Mike AZ 2 here, with all my other good hobbies, I rarely update my fics. But that's a lame excuse.
Ah well, another day and another chapter. Oh, and the Ogre Battle series was created by Enix.
Chapter I: Beginnings
Years passed since young Magnus attended the southern academy and was in the midst of his graduation ceremony.
As he stood before Archbishop Oridon from the East Orthodox Church, the old man spoke" Thou has done quite well in your training in this academy. Now, what is thy name?"
" Magnus" replied the blue haired eighteen year old graduate.
" Why will you sever with thy sword?" inquired Oridon.
Magnus didn't hesitate to respond" I will sever greed."
Oridon continued" What shall you protect with thy sword?"
" I will protect the peace" said Magnus.
" And what element would you call upon?" spoke the archbishop.
" I would call upon the Serene Water" said Magnus.
Archbishop Oridon nodded, then said" You now will go forth to your destiny, and here are the following gifts."
Magnus received a blue gemstone and inquired" If I must ask, how do I use it?"
" When needed, focus your energy while holding the Water Pedra to summon powerful water spirits to aid you in combat. It cannot often be used due to its incredible magical capabilities, and the power of the Elemental Pedra's magic reflects the caster's strength" replied Oridon.
Magnus thanked Archbishop Oridon, and left for Akka Castle in Palitinus' southern region accompanied by his fellow graduates Leia Silvas and Diomedes Rangue.
A few days later, upon reaching the castle headquarters of the Southern Division, a Southern Division guard escorted the trio to the general's office where some other military academy graduates were gathered.
There, the guard reported to a blond haired older man" Sir, these are the candidates who graduated recently from the academy."
The other man, who's name was Godesles, nodded and addressed the candidates" Welcome, though I do not know why you chose to enlist in the Southern Division. If you think you can slack off, I suggest you think again. I expect you to do your absolute best."
General Godesles addressed his guard" Take it from here."
The guard complied and read off of the list of candidates as he spoke to the military candidates" Magnus, Leia, Diomedes, Luke, Daimon, Bertha, Singleton, you are to meet with your adviser and prepare for a training mission on the Tenne Plains."
The candidates saluted and filed from the room.
In the castle's briefing room, Magnus entered and met with an white haired man who was a tactician. Magnus addressed him" Sir."
" Magnus, if I am not mistaken, I am Hugo" replied the white haired old man.
Hugo took a short look at Magnus and said" Hm, well, you pass."
" Is that all?" inquired Magnus.
" As you get older, you can tell a lot about people by looking at them. Though truthfully, I have known about you for a long time, now go get ready for your training mission" replied Hugo.
Magnus left the room as Dio, as Diomedes Rangue preferred to be called, entered to be tested.
An hour later Magnus, Dio and some of their former classmates from the academy made ready for training by recieving individualized weapons and other equipment. The old tactician Hugo informed the group that Magnus will lead them for the mission.
Dio was astonished" Why him? Didn't you test us!"
" I tested you in my own way, this setup is not absolute" said Hugo.
Dio scoweled as Hugo left the room. He turned to face Magnus" I don't like this, let's take it outside!"
Outside Akka Castle, Dio confronted Magnus" I will challenge you for the 'Commander' position. I don't mind if you're strong, but I will NOT let ANYONE weaker then me be my commander!"
Magnus sighed as he shook his head" Why should it matter whose better or worse? I don't mind if you are Commander."
Dio brandished his sword" Are you MOCKING ME just because I am from the SOUTH? Just draw your sword!"
Before Magnus could do or say anything else, Hugo interjected on the scene" Calm yourself Dio! You will understand your shortcomings eventually, and I have my own reasons for choosing Magnus to lead this mission. Now your training mission is to clear out some bandits at the plains."
" We're Soldiers, Not Janitors! ******!" grumbled Dio
" Stop complaining and hurry up" said Hugo.
At the Tenne plains, Magnus and Dio met with the assigned members of their training squad accompanied by Hugo at a nearby town.
The old tactician addressed the team" There are quite a few towns that may need to be protected. Our goal is to clear the enemy headquarters, which is the mine southwest of here."
" What are we up against?" inquired Luke, who is a Samurai.
" I am not sure, but we must clear the area of bandits and beasts and seize the abandoned mine southwest of here" said Hugo.
The trainee Cleric, Bertha, spoke up" Sounds easy. So we're heading out now right?"
" Let's not get too carried away. Luke, Singleton and I will take a head start. Dio, you and Bertha will support each other" said Magnus.
Hugo nodded his approval" That's a solid strategy, Magnus. Good luck everyone."
At the abandoned mine, one of the unknown enemy soldiers addressed their leader" The Southern Division is onto is!"
The leader, a axe-wielding berkserker, said" Prepare for battle!"
" Yes Sir" said the enemy knight.
Not far from the area, Magnus and his squad were nearing the mine as they were attacked by the unknown forces, which consisted of three knights and two mages.
" Let's take them all out!" shouted Magnus.
Dio stood his ground and tackled two enemy knights that tried to attack Bertha.
As Dio took on his opponents, Singleton, a Phalanx, eliminated one of the mages, but not without taking a fire spell to his armor.
" Blast! These guys are tough!" remarked Singleton.
Bertha cast a heal spell on Singleton while Luke intercepted the other mage.
Magnus helped Dio defeat the enemy knights before the two confronted the leader of the so-called bandit group at the mine and knocked the wind out of him.
As the fight died down, Magnus confronted the captured berserker" So why did you attack?"
The berserker sneered" We were but a decoy, we have captured Prince Yumil."
Dio sighed" So now what, Commander?"
Magnus replied after he ordered Singleton and Luke to take the 'bandit leader' to the nearest courthouse (I don't really know how the judicial system and justice worked in medieval times. But It was pretty harsh compared to the real modern world.)" What else? We will rescue the prince."
" With little to no information as to what to do?" said Dio, with a raised eyebrow.
" Nevertheless, we can't waste time" said Hugo, who came to further instruct Magnus and his group.
" So we go ourselves then?" said Dio.
" We don't have time to contact the main force, we are the only unit close enogh to save Prince Yumil" said Hugo.
Two days later, near the Volmus Mines.
Magnus, Dio and the rest of the trainees rushed to the vicinity of the recent attack on the prince by a branch of the Revolutionary Army. Hugo instructed Magnus to gather info in the nearby towns and save Yumil before going back to Akka Castle in Alba.
Magnus glanced at the surroundings before giving orders to his team" Dio, you head east with Singleton and Luke to investigate the prince's whereabouts. Bertha, you're with me, we'll head southward to gather information at the towns as we advance."
" All right then" said Dio.
Bertha looked concerned" Not to speak out of turn, commander, but are you sure we'll be fine if we split up like that?"
Magnus replied" It won't be any trouble, I have one of these on hand as well as a healing herb."
He showed her the blue gemstone which contained powerful water magic.
" A Elemental Pedra! Those are quite rare, where did you get one?" inquired Bertha.
" Later Bertha, let's move out everyone!" said Magnus.
As Magnus and the cleric moved on south, taking on any Rebel Soldiers as they went, Dio, Singleton and Luke marched on east to find a town and a compound guarded by two enemy knights.
Thinking quickly, Dio had Singleton and Luke attack the two rebel knights while he entered the compound next to the town.
At the compound, Dio had dispatched the guard and went upstairs to find three men.
One of them, a hot tempered military captain named Rhade, sighed" Just Why the ****** Did the Southern Division take so long? You! What unit are you assigned to?"
" I am not from the main division, sir. Myself and a small trainee group led by Magnus came as soon as we could" said Dio.
" You mean only rookies came to the rescue? Never mind, tell this 'Magnus' that he best kill off every rebel at the Volmus Mine!" shouted Rhade.
The white haired young man thought as he overheard the name of an old friend of his 'Magnus? Is that really him?'
A short day later, back on the main battlefield, Dio informed Magnus that the prince was rescued and the leader of the current enemy battalion was at the Volmus Mines.
Magnus nodded" Good work, Dio. You, myself and Bertha will capture the enemy's headquarters. The rest of you go back and guard the base camp."
" Yes sir" said Luke.
Magnus, Dio and Bertha marched to the Volmus Mine which took two more days.
There, another enemy berserker and his bodyguards attacked.
Magnus knocked out the berserker while Dio and Bertha took care of the bodyguards.
" Well, that's that. But we should take him with us as a prisoner" said Magnus.
The three trainees and their captive went to where Yumil and Rhade were waiting.
Rhade was not as forgiving as Magnus" Who told you to bring him alive?"
" I think we should hear him out" said Magnus.
Rhade spat" We have no reason to listen to their bellyaching about work conditions and all that junk!"
The man then drew his sword and lunged at the captured berserker.
Magnus blocked his path only to be knocked back.
" Is this what passes for Palitinus' knights?" said a voice.
Yumil glanced ahead" Who is that?"
A long-haired blond man approached and engaged Rhade.
The central division captain snarled" Who the heck are you?"
" Is this what passes for knights in this kingdom?, Isn't Palitinus' lineage too noble to be mere puppets of Lodis?" said the mystery man.
While Rhade was distracted, a blond haired woman in a brown cloak freed the prisoner, while a silver haired warlock cast a powerful paralyzing spell on Magnus, Dio, Bertha, Rhade and Yumil.
Moments later, the group recovered. Yumil sighed" Well, thanks Magnus."
" Well, the missin is accomplished" said Dio.
The group soon parted ways. Magnus had thwarted an 'assassination attempt' on Yumil and showed great prowess on the field.
The Revolution was as intense as ever. And though Magnus and Yumil sympathized with the Revolutionary Army because of their discontent, it seemed as if there is little the two childhood friends could do.
How was it? Sorry I could not find a better title for this chapter.
To clear things up a bit, I will use horizontal ruler lines to shift to different perspectives and scenes along with my author notes will will be at the start and the end of each chapter. Also, any extra characters such as the ones in this chapter will actually be some of the units that some of the main characters will have supporting them.
Also, for future reference, '******'will indicate when a character is cussing. Bad language such as some of the words used in the game seems quite unnecessary if you ask me.
I hope you readers found this chapter enjoyable, though I didn't put much action in the fic yet. Please feel free to review if you'd like.