Note:
As a sidenote, some of the terms that appear before or after character names signify their status or age.
IE:
Unnie:((Uhn-nee)) Means older sister in Korean
Oppah:((Oh-Ppa)) Means older brother in Korean
Ate:((Ah-teh)) Means older sister in Tagalog
and so on. In this portion of the story, only Unnie and Ate is used; however, other terms may come out later in the story.
Prologue
Even as good friends promise to never
Ever leave each other no matter what
They will forget, and part on their own ways
But one day, one of them will remember
The laughter, tears, hardships, and hopelessness
That they, as close friends, went through together
The good days of the past will resurface,
Not in reality, but in the mind
Which is just as pleasant as it would be
If it were to be real once more...
If they could just spend one more day with that
person, if only it could be real once more...
Isn't that what most of us want right now,
Just one more chance to speak with that person
That we loved, cherished and kept close to heart…
Isn't it?
"…That's one of the last things that one of my friends said before all of us went our separate ways", said a soft voice quietly as the female figure gazed deeply into the crackling fire before her.
"Your friends… did they mean a lot to you Musei unnie?"((Uhn Nee)) asked a young female mage.
Slightly smiling, the young woman named Musei said, "Yes, Zzang, they were one of those people who influenced parts of my life. Also, those memories of the past are still with me whenever I visit those places we've been to before parting and going out on our own."
"I see, so I suppose most of the inactive people on our guild list were the former members of the… Squirrel Squad" said a swordsgirl as she fed a piece of wood into the blazing fire.
"It's not that they went inactive, its just that we rarely meet or even see each other anymore, therefore we kind of lost contact, Maoui" replied Musei, "But, I think it would be nice if you could meet some of them, I mean… most of them."
Sighing, the young swordsgirl named Maoui said, "I would but, if you lost contact with them, how would meeting with them be even possible?"
"Well, the list here says that there are several Hunters and Snipers in the guild. However, I'm pretty sure that they could have sent letters through their falcons" said another, more experienced mage with silvery hair.
"Yes, you're right… we actually do send letters and messages to each other from time to time. Sometimes, it's through the falcons, but other times, we use our portable communication devices. Would you like to see some of these letters, Ringlet?" asked Musei.
"Sure, I would love to see them" replied the one named Ringlet.
As Musei dug into her backpack looking for the letters, a small picture of the Old Squirrel Squad fell out of an open pocket. Picking up the picture off the ground, Maoui, the swordsgirl giggled as she found Musei sitting next to a ghostly creature named Sohee.
"This picture's really cute when was this taken Ate?"((ah-teh)), asked Maoui.
"That's the last picture we ever took until the fragmentation of our guild, around two or three years ago."
"I see, all of you seem so young in this picture"
"Most of us were around sixteen or seventeen. I think the youngest member was around thirteen years."
"Compared to most certified guilds, this one seems relatively young, don't you think?", piped up Ringlet. "Most guilds that I know of were started and maintained by older adults."
"Well…" started Musei, "If you think about it, many young adults decide to travel and leave home because they believe that its for the best. During those years of adolescence, a lot of us have problems coping with family life and social life. Therefore in order to not cause any family upheavals at home, the young adults leave home, attain an occupation and travel around before coming back as a mature adult. However, I believe that, most of the adolescents just want to find out who they are for themselves… isn't that why most of you girls started on your own little escapades?"
"Actually.. I left home for personal reasons, Moriko here just wanted to follow me" stated Maoui, as she indicated a young archer girl sleeping on her shoulder.
"And well… okay, um… for me and Ringlet unnie, we both left our village because, there were a lot of things going on back at home. But one of my personal reasons included the fact that I wanted to see what was really out there in the world. I also believe that, by going out and actually traveling, it would help me in the maturing process, and I won't have to be a burden to my own family" added Zzang.
"I understand, that's how all of us were way back when this guild was made. Things have become better for us slightly, but its not complete. Life is never complete until the day we perish. To me and several of my friends, life is like an unfinished puzzle. The memories we share together, are like puzzle pieces that fit together in order to make a whole picture", said Musei as she stared off into space.
After several minutes of silence, Maoui the swordsgirl untied a package next to her backpack, which was wrapped in a plastic material, and extracted a folded sleeping quilt from it. Spreading it out across the grassy earth with the help of a wooden pole, the young girl plopped down upon it and said,
"Hmm you know, why not tell us the history of this guild? I mean we still have a lot of time before everyone gets sleepy right?"
Just then, the young archer that was sleeping on Maoui's shoulder woke up as she hit the floor with a large thud.
"Owww… how did I end up here… wait, is someone going to tell a story?" asked the girl named Moriko.
"Ate Musei's going to tell us about this guild's past right?" asked Maoui in a hopeful voice.
Laughing nervously, Musei also untied her sleeping mat and spread it out across the grass. As she took off her shoes and sat down upon her soft mat, the young Gypsy responded,
"Alright, I suppose so. This guild was started during the Summer, of the year of the Rabbit, by a person named Qaz. It only started with a handful of us with no reputation whatsoever, but as we went along… most of us gained a lot of friends along the way. Now that I think about it, telling you the history of our guild like this seems to be a bit complicating so let me break it down into a story. Is that okay with you girls?"
"Sure I don't mind", replied Ringlet
"Neither do I"
"Go Ahead, seems to be interesting all the same"
"Okay then, here it goes…"