And so it begins . . .
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing of Tales or Namco, so don't ask. All of it is theirs and they can keep it so long as they produce more of the great things that have been made.
On a very fine day a group of teenagers were passing the time away by skipping rocks on a nearby pond. What they didn't know was the mysterious ways of the people around them. They were completely oblivious to their surroundings while they frolicked and had a great time.
On this day a group of young travelers were wandering the plains near a large seaside city. The four travelers were none other than Yuan, Kratos, Martel, and Mithos. On this day as they were walking about Kratos looked off into the distance. There he saw a cloud of smoke ascending up to the heavens.
"What in the world is that," asked Kratos, pointing to the rising ball of smoke.
As Yuan followed Kratos' finger he replied, "I Dunno, maybe a fire or a barbecue."
As everyone stared in awe at the floating ball of gas they couldn't help but wonder, was there a deeper meaning to it? The group having nothing better to do decided they would go and investigate the scene of the crime.
When they reached the spot the smoke had been hovering they discovered it was not a barbecue. The town was in a shambles and ashes were everywhere. The party stared and wondered who did this and why. The four friends decided they would look around for the culprit or clues leading to the mastermind behind the attacks. The raid was on the elven village Heim, which is in the vicinity of the king's palace.
When the king and his soldiers arrived at the scene they couldn't believe what they saw. The four travelers were huddled together around a small piece of paper.
The king asked, "Who did this to my people?" Mithos and Martel just looked at him and handed him the note.
The note read:
"We are with the humans and have taken all of these villagers prisoners. If you want them back you will have to give us what we want."
The king responded after a moment of silence, "What do the humans want?" Yuan looked at him and showed him the crest of the elven castle.
Kratos then turned to the king and asked, "Why would the humans do something this rash and sudden?"
The king answered sorrowfully, "I don't know but if it is the kingdom they want then they will just have to fight us for it."
The very next day a similar occurrence took place. The group found themselves lying in a giant meadow miles from civilization. As Mithos sat up he noticed a fire in the distance.
Mithos called to his friends while jumping up, "Attack, there's another attack!"
The four friends whisked over to the human city, Eulcid, which was now being burned. When they got there the evil doers were still around. As Kratos and Yuan ran towards one set of bad guys they unsheathed their swords and began slicing their way to the injured children that were being held hostage.
Mithos and Martel raced towards the back of the city to see if they could find the culprits of the attacks. When they got to the mayor's office they saw a group of five people clothed in pure black standing around an average fifty year-old man clothed in pure red. They hid behind one of the walls that was not torched and listened intently.
The red robed figure spoke to the mayor who was shaking in fright.
"Now you listen to me, we want to start a war in this world to see the destruction of the kings so we can gain power. I want you to send a messenger to the king with this letter I have made for him. If you do not comply with my wishes you will suffer dire consequences," he spoke as he drew his sword.
The mayor replied, "I will do no such thing"
"Then you will die," The man said while piercing the mayor with his sword.
"NOOOOO," Martel yelled angrily behind the wall.
The henchmen looked around to find the source of the noise. When they looked beyond one of the buildings they spotted Mithos and Martel in a crouching position.
One henchman called to the others, "I found them, over here."
Just as he finished this statement Yuan was on top of him with his dual-sided blade. While Yuan fought off the first attacker the other four and the leader warped out of the town and stuck the note on a stick and left the town. Kratos finally came to the scene of the battle. When he got there Yuan had already taken a blow to the side and was slightly bleeding. Kratos jumped in to help his comrade.
The robed figure held two swords in his hands and was deflecting Kratos' measly attempts at hitting him. Yuan jumped back in to the fight and both of the young fighters were doing pretty well to keep the henchman from striking back. Mithos stared on as he saw Yuan and Kratos fight gallantly together with all of their strength. Mithos saw they were getting nowhere and decided to join the fray.
"I hope you enjoyed living," said the cloaked figure.
"Yeah well I don't see a halo over me just yet," Yuan mocked.
Kratos still focusing on the man and his swordsmanship heard a loud voice form behind, "Fireball."
As Yuan and Kratos jumped out of the way they saw three fireballs zoom pat them and meet the masked fighter. When they hit their mark the fight was over. Kratos turned around to find the magic user and found none other than Mithos standing where the voice came from.
"I didn't know you could use magic," Kratos asked exasperated.
"Yeah, I don't fight too much so not many people know I have this ability."
As the group rejoiced over their victory the human king was making his way towards the city. As he came to the entrance of the town he noticed the paper on the stick and began to read it. When he finished he went through the town to find any survivors but saw none. The four friends had snuck out when they knew the king was coming and decided not to get involved in what they thought would occur next, a war.