Note: I do NOT own anything from FFXI

Chapter 1

John the sixteen year old Red Mage walked along the destroyed path to Mac Anu. It was a long trek from the Northlands. Normally he could have had a friend give him a teleport or something but no one was around. It was sad really...there WAS people who where around but no one wanted to help him. What happened was he was walking along when he bumped into a Goblin. Now for those of you who don't know Goblins have horrible tempers. So there he was, running for his life from the goblin, and everyone who saw him was laughing at him, it must have been so embarrassing. Thankfully there was one nice White Wizard who helped him. She cured him back to full health and killed the goblin for him. Her name was Miyuh.

"Help! Someone please help me!" John screamed desperately trying to get away from the goblin.

"Look at that new Mage! He actually bumped into a Goblin! HAHAHAHA!! Serves you right for trying to train here!" Some of the Wizards said as they laughed at him. John couldn't take many more hits or insults. He was bleeding badly from his stomach and his new cape he had bought was ripped to shreds.

"What's going on?" Came a soft voice from the back of the crowd. When she saw what was happening she gasped then turned around to face the crowd. "You should all be ashamed of yourself! He just started! How can you be so cruel?"

"It's easy lady." came a reply from a middle aged Black Wizard. "Plus" he added, "it was a mistake for him to train here! He should have known that at least." The man chuckled at this knowing that in reality unless you knew some powerful people you really didn't know where to train was safe or not. "Besides, what can you do?"

"This..." she replied. "Banish the goblin from our world....BANISH!!" A light then surrounded the goblin and it pretty much looked like it was crumpled into a paper ball... "Are you ok?"

"Yeah I think so...oww...my stomach"

"Hold still" she replied. "Cure II" A soft bluish light covered his wound and slowly closed the wound. "Be more careful next time ok?"

John blushed "O...Ok....thanks for the help." By this time the crowd had left bored with the fact that John didn't doe and there wasn't a good fight.

"No problem, whenever you need some help let me know and I will do what I can to help ok?"

"All right, thanks."

"OK well I need to go now, see ya."

"Bye"

He waved at her as she left and he continued on his way. About three hours later he was walking on the beach when he saw a man laying there with a pool of blood around him. John cringed at the sight and ran over to help then man, whoever he was. John looked at the wounds which luckily for both of them weren't too serious. I say for both of them because John had learned Cure only 3 hours ago, before this whole thing started. John stretched his arms out and placed them above the mans body. He mumbled "Cure" and a soft dim bluish light emanated from his fingertips and closed most of the wounds. John wrapped the rest of the wounds with some bandages he had in his pack and then built a fire. "I wonder when that guy will wake up? Hmm....he has a sword but other than that I can't tell what he is....I wonder..." John walked off to get some firewood when he bumped into a giant shadow. At first he thought it was a rock but then he realized that rocks can't breath. "Uh-oh..." He gulped. He ran back for his staff but the creature swung it's claw and knocked him down. "Ahhhhh!!!!!" He screamed. "I'm going to die...I know it...I'm gonna die..." Then out of nowhere a blur appeared above the shadow and sliced vertically downward, cutting the monster in half with one blow.

"That was close...you ok kid?"

"Kid..." John replied...you look like you are only a few years older than I am." "You would think that wouldn't you? By the way, thanks for the help back there. I was in some serious trouble with those cuts...."

"You call those cuts? I would hate to see wounds." John replied sarcastically.

"Hey...I guess you are right, anyway thanks for the help, the names Slade by the way. I'm a Dark Knight" Slade reached his hand out in a friendly gesture, and John shook it. "John...the Red Mage."