A/N: Before I write the next chapter, here is the Terminology for "Maria's Promise"!
Declaimer: I do not own anything that isn't mine!
Summary: The Basic Terms and reasons you will need to learn to understand "Maria's Promise" better.
Enjoy!
First, about the Title of the story:
Maria's Promise - This was greatly inspired by Shadow the Hedgehog's Past Memories. Before he was sent to Earth for his own safety; Shadow lived (somewhat happily) on the Space Colony Ark with his beloved and only friend Maria Robotnik.
Before she died; Maria, made a promise with Shadow: that promise was to bring hope back to humanity and give humans the chance to be happy.
This story practically defines that promise, you see; this story mostly centers around Shadow the Hedgehog and his new friend Sayuri.
Sayuri (to Shadow) is almost like Maria's reincarnation, she shares the same character traits with Maria with a mixture of her own originality as well.
Like Maria: Sayuri only wants peace and happiness, this causes Shadow to realize just how important his promise to Maria really was.
Although he acts coldly towards her, deep down inside; Shadow really does care about Sayuri.
(The Summary):
"A world long forgotten...
Three Hedgehogs, One Girl...
Two Kingdoms...
Four Dimensions...
One Destiny...
Can love truly triumph over all?"
Next, the Places/Dimensions/Worlds you need to know about:
Cosium - The dimension/world Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Sayuri were originally from. It is also the birthplace of Kaze.
It was once ruled by Sonic, Shadow, and Silver's biological parents; Kaze and Sapphire.
But ever since Darren's betrayal, both sadly died in the hands of Black Doom (Darren).
Atlantis - Cosium's allied Kingdom, the birthplace of Sapphire.
Along with Cosium; it was once ruled by Sonic, Shadow, and Silver's biological parents Kaze and Sapphire before they died.
Valley of Darkness - The darkest and most dangerous place in Cosium, it is home of the Black Lynx Nekojin
The Valley of Darkness is located just outside of Kaze and Sapphire's kingdom, it is completely closed off from the Coziards and Half-Immortals.
It almost looks like a forest engulfed in darkness, and once you go in; you may never come out.
Next up, the People/Mobian-like/Magical/Dangerous creatures:
Coziards - The (Mobian-like) people of Cosium, most of which can do/specializes in a specific type of Magic.
No one knows why; but they are quite hated by the Black Lynx Nekojin, to the point where people call it disgust.
Once they reach a certain age; a Coziard needs to form a bond with a Half-Immortal in order to learn how to protect another being and also to retain peace between the two.
They are also the only ones who can break the bond between themselves and their partners, either to prevent the death of their partners or to save themselves
Half-Immortals - The (Human-like) people of Cosium, like the Coziards; they have the ability to use Magic.
Just like the name suggests: Half-Immortals are only "half" of what they should be.
This means that although they can stop aging at any time as they please, they are still vulnerable to attacks and death.
Once they reach a certain age/time, they must form a bond with a Coziard for protection and peace reasons.
They are also said to be the favorite prey of the Black Lynx Nekojin, as they are easily swayed by the Black Lynx's Seduction Ability.
Black Lynx Nekojin - Black Lynxes are said to be half-immortals who practiced Dark Magic while they still resided in Cosium, and because of their insolence they were banished and now lived outside the Kingdom's barrier. But this is simply an old urban legend, no one really knows the true origin of the Black Lynx Nekojin.
Just like what was said earlier; Black Lynxes can only use Dark Magic, they are described as human-like creatures born with cat ears and long slender tails. Not only that; but they are said to also have the ability to drain Half-immortals of their Life Essence.
Emerald Gurdians - The true guardians of the 8 Chaos Emeralds, they are Half-Immortals that lived near the Kingdom's Barrier.They are 4 chosen ones who were destined to protect both Cosium and Atlantis with the help of the 8 Chaos Emeralds. The reason they live near the barrier is because each one of them is blessed with the power to control a specific Chaos Emerald.
All 8 of the Chaos Emeralds together form the barrier itself, but since 7 of them disappeared (along with a few other important people/objects) only 1 is left protecting the Kingdom Kaze and Sapphire had built together.
Doll Makers - Like what was said before; each Half-Immortal can specializes in specific type of Magic just like Coziards, Doll Makers are one of the two rarest forms of Half-Immortals.
Only two doll makers are known in the story: namely Rozen and his apprentice Enju.
Doll makers are sometimes referred to as "Soul Givers" since they seem to bring all their creations to life (literally!), namely by using Rosa Mysticas.
Maestros - Another one of the rarest types of Half-Immortals, even though they cannot create what Doll Makers can.
Although this is true; Maestros still have a special ability which can be quite useful to Doll Makers: the ability to mend what was once broken.
When a Doll Maker's creation is broken beyond repair by the creator himself, Maestros step in and fix the once-broken creation.
Each Maestro is capable of fixing a certain type of creation, the most well known type of Maestro are mostly seen with a Doll Maker.
Although her Father is a doll maker; Sayuri is in fact the last Doll Maestro known in Cosium. But she didn't know until her abilities revealed themselves.
Lastly, the Magical Items/Abilities/others:
Crests - Symbols given to a Half-Immortal once they reach a certain age, the crest represents a person's strongest feature.
In other words, something that shows what the person really represents in this world.
They are often given in the form of a certain object, they are also used to find one's soul mate/purpose in life.
The crest one receives often appears on the object given to them: it can either be a pocket watch or even an umbrella; it really depends on the person who receives it. (e.g. Sayuri received a pocket watch with her "Crest of Forgiveness" on it.)
Seduction Ability - The ability Black Lynx Nekojin are quite famous for, this ability seems to work only on Half-Immortals and only if they look directly into a Black Lynx's eyes.
Life Essence - The thing that keep most Half-Immortals alive, since they are not technically human; Life Essence are what they consider their very Soul.
Rosa Mysticas - A soul that only Doll Makers can summon, although only Rozen has ever used this type of Magic.
They are sometimes referred to as "Artificial Souls" since they only give life to dolls and not organic beings.
The 8th Chaos Emerald- Said to be the most powerful out of all of the Chaos Emeralds, the last one protecting Kaze and Sapphire's Kingdom from the sinister and murderous creatures of the Valley of Darkness.
A/N: Well that's all the information I can provide (For now at least), if any of you have any questions please don't be afraid to ask! I will gladly answer them.
