If you wish to see legal information, direct your eyes to the first chapter. I see no need to type it over and over again.

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Chapter One- Setting Out

Cloud Strife awoke ill at ease in his bed. As he gazed around the room, he felt relieved to find the familiar comforts of his simple bedroom around him.

Another dream of that place… he thought as his heartbeat gradually slowed to a normal rate in his chest.

He pulled himself slowly out of bed, and walked over to his pale green tunic, which was laying on the floor. Why does that dream feel so familiar? he wondered as he pulled the tunic over his plain white sleeping shirt.

However, in a moment, all thoughts of the dream were pushed out of his head as he remembered what day it was: The first day the new Tipa caravan was to set out. He had waited for years to join the caravan, and now, the day had finally arrived for him to set out with the next generation of crystal caravanners. The dream long forgotten, he pulled on a pair of green-striped shorts, shoved his feet into his plain, brown boots, and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. He looked around for his family, but no one was there except for him. However, on the table, there was a knapsack waiting for him.

"Huh? What's this doing here?" he muttered to himself.

He opened it to look inside, and found an array of foodstuffs tantilizing his senses. He saw three plain gourd potatoes, some star carrots, three salted slabs of meat, and two bright red cherry clusters. A smile broke out on his face at the sight of the items. His parents really were looking out for him. He plucked one of the cherries from the nearest cluster, and popped one into his mouth. The fruit tasted very sweet, but had a slight bitter aftertaste. It must have been plucked from a tree grown in miasma.

"Of course you'd find the food first." a voice teased from behind him.

Cloud turned around, and found his older sister Mintie smiling warmly at him. He put the knapsack over his back, and grabbed the sword and shield resting against the wall, both emblazoned with the symbol of the Clavats. "Gotta keep my strength up. Since the town depends on me now, and all…"

Mintie nodded, her short blonde hair falling into her eyes. "Well, let's go outside. Mom, Dad, and Ramsey are waiting for you already."

Cloud nodded in acknowledgement, and stepped out into the dim morning light, where, as Mintie had stated, his parents and older brother were waiting for him.

"So, the day of your first journey with the caravan has finally arrived." Arion, his father, murmured in greeting.

"Be careful out there." Christie warned gently, her maternal instincts overwhelming her at the thought of the dangers her son would face.

"Be sure you don't get eaten by a monster out there, you knucklehead." Ramsey teased, tousling his little brother's messy blonde hair, and receiving horrified looks from his mother.

"Don't worry. I'm not going alone, and even if I were, I'd be fine." Cloud reassured them.

"Be sure to send us any items you find so we can sell them in the shop." Arion reminded.

The young Clavat nodded, his hair falling into his brown eyes. "I will. I'll see you before the year's out!"

And with that, the merchant's son left his family behind as he headed for the center of town, where the town's crystal rested. Another member of the caravan was already there, waiting for him with his arms crossed over his fur-lined, navy smock. Cloud's eyes narrowed at the sight of who it was.

Sephiroth… he growled mentally, wondering how the Selkie had ever managed to worm his way into the caravan.

When they were children, Cloud's parents wanted him to avoid associating with the milers and their son, for fear that they would rob the shop blind. That suited Cloud just fine, for there was something about the silver-haired teen that just didn't sit right with him. However, if they were going to travel together, he knew he would have to at least try to put aside his inherent dislike for Sephiroth. With that in mind, he walked over to the Selkic teen, and nodded in acknowledgement. Sephiroth returned the gesture curtly, and the two waited in silence for the rest of the caravan.

The silence was broken as the door to Belgano the Alchemist's house opened, and a young Clavat, slightly older than the other two boys, stepped outside, squinting into the sunlight. Cloud knew the boy passably well- his mother was friends with Harmia, the alchemist's wife. Vincent was the boy's name. He had short, neatly groomed black hair, and his complexion was quite pale for a Clavat, but given his family's line of work, that was to be expected. He was wearing an outfit somewhat similar to Cloud's, though it was mostly in earthen brown, red, and white hues. He seemed to notice the other two, and walked over to them.

"Hello." Vincent greeted quietly.

Cloud was surprised at hearing him speak. His voice, it seemed, had already fully changed, and had a surprising depth, given his age.

"Hey." Cloud answered dully.

Sephiroth turned to see the other boy. He didn't really care one way or the other about the new arrival: As children, they had never associated all that much. However, he felt the need to be courteous, so he said, "Good to see you."

Cloud raised an eyebrow. Sephiroth didn't seem like the type to deign to speak to anyone else, unless he was ordering them around. It seemed his voice had changed as well, granting him a depth of voice that seemed suitable for command. Cloud's voice had changed as well, but lacked that same gravitas the other two possessed, making him sound utterly inexperienced by comparison, a fact that he bristled at. He was not just some kid trying to play hero, but with those two around, that was what it would seem like.

"It's hard to believe that we're getting sent out on our first caravan already." Vincent commented.

"Hmm…" was Sephiroth's only affirmative response.

"Yeah." Cloud nodded. "Pretty soon, we'll be off to see the world and collect myrrh for the village."

"Yes." a much higher voice cut in. "And we'll be glad to serve our town, right?"

Cloud smiled at the new arrival. "Hey Aerith."

The young Clavatian maid smiled, the rising sun reflecting off of her brown hair, which was pulled up in a white and red cap, whose color scheme was echoed throughout her clothing. Her green eyes sparkled looking over her fellow caravanners. She had known them all since childhood. Cloud often came over to her house when his father wanted produce to sell in the shop. Vincent was more of an enigma, but she had seen him a few times when his older brother Welsh came over to do some research on the soil her family used for farmland. As for Sephiroth, when she was a child, she was the only one who would give the Selkic lad the time of day. His family and hers often worked together in business, and she was never one to let race get in the way of a friendship.

The other two boys smiled at the girl, and greeted in unison, "Hello Aerith."

Aerith smiled. "It's good to see you all as well. But I think it's time we set off, since we're all here now."

Sephiroth nodded. "Yes. We should get moving as quickly as possible."

Cloud shot the Selkie a glare. Who said he was in charge? He sighed, and said, "Yeah. Let's go."

The four teens gathered around the papaomus and wagon, and guided it out of town, waving one last farewell to their families before leaving behind the only home they had ever known.

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Hopefully I did a good job of introducing everyone. The next chapter is where we start on the River Belle Path!