind him. This room was slightly bigger than the one he had just exited, roughly ten by fifteen feet, still a very small room. Situated in the center was a low lying table, three logs and a backed chair sitting on all four sides. To the Nu Mou's left, a fire pit sat its rim two feet off the ground, half the height of the Nu Mou. A grill covered the opening, put there for the two pans they owned. The pans themselves sat on a shelf on the other side of the pit. Two more shelves were positioned above and below the one with the pans, and these were half-covered in food, mainly eggs and bread. There were some apples and other fruits on the shelves, but not many.
As he was walking towards the fire pit, he noticed that someone was sitting in the backed chair, facing away from him. He stared at the man for just a moment, and then continued walking back to the fire pit. He wasn't worried that someone had broken in; the man in the chair just had a knack for waking up earlier than the rest of them. The Nu Mou grabbed a couple logs that were piled next the fire pit, lifted up the grill, and threw them in, sending up a puff of ash. He whispered a word under his breath, and suddenly the logs started burning. He grabbed a pan, set it on the grill, grabbed a few eggs, and cracked them open. He then grabbed a wooden spoon and started mixing the eggs.
"So Jack, do we have any missions yet?" the Nu Mou asked the human in the chair, keeping his attention on the eggs in the pan, "We really need to buy some beds or some cots at least. I'm getting too old to sleep on the floor." He held his back with one hand to emphasize the point.
"Your not one to complain Bernard," Jack replied, not taking his eyes off the book he was reading. He brushed a piece of dirt off his trousers, and continued, "We do have a mission, although I was nearly beat to it. Imperia seems to hold a grudge against us now for not joining them. I'm surprised they haven't come directly to our house."
"Imperia is persistent when it comes to having the smaller clans join them," Bernard said, continuing to stir the eggs, "What is this mission exactly? I hope it's one that doesn't require much fighting."
"We'll be going to Nubswood to gather some herbs for an old man. Apparently he needs them for some sentimental purpose, I didn't quite listen to that part," Jack explained, closing his book down on the table. He stood up, turning the chair so it faced the table, and sat back down.
Bernard turned to face Jack, a look of surprise on his face, "Nubswood!?" he exclaimed, making sure to keep his voice down, "But that's Energie territory! You know how they feel when a clan even steps foot on their territory. If we get found out we will most likely die, you realize that right?"
"Yes, I realize that Bernard, but we really need to do this. Our money is getting really low," Jack rebutted, "Sometimes I think that Imperia are taking all the jobs, just to persuade us to join them."
"Maybe we should," Bernard replied, turning back to the eggs, "We'd be treated fine, and we'd have a constant supply of jobs and money."
"No!" Jack nearly yelled, tipping the chair over as he sprang up, "I do not want to sacrifice this clan's independence!"
"Damn it, Jack, do you know how stubborn you sound?" Bernard yelled back, his voice straining, turning to face him again, "I don't know how much longer I can stay with you Jack! The living is hard, we're not eating right, and we're sleeping on the floor! The floor Jack!"
Before Jack had a chance to respond, a small voice interrupted the argument. Both of them turned to look who made it. Standing in the doorway, right next to the one that Bernard had exited from, was a human girl, one hand steadying her on the doorframe. The other hand was moving her long, brown hair out of her face. She tucked her hair behind her ears, revealing a small scar near her hairline. There were a few smaller scars on both her arms, but most of the time they were covered by sleeves. She was wearing a thin nightgown, ending just above the ankles.
"Jack? Bernard? Are you two fighting again?" she asked, walking over to the table, "It's too early to be fighting and to be fighting about money of all things."
"Good morning to you too Kaila," Jack said, setting up the chair and sitting in it. Bernard quickly turned back to the eggs, making sure that they weren't burned, even though they smelled like it. Kaila sat down on the log closest to the door, setting her head on the table.
"Kaila, today me and you are going to run some errands today," Jack said, taking his book and holding it.
"Oh really? How come?" she responded, her voice slightly muffled from being nestled in her arms.
"We need to go and grab some supplies for our mission,"
"In Nubswood," Bernard butted in,
"In Nubswood," Jack continued, "And we're going to go and scout for new members. We might be able to get a new member."
"Nubswood? But that's Energie territory, we could die," Kaila said, lifting her head up, "Sound exciting. Let me go change and -,"
"Not before you have some breakfast Kaila," Bernard said quickly, setting plates in three places. He grabbed the pan, and dished out the eggs, leaving a fourth portion in the pan. He set the pan on the rim of the pit, and took a seat on one of the logs, and started eating.
"Eggs again? We just had eggs yesterday," moaned Kaila, sitting back in her seat. She began shoveling the eggs into her mouth with her hands; the clan had yet to buy decent eating utensils, so they had to stick with their hands for the time being.
"Do not blame me," Bernard said, eating his eggs with the wooden spoon, "The food funds were spent on books, and Jack's silly hat."
"That hat is not silly," Jack rebutted, "Besides, the man said that it would prevent a number of status ailments. At least, I think they do; hopefully if we run into a fight at Nubswood I'll be able try it out."
"It is pretty silly Jack," Kaila pointed out, talking around her food, "Now I'm going to get changed." She leaped out of her seat and back into the room, closing the door behind her.
The two sat there, silently eating their eggs, Jack wiping his hands on his cloth shirt, adding to the layer of dirt and grim. Someday soon he would have to wash it, or maybe just get another shirt and throw this one out. He took up his book, turning to the dog-eared page and continued reading. The title merely said "A Compleat History of the Man Marche Radiuju: By Montblanc the Moogle" in elegant calligraphy. Bernard grunted as he saw the title; Jack had better things to do other than just waste the day reading on a subject he was pretty much an expert on. Several books about Marche and his clan lay next to the pile of rags he called a bed, each one bookmarked and dog eared in several places.
"So, how much is this old man paying us?" Bernard asked, setting the spoon aside and putting his hands in his lap.
"About 15,000. More if get it by a certain time, which is just a couple weeks from now." Jack said, pushing his plate forward. Bernard stared at Jack, his mouth slowly opening just a little bit. 15,000 Gil just for some herbs? Either the man was insane or he had that much money just to throw away. Kaila had just stepped into the room when Jack announced the price, and was just as surprised as Bernard was, except her mouth opened more than Bernard's.
"15,000 gil? The man must be insane to give out that much money!" Kaila said, walking over and stopping next to Jack's chair, "We could get a lot of things with that money you know Jack, like maybe some new swords?"
"Don't worry Kaila, we'll figure that all out when we get the mission done," Jack said, getting out of his chair and walking towards the door. He slipped on his boots, and grabbed on of the swords leaning against the wall near the door and strapped it on to his belt, "Come on Kaila, we need to hurry if we want to beat the rush."
"Yay!" Kaila exclaimed, rushing out the door and into the small street, "Hurry up Jack!"
"I'm coming Kaila!" Jack responded, and then turned to Bernard, "Kaila and I should be back a little later than midday. If Pog wakes up, tell where we went, and tell him that is he wants to come along he should wake up with the rest of us. See you later," Bernard nodded, and Jack exited the small house, closing the door behind him. Kaila was nearly jumping with excitement, and started down the street a little ahead of Jack.
"I'm excited Jack," Kaila said, "I put up a flyer saying that we were looking for new members on the Wall yesterday, and the most beautiful Viera I've ever seen stopped by and looked at it. I followed her to see if she would arrive at our place."
"So that's why you were late last night, you were stalking a Viera." Jack said, a small smile playing on his lips.
"I was not stalking her!"
"You were so!"
"Was not!" she insisted, slapping Jack upside the head, making him stop.
Authors Note: Thank you for reading through the first chapter of When Chaos Reign! I hope you enjoyed it. I'll have to warn you, the plot won't be revealed until about Chapter 3, when the mission actually starts. I like to provide a nice base, introduce most of the main characters first. Chapter 2 will be up shortly after this, probably the next day or two, but don't hold me on that. Please review! Enjoy Everything. P.S. I am now a Beta reader! Check out my "betafile" as I call it for more info.