Chapter One: Thicker Than Blood
Authors Note: Okay, this story is highly influenced by Final Fantasy. Meaning a job system of sorts, there will also be several place names, attacks, and characters which I'm borrowing.
Believing there is a fine line between good and evil is a common practice among the citizens of Invalice, a large city in the land of Vana'diel. One of the busiest cities, Invalice is always alive, day or night, craftsmen working the lighter hours and merchants and other undesirables restrict their business to the dark of night. Our story is concerned mainly with two military cadets by the names of Jim and Kei.
Jim was orphaned as a young boy, and next to nothing is known about his biological family. Even his true age is a mystery, although it is believed he is around seventeen years old. His quick wit gained him acceptance among the other orphans, as well as the caretakers. Jim's academic achievements are decent, but his true talent is in his physical abilities. The top of his class in both sword fighting and unarmed combat Jim was sent to the military academy on the day of his seventeenth birthday. Since he doesn't know his actual birthday, he took the day he arrived at the orphanage: September twenty-eighth.
Kei's talents are the opposites of Jim's, his prowess in academic s is widely known, and because of this he was allowed to attend the military academy at the age of sixteen, the youngest to date. He is currently in his fourth year, and well versed in the art of magic, both black and white. Kei's parents are loving and kind, and want the best for their son. He also has a younger sister who was sent to the Church of Invalice to become a priestess. Kei relies more on logic, and carefully weighs out his options before taking action. Even though Kei is by no means, a fighter, he is capable of holding his own in battle for a short period of time, but a condition he's had since childhood causes him to become fatigued at a faster rate than a normal person, over the years his condition has worsened and he suffers from occasional blackouts.
Jim and Kei's friendship began one winter day during their recess hour, despite the name, recess hour lasts from two to three hours and is in the middle of the school day. During this time students are expected to take care of any needs they might have before returning to class, this includes eating lunch, socializing with friends, finishing assignments, or anything else they see fit. On the day of their meeting, it was snowing, and the majority of the students were crowded into the cafeteria. Lunch was nearing its end when a fight started to break out between two of the boys from Jim's class. Jim was the first one to try to break up the fight, in which he failed miserably, shortly after a stranger to all three of the students, Kei, arrived to help quell the fighting. Jim, who had been shoved aside, was also in the process of trying to stop the fight again, with their combined effort, the brawl was halted and everything was settled.
The events of that day lead the two to start talking, soon enough they were good friends, both helping each other with their weaker skills. Jim became smarter and Kei became stronger, they were the perfect team. Over the next six months they became more like brothers, Jim even adopted Kei's last name, as he had no family attachments to the one the orphanage gave him, and so began the story of Jim and Kei Saleh.