-Authors Note-
Howdy folks. Welcome to my story. I'm writing this note now to give all of you a little heads up on what to expect. First of all, this story will most probably involve very few, if any of the characters from Legend of Mana. It takes place in the Legend of Mana universe, with perhaps a few crossover ideas from Sword of Mana, Secret of Mana, and possibly even Seiken Densetsu 3. Pretty much all of my characters are completely original, mostly based off of characters that exist in an on-going RPG I'm in.
So, what the hell am I doing on ff.net?
To tell the truth, my presence here is mostly due to another author on ff.net (Shuken no ryu. Go read her stuff. It's good). She urged me on, as well as inspired me a little every now and then. So here I am, with my completely original characters and not much of a clue. Whatever works, eh?
Ok, onto something more important: location. Polkos exists on the far left side of the map. The "mainland" is the area chosen by the hero character of LoM, and exists in the middle part of the world that almost everyone uses as his or her play area. All artifacts save for the Sword of Mana, Broach of Love, and Jumi Staff are placed. Most of the area around Polkos is filled with woods, with a few villages dotted around the place. A single Podunk with others in the area, one could say. Somewhere further north would be the capital of the Empire (yes, they exist, and yes, they'll play a major part at one point). The Empire as a place will be mostly left alone in my story, but it's a safe bet to say that a good number of the people that come from there are about as cuddly as Anna Nicole Simpson. Which, by the way, is not very cuddly at all, in case anyone was wondering.
Second point: telekinesis. Everyone in Polkos is telekinetic. They're also human, which makes 'em a bit of an oddity among their race. The reason for this may or may not be answered in the storyline. For now, simply assume that it was a natural mutation.
Now, I have an important note on story structure. The way I'm doing things, there will be a central plot line involving major events in the main characters life, but there will also be minor events on the side. They may be anything from history lessons to simple interactions with other villagers to tests involving cantaloupes. Each "chapter," however, will start with a little four-line description of what's going on, along with a four-line summary of what just happened. Trust me, I know people who'll make sure you all aren't left hanging.
Finally, there's something that I must mention: everyone has a reason for what they do in the story. They aren't just cold-hearted SOBs, although it's easier to think of them that way. This is, in essence, a story about a plucky kid who changes the way other villagers think about people like said kid. The cause of each character's actions will eventually be revealed, although some of those reasons stretch back to many generations in the past.
Of course, there's also one more important bit…
-Elementals-
Bear with me here, cause things are going to be a little screwy here compared to what you might already know. The biggest thing deals with Lunas, something that'll come into play in the story. In essence, most Auras exist because Lunas were turned into the aforementioned gold elementals. Now, the Lunas did get a choice in the matter, but it wasn't much of one: you either converted, or you were sealed. That second one is really important when you learn of one of the characters in this story, so pay special heed to it.
So, why do all this to the Lunas? Quite simple: they went insane. When the Mana Tree burned to the ground (the most recent occurance of said event, anyway), the elementals had to split themselves into multiple copies. The mana drain cause by existing as one super-elemental was too great to be supported by the depleted land. Existing as multiple, less powerful copies worked. The total mana drain for the whole world is the same, but the individual drain per elemental was greatly reduced. This is my explanation for why we see multiple elementals in the game instead of just one, like in Secret of Mana. Why does this work? Heck if I know, but I'm spitting out the gospel for my particular story, so you'll just have to work with me.
Anyways, when the elementals did this, they fell prey to some pretty hefty emotions. Each elemental had a driving emotion, and when they split that emotion made itself very present. Salamander fell to rage, Undine to depression…and Luna to pure, unrivaled insanity. Power on the elemental level without a sane mind to control said power is an Mmm Mmm Bad Thing. Therefore, the Lunas were forced to make a choice. Some chose to run, and were hunted down. One of those that ran will be an important part of the storyline, so you'll want to keep all of this in mind.
There will be more stuff dealing with the Elementals, but I'll let the chapters explain it. I've always felt that the Elementals needed a bit more back story, so I plan on providing my version of one. And trust me, there will be no shortage of interactions with Elementals, either.
And…well, that's all I have to say about that. If all of that hasn't scared you all off, then I do hope you enjoy what I write as much as I enjoy writing it. Feel free to leave any feedback that you wish to as well. Even one or two sentences is gracious plenty for me.
Not that I'm desperate or anything.
