I don't own Legend of Dragoon. (Are you getting tired of repetition too?)

"So, this is Fletz," I remarked.

We had arrived at the Tiberoan capital in late afternoon, and were now exploring the city. The first thing that I noticed was that it was significantly larger than Bale. The locals were mostly dark-skinned, due to the climate (Tiberoa being rather far to the south). One thing that struck me as odd was the recurring star motif. Buildings, light fixtures, and even the streets were decorated with star shapes. It was like walking through a planetarium.

I turned to Albert. "Why are there star shapes everywhere?"

"Tiberoans have faith in the stars," he replied. "They have a very advanced astronomy as a result."

Krista snorted derisively. "Faith in the stars? Come on. That's got to be one of the silliest things I've ever heard."

We headed for a nearby bar to search for news. The waitress there insisted on talking on and on about stars until even Albert got sick of hearing it.

Dart interrupted, "We're searching for a man named Lloyd. Have you seen him?"

The girl thought for a moment. "Hmm, Lloyd?" She looked puzzled. "I haven't seen him. If Miss Kaffi the hipster doesn't know then he probably isn't in this town."

I left the bar while the others went to see an astronomer named Fester. Near the castle, I heard an alarmed voice.

"Shoot! Princess Emille is coming!"

"It's too sudden!"

I watched as the princess walked down the steps into the square. She was certainly beautiful, but her manners, or rather lack of them, ruined the effect. "I heard somebody say 'shoot'. Who was it!?" She berated a few people, then left, pleading boredom.

Witch I thought disgustedly.

I caught up with the others near the house of a man named Nello. On hearing of Emille's behavior, Albert was in shock.

"What!? I heard that she was a very sweet person."

I shrugged. "Well, she's not now. I do believe that she is the most obnoxious woman I have ever seen."

As there were no rooms at the hotel, and we couldn't leave town, Nello offered to take us in for the night.

While he and Albert chatted about something called the Green Project, I spoke to Dart. "How was Fester's?"

"Good. We found out more about the Moon That Never Sets and the Black Monster. Unfortunately, more still wasn't much."

Krista looked over at Albert and Nello. "Are they going to talk all night!?"

Haschel looked, too. "It seems so," he said.

I turned away. "I don't care. I'm going to bed."

The next morning, I checked my appearance for the first time since my arrival in this strange world. It was still the same: pale skin, close-cropped black hair, and eyes the color of Arctic ice. My outfit was still neat and simple: pants, shirt, knee-high boots, and tight gloves, all in black; and a single-edged sword strapped across my back.

Krista came in, wearing a similar outfit. "Ready to go, Kyle?"

I rolled my eyes. "I've been ready since Albert started talking with that psychotic plant man. Where are we going?"

"A town called Donau, to the northeast. Albert says that they have lots of flowers there."

We met the others at the city gate. Dart and Shana were watching the sky, Haschel was doing his usual morning warm-up, Albert and Lavitz were sparring, and Rose sat silently nearby.

I raised my hand in greeting. "We're ready."

Dart nodded. "Good. Let's go."

The trip through the Barrens was uneventful until we got to the midpoint. We suddenly heard an annoying cackle from a nearby ridge.

Shana pointed upwards. "Who are they?"

The three thugs cackled again and jumped to the ground. "I'm Mappi of the Gehrich Gang," the leader said. "Now give us your valuables!"

Dart rolled his eyes. "They have no class."

I glared at them. "Buzz off, vermin."

Albert snorted. "We have nothing to give you. But if you insist, how about a 'miserable ending' for you."

Rose drew her sword. "This is your last chance. Get out of our way or you'll need a doctor."

The bandits were unimpressed, and attacked. Lavitz impaled one of the henchmen with his spear, while I sent the other backwards, sans head.

Dart was less fortunate. He almost took down Mappi when the latter lunged forward and stole his Dragoon Spirit. Rose tried to stop Mappi, but he was too agile. He ran off, still cackling to himself.

"He's gone." Albert sounded resigned.

Dart pounded the ground with his fist. "It's my fault for not being careful enough!"

Rose was concerned. "Having a Dragoon Spirit stolen was the last thing we needed."

I shook my head. "We can't do anything about it for now. Let's move on to Donau."

Donau the Flower City was the coziest place we had yet visited. As the name implies, there were flowers everywhere. Unfortunately, the city's beauty was marred by the presence of a large number of bandits. They seemed to think that they owned the whole town.

We were greeted by a nervous girl. "Wel…welcome to Donau."

"Don't worry. We're not with the bandits," Krista reassured her.

The girl was relieved. "Thank you."

I walked over. "We're looking for a man named Lloyd. Have you seen him?" I asked gently.

"Yes. He saved a visitor from some bandits a couple of days ago," she replied.

Albert frowned. "Who was this visitor?"

"Wink, the Third Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau."

"Mille Seseau?" I repeated. "Isn't that your homeland, Dart?"

He nodded. "I haven't been there in eighteen years, though."

Krista and I decided to explore the town by ourselves. We ran into a small group of Mille Seseau soldiers near the local clinic.

Their leader spoke to me. "Have you seen the man who saved Sister Wink?"

I shook my head. "We're looking for him, too. May I speak to this Sister Wink?"

"I will check." The knight disappeared for a moment, then returned. "Sister Wink will speak with you."

The girl I was brought to didn't look the part of a high ranking official. Pale, with blond hair, she seemed like the stereotypical "damsel in distress".

I got right to the point. "I understand that you met a swordsman named Lloyd. Could you describe him?"

She nodded. "Yes. He had a pale complexion, platinum silver hair, and red eyes. He was dressed in a sleeveless black and silver outfit and carried a long sword."

"That sounds like the same man. Did he have a sword that looked like a flame?"

Wink shook her head. "Not that I saw."

I thought for a moment. "Did you see where he went?"

"No."

"Thank you. You've been a big help." I hurried back to the others.

I found them near the Mayor's house. "Lloyd was here for sure," I said without preamble. "Why he would save the life of a stranger is beyond me. And who on Earth is this ?"

I indicated a girl standing with them. She had pale skin and platinum hair with a bluish tinge. She was dressed in a somewhat revealing dancer's outfit that was probably a liability around bandits. She also carried a large hammer.

Dart said, "This is Meru. When she heard that we were going to rescue a local she insisted on coming along."

I frowned. "Rescue? Who are we going to rescue?"

"A man named Lynn. He's the Mayor's son."

"I see. Do we know where these bandits are based?"

"Beyond a place called the Valley of Corrupted Gravity," Dart replied.

"Corrupted Gravity? I do not like the sound of that," I mused. "Oh, well. If it needs to be done, then we'll do it."

With our new friend in tow, we made our way back to Fletz. The trip was made lively by Meru's constant dancing and chatter. She acted much like a classic teen, but I was certain that there was more to her than met the eye.

About halfway through the Barrens, I turned to the others. "I just had an interesting thought."

"What is it, Kyle?" Dart asked.

"We have five of the original Dragoon Spirits with us. Six if you count the one Mappi stole. It occurs to me that we might want to search for the remaining Dragoons. I have an odd feeling that we'll need them."

"I agree," Rose said firmly. "It cannot be a coincidence that the Dragoons are gathering again. We will need all the help we can get."

"Let's see," Krista said. "We have Fire, Light, Darkness, Wind, and Thunder, plus the two Star. That should leave Earth and Water."

"I found the Golden Dragoon Spirit in Lohan," I said. "We just need to find a bearer." Little did I know how soon we would find one.

Fletz was much the same as when we left it, if a little busier.

"So, we need the permission of King Zior. Albert, do you know him?" Dart asked.

"I might have met him once or twice when I was little," Albert replied.

"So there shouldn't be a problem, then," Meru said brightly.

Albert looked away. "I am not going to reveal my identity." He turned back to us. "I am not traveling as the king of Serdio. I am traveling as your companion and friend." We all nodded.

Our first attempt to see the king was comical. Meru tried to break through the castle guard, but simply bounced off him. Persuasion seemed futile, so we backed off to consider our options.

"Dart, didn't you say that Fester worked for the royal family?" I said at last.

"Yes," Dart said slowly.

"Why don't we talk to him, then?"

"Good idea."

Fester proved easy to find. When we explained our problem, he was glad to help us. When the guard saw us in the astronomer's company, he let us past without a second glance.

Fester led us to the Chamber of the Sun, the throne room of Tiberoa.

"I think my eyes are going," said the king. "I see many Festers."

"There is only one of me, Your Majesty," Fester replied. "These are my friends."
"Oh? And what is their request?" Zior asked.

Dart stood. "Your Majesty, we want permission to enter the Valley of Corrupted Gravity."
"Hmm, I think I've heard of the Valley of Corrupted Gravity," the king mused.

Fester said hurriedly, "King Zior, your ears are fine, too."

Is this guy senile? I thought.

He gave us a pass and invited us too dinner that night. We were happy to accept.

Near the entrance to the castle, we heard a voice, "Excuse me, Your Majesty Albert?"

"Yes?" Albert said.

"I am Libria, lady's maid to Princess Lisa. She wishes to speak with you."

I stepped forward. "Wait a minute. How do you know who he is?"

"Princess Lisa speaks with the stars. Astrology shows her the way," Libria replied.

Idiot. I turned to Dart. "You guys can talk to the Princess. I'm going for a walk." I spun on my heel and left.

The Twin Castle was a soothing place at night. The towers rose high into the night sky, framing the Moon That Never Sets. I carefully avoided the Moon Tower, bearing in mind Princess Emille's rather abrasive behavior. Instead, I made my way to the walkway connecting the towers. There, I found an enormous telescope.

I must have gazed into it for an hour when I heard Libria's voice behind me. "Mr. Hunter?"

"Yes?"

"The dinner is ready. Please follow me."

The meal was not destined to be on my list of favorite memories. Princess Emille was abrupt, scornful, and just plain annoying. Adding insult to injury, she had no discernable table manners. I swiftly lost what little appetite I had.

"Ho ho ho," the king said. "It seems that when girls reach twenty, they develop quite an appetite."

Senile old man, I thought, disgusted.

"You and you. What are your names?" Emille demanded, pointing to Dart and Albert.

"I am Dart," said our leader.

"My name is Albert. It is a pleasure to meet you," was Albert's response.

I leaned close to Rose. "Could she get any more obnoxious?"

"Probably not."

I tuned out the rest of the conversation and tried to concentrate on my food. This was ultimately futile, despite the excellent cooking. Emille was too rude, King Zior kept excusing her, and I turned out to be allergic to a grain dish, much to my embarrassment. Lavitz laughed himself silly at my expression.

I glared at him. "Laugh while you can, Lavitz. Maybe next time you'll be the one with egg on your face."

After the meal, we retired to a guest room. Judging by the number of beds, it had obviously been prepared in advance.

"Dart, what does Princess Lisa want with us?" I asked.

"She wants us to find out the connection between her sister and the Gehrich Gang. In a couple of days, Princess Emille will inherit a magic treasure of Tiberoa, the Moon Dagger."

"Moon Dagger? Is that anything like Serdio's Moon Gem?"

He nodded. "Lisa doesn't want the bandits to get their hands on it."

"Great. Just great. Since it's a magical artifact named for the moon, then Lloyd'll probably show up in the next few days. The situation is getting crazier by the minute."

We brainstormed for a bit, then decided to call it a night.

Author's note: For those of you wondering when the romance part of the story comes in, it will be in chapter 13. D.S.