Well, chapter 1 is finally here! I took you guys' advice (I also posted
this on GameFAQs for them to read there) and am making Lini use 'kupo' a
few times, however sparingly. Oh, yeah, this is something to do with the
Prologue: All things Final Fantasy are copyrighted © by Square Enix.
--- FF ---
"Hello Lini!" the Hunter said as Lini entered the building, Gaol following. "I see you have yourself a new friend here. I'm Max. What's your name?" He stretched his hand out in gratitude.
Again, the hand of gratitude was ignored by the Biskmatar. "I'm Gaol." Gaol's eyes strayed to the bow in Max's hands. It was red in the middle, where the arrow is placed, and the rest was black. There were spikes along the front, which would make it an excellent melee weapon without arrows. "Impressive weaponry you've got there."
"Oh, this?" Max grinned. "It's my own. I made m'self."
"Yes," said Lini. "He's very handy with his hands. He has made many bows, but this one is a perfect work of art."
Gaol looked around. "Which pub are we in?"
"Notice the bangaa. This is the Long Ear Tavern, the best pub in all of Sprohm." Lini loved knowing more than a companion. "Do you have a new mission for us?"
Max rolled his eyes. "Of course I have. It's almost expired, considering the amount of time you've been away. Grudges against you, I presume?"
Lini smirked. "Ha ha ha. Gosh, don't I hate it when you're right." Gaol got the impression that his affinity for righteousness has landed him in the path of many criminals who are eager to get back at him. He used to be like that. "So, what mission do we have?" Lini asked.
Max rocked back in his chair. "As far as I can tell, some red-armed idiot is making a fool of himself in Koringwood."
Lini whistled. "It has to be worse than that, Max. You often underestimate things."
"True." Max mused. "Oh well. Koringwood is only two days away. I suppose you two can spend a day here to get your fight back." He kicked off his muddy hunting boots. "Go to the Bangaa Emporium. Or how about the prison? I'm sure someone there knows Lini." The Hunter winked.
Lini laughed. "I'm sure just as many of them would know you!" He put his mouth next to Gaol's ear. "He tends to make a friend-too-many with the baddies." Lini stood up. "But what I want right now is a good drink!"
"Get me one too!" Max yelled over his soldier. He turned back to Gaol. "So, what class are you? I've never seen that manner of apparel before." He cocked his head questioningly.
"Biskmatar," Gaol said.
Max fell backwards over his chair. The look of fear was on his face. "Y-y-you're a Biskmatar!?" he exclaimed, obviously frightened. "B-b-but only the Queen may bless one with that power and live!"
"Which is why I masquerade as a Fighter," Gaol said. "Fighters can carry and use Blades, such as mine. I took up this forbidden class as a." He trailed off.
"Sore memories?" Max had regained his composure. Gaol was silent. Max grinned again. "Is it a girl? Were you burned?"
Gaol's amber eyes were full of a deep mix of longing and anger, but he was silent. Max understood that this was a thing that he shouldn't joke around with.
Lini came back, juggling three beer mugs between two short moogle arms. "I got some Dragon Brandy. They're muy kupo!"
Max swiftly took one from his arms. "Yeah! It's the only drink in Ivalace that knocks you out and lets you wake up somewhere you don't want to be!"
"Sorry," Gaol said. "I don't drink."
Lini looked crestfallen. "These are the most expensive drinks in the country! You just made me waste a thousand gil!"
Max took it. "I could use two!" He walked over to some women at the pub bar. "Hey, ladies.!"
Once Lini finished his drink, he said, "C'mon, let's go to the Emporium. You don't wanna be in the same pub as Max when he starts hitting on ladies."
They walked out of the bar, and Max followed them, though through the air and with a sizable boot mark on his hindquarters. "Eh. They were the bouncer's daughters." He turned to Lini. "Oh, uh, about your brandy." He took the hunter's hat off his head, revealing two glass mugs and half a gallon of alcohol in his hair.
Lini laughed. "It was worth the two thousand gil to see you like that!" When he stopped, he said, "Well, we were going to Bangaa Emporium weren't we? Let's go!"
They found nothing spectacular at the Emporium. It was difficult to top Max's bow, the blades of Ayvuir, an Ebon Blade, or a La Seraphica. However, they had a sale on useable items, so Lini bought ten X-Potions.
Walking back to the Long Ear Tavern, which doubled as a hotel, Lini was beginning to feel the effects of the Dragon Brandy. Its effects didn't happen until the drink had time to settle. They led him up to his room, though he fell down the stairs a few times. "Hey, Gaol."
"Yes?" he replied absent-mindedly.
"You seem like a good guy. Will you join our clan, kupo?" he asked, head bobbing and eyes drooped.
Gaol had nothing to do, nothing to live for. He might as well help this moogle and his human commodore. "Yes," he said, "Yes I will."
---
The next day, they set out for the Koringwood. It was early in the morning, and the two day journey shouldn't be too hard. A simple trip across Roda Volcano would get them there. The sky was clear, so unless a freak storm occurred, weather shouldn't become anything that the three couldn't handle.
They were quiet most of the way, except for Max who entertained them with jokes. Well, he entertained Lini at least.
Gaol was in deep thought most of the way. He was thinking about the red-armed fiend in Koringwood, the Aisen 13, his father, his brother, but most of all, about Evelyn. Her crystal blue eyes, her white hair, and her prowess in battle. That's one of the things he loved about her, the fact that she could handle herself in battle. But still, he longed to see her.
"Kupo! We're there!" As they got closer, Lini spoke again. "At least, I think we're there."
The smell of blood was in the air. There was no ambient aura of judge magic around either. Something very fishy was going on.
They walked cautiously into the Koring, looking around in a fit of paranoia. Blood was on the trees, in the leaves, on the grass; every natural aspect of the wonderful forest was stained red. Gaol loved the smell of death. He embraced it, and it possessed him. Only his strong determination to his friend Lini and his brother kept him in line.
"I know what did this." Gaol closed his eyes, relieving the inhuman experience the last time this happened.
"What?" Lini and Max asked simultaneously.
He opened his eyes with tears. "My father did this."
Both were striken. "Y-y-your father!? How?"
Gaol wiped his eyes. "My father is an ex-Judge. He lost faith in the Queen after she stopped him from going into the Jagd Helje to save my mother. He studied the class of the Biskmatar, the first to illegally do so. With his knowledge from being a Judge, he used the Biskmatar's Dark Magic to override the Judge's magic and kill them. His mind couldn't take the grief of my mother's death or the elixir of greed that Dark Magic gave him. He want insane, killing as many Judges as he could, left and right as revenge for my mother. He left my brother and I to grow up alone, without he or my mother." He withdrew his sword and breathed deep. "I mustn't let him kill any more, Judges or no. I'll kill him. Alone" He glared at Lini and Max.
Max stood up, serious for the first time in the small while that Gaol had known him. "With all due respect, Gaol, I believe that we should help you. We are part of the same clan, after all. Though I've known you for only a short time, it sounds like you need a friend."
Lini put a hand on Max's shoulder. "Make that two friends. If your dad could kill a Judge, it is without a doubt you'll need help: Biskmatar or not."
Gaol was a cross between shocked and angry. Finally, he conceded, "Fine, you may fight with me. Do not, however, get in the way. I will spare no allowance to either of you if it means killing my father."
They nodded. Gaol let his eyes linger a while longer, then turned and walked deeper into the woods. Lini and Max exchanged glances and followed.
Soon they heard laughter. Not like the laughter of a child when he receives a present to their liking, not the sarcastic laugh of a well-told joke, but the maniacal laughter of one who has nothing to live for but inflicting pain on others. Was this the laugh of Gaol's father? This is the thought that lingered in Lini's head.
Suddenly they were in a clearing. Here the leaves, trees, grass, and soil wasn't tainted red; it was pure crimson. A creature-barely distinguishable as human-was in the middle, head bent low, hands with claw- like fingernails ripping at Judge armor, and the mouth devouring the insides. It reared back its head to laugh again, his amber eyes so much like Gaol's, but yet so different. It continued feasting on the carcass that once was a Judge, eating it with the same care as if he were eating a Caesar salad with luscious dressing. Suddenly, it stopped in mid-bite, as if it had suddenly realized the three people watching him cannibalize the Judge.
Gaol had no trace of emotion in his eyes, but inside this image was tearing him up. He knew that it would stay fresh in his mind for the rest of his life: his own father, eating another human being, and then grinning at him with human blood on his mouth.
Lini and Max were scared. They had expected a bit of sanity left in Gaol's father. More or less, what they were expecting was an intelligent being with mislead beliefs that might be changed. No, this was beyond expectation. This was pure evil, overwhelming a mind and making it do the will of the devil (metaphorically).
Gaol's father grinned at Gaol, barring his flesh-sharpened teeth, stained with blood. His arms were totally immersed in the Judge's blood. He tried futiley to wipe the flesh and blood from his face, but instead smeared it all over his face; a living mask of insanity. "Hello, son." It's voice was pleasant, and contrasted his appearance such as that of heaven and hell (again, metaphorically).
"You recognize me," Gaol said. His eyes were watery again, and his voice was shaking. "You really know who I am." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.
The maniac of a father stood up and walked towards Gaol, disregarding Lini and Max. His manner was now dignified, and his appearance was even more contrasting. He held out a knife-nailed finger and gestured Gaol towards him. The son took one step forward and drew Passion and Serenity. "Come son, help your dear old mother. We bring home meat for her to cook for us. Your brother can join too. You know, today is her birthday, son."
"Stop it, dad," Gaol said, voice quivering. "Stop it."
"Come son, while the meat is fresh. We will have a grand feast tonight. Your mother is a great cook!" Gaol's father seemed to truly believe that his wife was alive, and that the meat he's feasting on is nothing more than a cow. He didn't know what he was saying, what he was doing, what he even was.
"Stop it."
"Help me.
"Stop."
"Help your mother."
"Damn it, stop!" Gaol rushed forward, Passion stretched toward his father's heart.
His father sidestepped it easily. "Come now, what would ma say if she saw you acting like this?" He lashed out with his nailed hands.
"Stop, stop, stop!" He enunciated each 'stop' with a strike from either Passion or Serenity. However, his father's speed as a Judge and Biskmatar could not be topped, even by Gaol. He jumped from side to side easily, his feet a blur and his blows deadly.
His father jumped backwards, out of range of Gaol's attacks again and stopped by the Judge corpse. He picked up a weapon held by the Judge when he died, the mighty judge sword. "Come now son, that wasn't a fair round!"
Suddenly, it seemed that an invisible fist bushed him side ways as Lini yelled, "Mog Lance!"
Max notched an arrow to his black and red bow and released, striking the foe's left shoulder. His father's stamina, despite the two attacks from Gaol's friends, would not be bested. He stood up without effort or pain. He swung the giant Judge Sword with both hands, the arrow in his shoulder ignored. "Incredible," Max muttered.
The monster of a man jumped forward at Gaol, and swiped at him with the Judge Sword. "The blades of Ayvuir are mighty," Gaol muttered, "but they pale in comparison to the Judge Sword." The speed at which his father was wielding the Sword was impossible, using the fifty pound blade as if it were a simple knife.
His father stopped. Had Gaol's screams finally gotten through his head? No, he was saying something. He was chanting a spell. Lini stupidly rushed toward him, body glowing red. "Mog Rush!" he yelled, but he never completed the attack.
The foe opened his eyes and yelled, "Delta!" A mighty wave of power emanated from him and hit Lini and Gaol straight on. They flew backwards and both hit different trees. Lini was knocked out.
"You are not a man," Max said softly, "You are a monster! Sidewinder!" The arrow that flew from his blow turned malleable and seemed to shape in the air into a golden sword. It struck Gaol's father through the heart. He fell forward, bleeding.
His face turned toward Gaol. The wielder of Ayvuir had gotten up and was walking toward his father. "Son, help me." He was crying. "Help me!"
Gaol looked down at the pitiful figure below. "Stop." His blades fell, sinking into his father's heart. Gaol's eyes flowed with tears freely. "Stop. Why didn't you stop?" He asked, voice full of sobs. "I'm sorry father. I'm sorry mother." He looked up at the blue sky, the only place in the forest free of red. "I couldn't do anything. I couldn't stop him."
Max looked at Gaol. He too was sad. "The pain he must be feeling is immense," Max whispered, so low that Gaol couldn't hear him. "I can't possibly understand. But to kill your own father. That would scar you for life." The tower that was his past, his parents, was in ruins.
Here ends Chapter 1 of the Hero Gaol,
Tower Ruins
--- FF ---
"Hello Lini!" the Hunter said as Lini entered the building, Gaol following. "I see you have yourself a new friend here. I'm Max. What's your name?" He stretched his hand out in gratitude.
Again, the hand of gratitude was ignored by the Biskmatar. "I'm Gaol." Gaol's eyes strayed to the bow in Max's hands. It was red in the middle, where the arrow is placed, and the rest was black. There were spikes along the front, which would make it an excellent melee weapon without arrows. "Impressive weaponry you've got there."
"Oh, this?" Max grinned. "It's my own. I made m'self."
"Yes," said Lini. "He's very handy with his hands. He has made many bows, but this one is a perfect work of art."
Gaol looked around. "Which pub are we in?"
"Notice the bangaa. This is the Long Ear Tavern, the best pub in all of Sprohm." Lini loved knowing more than a companion. "Do you have a new mission for us?"
Max rolled his eyes. "Of course I have. It's almost expired, considering the amount of time you've been away. Grudges against you, I presume?"
Lini smirked. "Ha ha ha. Gosh, don't I hate it when you're right." Gaol got the impression that his affinity for righteousness has landed him in the path of many criminals who are eager to get back at him. He used to be like that. "So, what mission do we have?" Lini asked.
Max rocked back in his chair. "As far as I can tell, some red-armed idiot is making a fool of himself in Koringwood."
Lini whistled. "It has to be worse than that, Max. You often underestimate things."
"True." Max mused. "Oh well. Koringwood is only two days away. I suppose you two can spend a day here to get your fight back." He kicked off his muddy hunting boots. "Go to the Bangaa Emporium. Or how about the prison? I'm sure someone there knows Lini." The Hunter winked.
Lini laughed. "I'm sure just as many of them would know you!" He put his mouth next to Gaol's ear. "He tends to make a friend-too-many with the baddies." Lini stood up. "But what I want right now is a good drink!"
"Get me one too!" Max yelled over his soldier. He turned back to Gaol. "So, what class are you? I've never seen that manner of apparel before." He cocked his head questioningly.
"Biskmatar," Gaol said.
Max fell backwards over his chair. The look of fear was on his face. "Y-y-you're a Biskmatar!?" he exclaimed, obviously frightened. "B-b-but only the Queen may bless one with that power and live!"
"Which is why I masquerade as a Fighter," Gaol said. "Fighters can carry and use Blades, such as mine. I took up this forbidden class as a." He trailed off.
"Sore memories?" Max had regained his composure. Gaol was silent. Max grinned again. "Is it a girl? Were you burned?"
Gaol's amber eyes were full of a deep mix of longing and anger, but he was silent. Max understood that this was a thing that he shouldn't joke around with.
Lini came back, juggling three beer mugs between two short moogle arms. "I got some Dragon Brandy. They're muy kupo!"
Max swiftly took one from his arms. "Yeah! It's the only drink in Ivalace that knocks you out and lets you wake up somewhere you don't want to be!"
"Sorry," Gaol said. "I don't drink."
Lini looked crestfallen. "These are the most expensive drinks in the country! You just made me waste a thousand gil!"
Max took it. "I could use two!" He walked over to some women at the pub bar. "Hey, ladies.!"
Once Lini finished his drink, he said, "C'mon, let's go to the Emporium. You don't wanna be in the same pub as Max when he starts hitting on ladies."
They walked out of the bar, and Max followed them, though through the air and with a sizable boot mark on his hindquarters. "Eh. They were the bouncer's daughters." He turned to Lini. "Oh, uh, about your brandy." He took the hunter's hat off his head, revealing two glass mugs and half a gallon of alcohol in his hair.
Lini laughed. "It was worth the two thousand gil to see you like that!" When he stopped, he said, "Well, we were going to Bangaa Emporium weren't we? Let's go!"
They found nothing spectacular at the Emporium. It was difficult to top Max's bow, the blades of Ayvuir, an Ebon Blade, or a La Seraphica. However, they had a sale on useable items, so Lini bought ten X-Potions.
Walking back to the Long Ear Tavern, which doubled as a hotel, Lini was beginning to feel the effects of the Dragon Brandy. Its effects didn't happen until the drink had time to settle. They led him up to his room, though he fell down the stairs a few times. "Hey, Gaol."
"Yes?" he replied absent-mindedly.
"You seem like a good guy. Will you join our clan, kupo?" he asked, head bobbing and eyes drooped.
Gaol had nothing to do, nothing to live for. He might as well help this moogle and his human commodore. "Yes," he said, "Yes I will."
---
The next day, they set out for the Koringwood. It was early in the morning, and the two day journey shouldn't be too hard. A simple trip across Roda Volcano would get them there. The sky was clear, so unless a freak storm occurred, weather shouldn't become anything that the three couldn't handle.
They were quiet most of the way, except for Max who entertained them with jokes. Well, he entertained Lini at least.
Gaol was in deep thought most of the way. He was thinking about the red-armed fiend in Koringwood, the Aisen 13, his father, his brother, but most of all, about Evelyn. Her crystal blue eyes, her white hair, and her prowess in battle. That's one of the things he loved about her, the fact that she could handle herself in battle. But still, he longed to see her.
"Kupo! We're there!" As they got closer, Lini spoke again. "At least, I think we're there."
The smell of blood was in the air. There was no ambient aura of judge magic around either. Something very fishy was going on.
They walked cautiously into the Koring, looking around in a fit of paranoia. Blood was on the trees, in the leaves, on the grass; every natural aspect of the wonderful forest was stained red. Gaol loved the smell of death. He embraced it, and it possessed him. Only his strong determination to his friend Lini and his brother kept him in line.
"I know what did this." Gaol closed his eyes, relieving the inhuman experience the last time this happened.
"What?" Lini and Max asked simultaneously.
He opened his eyes with tears. "My father did this."
Both were striken. "Y-y-your father!? How?"
Gaol wiped his eyes. "My father is an ex-Judge. He lost faith in the Queen after she stopped him from going into the Jagd Helje to save my mother. He studied the class of the Biskmatar, the first to illegally do so. With his knowledge from being a Judge, he used the Biskmatar's Dark Magic to override the Judge's magic and kill them. His mind couldn't take the grief of my mother's death or the elixir of greed that Dark Magic gave him. He want insane, killing as many Judges as he could, left and right as revenge for my mother. He left my brother and I to grow up alone, without he or my mother." He withdrew his sword and breathed deep. "I mustn't let him kill any more, Judges or no. I'll kill him. Alone" He glared at Lini and Max.
Max stood up, serious for the first time in the small while that Gaol had known him. "With all due respect, Gaol, I believe that we should help you. We are part of the same clan, after all. Though I've known you for only a short time, it sounds like you need a friend."
Lini put a hand on Max's shoulder. "Make that two friends. If your dad could kill a Judge, it is without a doubt you'll need help: Biskmatar or not."
Gaol was a cross between shocked and angry. Finally, he conceded, "Fine, you may fight with me. Do not, however, get in the way. I will spare no allowance to either of you if it means killing my father."
They nodded. Gaol let his eyes linger a while longer, then turned and walked deeper into the woods. Lini and Max exchanged glances and followed.
Soon they heard laughter. Not like the laughter of a child when he receives a present to their liking, not the sarcastic laugh of a well-told joke, but the maniacal laughter of one who has nothing to live for but inflicting pain on others. Was this the laugh of Gaol's father? This is the thought that lingered in Lini's head.
Suddenly they were in a clearing. Here the leaves, trees, grass, and soil wasn't tainted red; it was pure crimson. A creature-barely distinguishable as human-was in the middle, head bent low, hands with claw- like fingernails ripping at Judge armor, and the mouth devouring the insides. It reared back its head to laugh again, his amber eyes so much like Gaol's, but yet so different. It continued feasting on the carcass that once was a Judge, eating it with the same care as if he were eating a Caesar salad with luscious dressing. Suddenly, it stopped in mid-bite, as if it had suddenly realized the three people watching him cannibalize the Judge.
Gaol had no trace of emotion in his eyes, but inside this image was tearing him up. He knew that it would stay fresh in his mind for the rest of his life: his own father, eating another human being, and then grinning at him with human blood on his mouth.
Lini and Max were scared. They had expected a bit of sanity left in Gaol's father. More or less, what they were expecting was an intelligent being with mislead beliefs that might be changed. No, this was beyond expectation. This was pure evil, overwhelming a mind and making it do the will of the devil (metaphorically).
Gaol's father grinned at Gaol, barring his flesh-sharpened teeth, stained with blood. His arms were totally immersed in the Judge's blood. He tried futiley to wipe the flesh and blood from his face, but instead smeared it all over his face; a living mask of insanity. "Hello, son." It's voice was pleasant, and contrasted his appearance such as that of heaven and hell (again, metaphorically).
"You recognize me," Gaol said. His eyes were watery again, and his voice was shaking. "You really know who I am." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.
The maniac of a father stood up and walked towards Gaol, disregarding Lini and Max. His manner was now dignified, and his appearance was even more contrasting. He held out a knife-nailed finger and gestured Gaol towards him. The son took one step forward and drew Passion and Serenity. "Come son, help your dear old mother. We bring home meat for her to cook for us. Your brother can join too. You know, today is her birthday, son."
"Stop it, dad," Gaol said, voice quivering. "Stop it."
"Come son, while the meat is fresh. We will have a grand feast tonight. Your mother is a great cook!" Gaol's father seemed to truly believe that his wife was alive, and that the meat he's feasting on is nothing more than a cow. He didn't know what he was saying, what he was doing, what he even was.
"Stop it."
"Help me.
"Stop."
"Help your mother."
"Damn it, stop!" Gaol rushed forward, Passion stretched toward his father's heart.
His father sidestepped it easily. "Come now, what would ma say if she saw you acting like this?" He lashed out with his nailed hands.
"Stop, stop, stop!" He enunciated each 'stop' with a strike from either Passion or Serenity. However, his father's speed as a Judge and Biskmatar could not be topped, even by Gaol. He jumped from side to side easily, his feet a blur and his blows deadly.
His father jumped backwards, out of range of Gaol's attacks again and stopped by the Judge corpse. He picked up a weapon held by the Judge when he died, the mighty judge sword. "Come now son, that wasn't a fair round!"
Suddenly, it seemed that an invisible fist bushed him side ways as Lini yelled, "Mog Lance!"
Max notched an arrow to his black and red bow and released, striking the foe's left shoulder. His father's stamina, despite the two attacks from Gaol's friends, would not be bested. He stood up without effort or pain. He swung the giant Judge Sword with both hands, the arrow in his shoulder ignored. "Incredible," Max muttered.
The monster of a man jumped forward at Gaol, and swiped at him with the Judge Sword. "The blades of Ayvuir are mighty," Gaol muttered, "but they pale in comparison to the Judge Sword." The speed at which his father was wielding the Sword was impossible, using the fifty pound blade as if it were a simple knife.
His father stopped. Had Gaol's screams finally gotten through his head? No, he was saying something. He was chanting a spell. Lini stupidly rushed toward him, body glowing red. "Mog Rush!" he yelled, but he never completed the attack.
The foe opened his eyes and yelled, "Delta!" A mighty wave of power emanated from him and hit Lini and Gaol straight on. They flew backwards and both hit different trees. Lini was knocked out.
"You are not a man," Max said softly, "You are a monster! Sidewinder!" The arrow that flew from his blow turned malleable and seemed to shape in the air into a golden sword. It struck Gaol's father through the heart. He fell forward, bleeding.
His face turned toward Gaol. The wielder of Ayvuir had gotten up and was walking toward his father. "Son, help me." He was crying. "Help me!"
Gaol looked down at the pitiful figure below. "Stop." His blades fell, sinking into his father's heart. Gaol's eyes flowed with tears freely. "Stop. Why didn't you stop?" He asked, voice full of sobs. "I'm sorry father. I'm sorry mother." He looked up at the blue sky, the only place in the forest free of red. "I couldn't do anything. I couldn't stop him."
Max looked at Gaol. He too was sad. "The pain he must be feeling is immense," Max whispered, so low that Gaol couldn't hear him. "I can't possibly understand. But to kill your own father. That would scar you for life." The tower that was his past, his parents, was in ruins.
Here ends Chapter 1 of the Hero Gaol,
Tower Ruins