Hey everyone! Freedom Kira is back! After like 9 months of silence!
Heh, yeah, I sincerely apologize for that. The last year of high school is quite hectic, I must say… and this summer will be a bit more busy for me than the last, so I might not be up to my best at updating.
That aside, I picked up Riviera for the PSP today! I'm so glad I have a PSP. It's white too, because I got it for a Christmas present from my uncle, who got it in Japan. Good stuff, ya XD
Anyway, I haven't gotten very far into the game yet, but I have to say it looks quite nice. The dual audio is a nice touch too, though I really don't like some of the English voices. For example, the narration for the intros was done a bit… um, how do you put it… cheesily? And Rose sounds like a brat. There is little doubt in my mind that whoever voiced Rose also voiced Tomoyo (aka Madison) in the English version of "Cardcaptors." Besides that, everything sounds ok… I haven't gotten to Elendia quite yet. Oh, and Ledah's voice is so powerful! He doesn't sound emotionless at all…
Anyway, the graphics don't look much different on the most part. All the backgrounds were redone of course to fit in the PSP's widescreen, but they look almost the same. All the character portraits are simply larger… and the sprites don't look much different. The most notable change in graphics occurs in battles, where the effects of attacks look very different. Ledah's fully charged Lost Seraph looks quite cool!
I think the English voicing has forced me to accept how the names are pronounced now. Like Ein, Ledah, Einherjar… I never expected it to be "ine-her-yar" XD
Well, that's enough for now! Enjoy chapter 22! It's been nine and a half months since the previous chapter came out.
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"Ready for more?"
Ledah looked up at Rose from where he was sitting in the grove, studying Lorelei. "Let's take a break first."
"Suit yourself." Rose sat down beside Ledah and relaxed. They had visited Chappi the blacksmith, who had taken Ledah's diviner and hammered away at it without warning. He had given it back sheepishly, but not before wearing his hands out trying to hammer it. Rose couldn't begin to fathom what he might have done had it been a normal spear…
After bidding farewell to Chappi, they had visited Undine Spring next. After two years, Meute's speech was coming along nicely, and both of them could communicate perfectly with them. Lulu had also mellowed since meeting Ein, and had learned a few things about being polite, which pleased Rose very much.
"This village is quite peaceful," Ledah remarked, bringing Rose out of her reverie. "The sprites are all so pleasant."
"That's for sure." Rose lay down onto the grass and sighed. "Destroy Riviera, huh… I'm very curious to see what the excuse is this time…"
Ledah chuckled. "There aren't any demons here, either, and the Accursed are dead too. Actually, it's piqued my interest too…"
"Maybe Orion brainwashed the angels?" Rose joked. "Maybe he made them eat some hypnosis fruit, and put them all under a spell. Then, he can make them do whatever he wants, even if there's no apparent reason."
Ledah looked at her as if her head had sprouted something ugly. "Um, for some reason, I really don't think so…"
"Naw, ya think?" Rose laughed. "It's just a joke, Ledah."
"Joke, hm?" Ledah scratched his head. "Now, I'm sure I know what a joke is…"
Rose shook her head and sighed. "You're kidding, right?"
Ledah laughed and ruffled Rose's short hair. "Yep!"
"Hey, what're y'all doing, nya?"
Rose sat up and turned towards the direction of the voice. "Mursya! And Reiche! Hey there!"
"Heh-loh! Rose!" Reiche called as he tossed a strange-looking rock into the air while walking towards them. "That's your boyfriend, right?"
"Why does everyone keep saying that," Rose grumbled, smacking herself on the face. "Um, this here's Ledah!"
"Oh, Ledah, nya? Nice to meet you, nya!" Mursya stopped in front of the two and held out a paw, which Ledah took hesitantly to shake. "I'm Mursya, nya!"
"And I'm Reiche," Reiche added a couple seconds later. "Is this a tour or something?" He shook Ledah's hand too.
"Yeah, a tour of sorts…" Rose replied. "I'm just bringing him around the village and introducing him to the sprites."
"Oh, a date, nya?" Mursya giggled when Rose's cheeks turned bright red. "How cute! If only someone could take me, nya…" She glanced sideways towards Reiche, but quickly returned her gaze towards the two.
"Now look here, it's not a date…" Rose stammered. "It's just…" She stared down at the ground, knowing that a huge grin was plastered on each of the two sprites' faces.
"Do you have to deny everything?" Ledah asked curiously. "What's so bad about a date?"
Rose scratched her head. "Now that you ask that, I have no idea why…"
"Because it's not bad at all!" Reiche grinned. "Chill out!"
"A date's supposed to be fun, nya!" Mursya added. "You don't have to deny being on one!"
"I guess so…" Rose looked up. "Say, what's that rock there?" She pointed at the rock that Reiche was holding.
"This?" Reiche held up the rock. "It's a rock I found near the spring." He held it up to the sunlight, which glistened off the rock in a wide array of colors. "Isn't it pretty?"
Never imagined him to say 'pretty'… "Yeah, it is," Rose answered. "Does it do anything?"
"Not that I know of." Reiche chuckled. "Do you expect it to grow limbs and start dancing?"
"Well, no… good point."
"Are all the rocks around the spring like this one?" Ledah asked.
"No, that's a special rock, nya," Mursya replied. "I've never seen one like it near the spring before, nya…"
"What's it called?" Rose took the rock from Reiche. "It's so pretty," she murmured.
"I think I'll call it Bob," Reiche joked. "Yeah, Bob the rock."
"There aren't any records on it, nya," Mursya put in.
"So it might as well be called Bob," Ledah remarked, taking a close look at the rock. "I wonder if the blacksmith can forge something out of it?"
"Like some sword? Bob the rainbow sword!" Reiche sang. "Bob the rainbow sword, reflects the sunlight into a rai-"
"Reiche, that's annoying, nyaa!" Mursya yelled, smacking Reiche across the face with a paw, abruptly silencing him.
"Heh, sorry," Reiche chuckled, rubbing his cheek. "Anyway, I wonder if it's an ore?"
"Could be," Ledah agreed, ignoring the incident. "Ask Chappi, he might know."
"I think Claude could know too," Rose added. "You could try asking him."
"Naw, it looks much nicer as a rock than any weapon," Reiche remarked. "I think I won't get it forged."
"Suit yourself," Rose replied, handing the rock back. "I want a rock like that…"
"You're not getting mine!" Reiche teased. "Finders keepers, so find your own!"
"I know, I know." Rose tugged at a feather on Ledah's wing absentmindedly. "So is our break over?" she asked Ledah.
"Break, nya?" Mursya asked. "Continuing the tour now, nya?"
"I suppose so," Ledah replied. "Okay, let's go then. Where to now?"
"Hmm, next is the Magic Guild, I guess," Rose replied. "You don't know who Claude is, right?"
"Right." Ledah let Rose take his hand and pull him along. "See you later," he called back at the two, waving a hand, while they just stood in slight surprise.
"Must be a date," Reiche remarked when the pair were out of earshot. "Just look at those two…"
"Yeah…" Mursya glanced sideways at him. For a second, they crossed gazes, but both quickly turned away. "Well, let's go, then, nya." Mursya grabbed Reiche's arm and dragged him back into the grove, stunning him momentarily.
Rose guided Ledah along a path through a forest. A small stream of water flowed along the side, seemingly guided by some unknown force over the rocks. A small bridge crossed the stream ahead, but Rose pulled him along the path past the bridge. Soon, a small, almost hidden cave could be seen amidst the rocks that led underground. Rose stepped into the darkness, pulling Ledah with her.
Once inside, Ledah looked around in the pitch-blackness. "Um, Rose?"
"Here, this way!" Ledah felt a hand on his own pull him into the darkness. "Watch your step!" The hand guiding his hand began to move upwards, and Ledah followed. A light appeared at the top of the stairs that Ledah later learned they were moving on.
"Welcome to the Magic Guild!" Rose exclaimed cheerfully. "Hey, Ritz!"
Ledah entered the room to see a short boy with something that looked like a shell on his head. The boy looked up at Rose's call and, after sizing the two up for a second, grinned widely. "Hey there, Rose!"
"Ledah, meet Ritz," Rose announced, pulling him towards the boy. "Ritz, this is Ledah."
"Ledah, huh?" Ritz tilted his head and looked up at Ledah sideways. "You're that guy who saved Ein back then, right?"
"I saved Ein?" Ledah scratched his head. "Well, I suppose I did. Well, anyway, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meetcha too, mister!" Ritz exclaimed. "Um, let's see… I do mining here. The guild's down thataway, and there's a magic teleportation circle in that room there!" He pointed in various directions as he spoke.
"Yeah, I'm giving Ledah a tour of Elendia," Rose explained. "We were heading the Magic Guild."
"Your destination's there, then," Ritz replied, pointing out the obvious. "Have fun!"
"Thanks, Ritz." Rose pulled on Ledah's hand again. "Come on! And don't forget to watch your step!"
Ledah could only wave slightly to Ritz as he got dragged up a couple steps to the next room. Ritz returned to his mining with a knowing grin.
Ledah, guided by Rose, made his way into a small room that seemed well-organized. A couple bookshelves lined the rock wall, providing the only furniture other than the table at the far end and a couple chairs. Several books were scattered on the table, while the bookshelves nearly looked as if they would sag under the weight of the books if more were added. Sunlight streamed in through a window, lighting up the room easily. A man with leafy green hair had his back turned to the two, facing the bookshelf, his full attention on the book he was holding.
"Hey, Claude!" Rose greeted cheerfully as she entered.
The man quickly turned to face Ledah and Rose. He placed a leaf on the page he was on and closed it. "Hello, there, Rose," he returned simply. "And this is… ah, you are Ledah?"
"That I am," Ledah answered. "Pleased to meet you."
The man smiled cordially as he walked over to where Ledah stood and extended a hand. "I've heard much about you. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Welcome to the Magic Guild."
"Thanks very much," Ledah said, shaking Claude's hand. "I might be able to do some research here if I need to."
"Of course," Claude said. "You're always welcome to delve into our knowledge of Riviera."
From the shadows deeper into the room, another sprite emerged. A tall pointy hat sat on long, cascading blue hair. "What's all the noise?" she asked.
"Ah, Soala!" Rose turned to greet her. "I'm giving Ledah a tour of Elendia. Ledah, this is Soala, the second person working here in the Magic Guild."
"My pleasure, Mr. Ledah," Soala greeted cheerfully. "Have you two gone around the whole village already?"
"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine," Ledah returned. "And um, ask Rose about the details…"
"Yeah, I think we're just about done… aren't you tired?" Rose hopped onto Ledah's back playfully, throwing her arms around his neck. Ledah barely managed to keep his balance.
"You think that's going to help me now, hm?" Ledah played along and pretended to be strained for breath as he tugged lightly at Rose's arms.
"Hey, you know we're still here, you know!" Soala grinned. "Well, I suppose my break doesn't last much longer. And I'm still worried about some possible aftereffects of Cierra's new magic staff."
"Aftereffects?" Rose and Ledah said in unison, stopping their playing around.
"Well, it's a possibility worth looking into," Claude replied. "We don't want to overlook any problems. There might also be side effects to the shrinking ability."
"Hm, so should we try to avoid bringing Cierra into fights until we're sure of its side effects then?" Ledah asked. "Because you're right; random side effects would surely pose a problem if you're not expecting them."
"I believe that is the best course of action," Claude agreed, "though it would be irrational to prevent her from joining the battle, as she is able to use other weapons and other means of attacking."
"I agree with Claude," Soala added. "We might be unsure of the possible effects of the Golden Rod, but there are other staves she can use."
"Okay, we should pass that information along to Cierra then," Rose said. "Thanks for the information."
"Oh, no, we should be the ones thanking you," Soala protested. "Cierra was pressuring me to get the staff out quickly and left as soon as I finished explaining how it works. And in the rush, I didn't remember to say something until after she'd left. I'm so sorry about that."
"It's no problem," Ledah assured her. "Well, we best be on our way before Cierra gets herself into any trouble."
"All right, then," Claude said. "Best of luck to you, and please give my regards to the master."
Rose, who had been tugging on Ledah's arm, stopped and turned to Claude. "Um, master?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant Master Ein."
"Oh please," Rose pouted. "He's a master now? What, the master of perversion?"
"Pardon me." Claude looked confused. "Master of what?"
"Um, never mind," Rose said quickly. "Ledah, let's go!" The two of them almost flew out the door.
"Did you hear what she said?" Claude turned to Soala, who was turned away. Her face was beet red. "Um, Soala?"
"Oh, um, I think she said 'master of perfection,'" Soala replied hastily without turning to face Claude. "Yeah, that's it." She headed towards the back of the room where the entrance to her study area was.
"I'm quite certain that is not what Rose said," Claude said to himself, "but I shall drop the topic now. I'm certain I don't want to know." Soala's door slammed, and a brief draft drifted through the room. "I wonder if something happened to Soala before that involved the master?" Claude's gaze rested on the closed door for a few minutes, and then he shook his head and returned to his studies.
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A/N: Heh, I'm glad I finally feel more like writing lately. I've been so out of it after stopping…
Anyway, don't be expecting me to update twice a week anymore! Remember the Thursday and Sunday update system? I think I'm going to limit it to just every Sunday now. I have way too much to do this summer. The next chapter's hardly even been started! Speaking of next chapter, the release date of which I hope I can meet…
Chapter 23: Revisiting Past Training (Release on July 22, 2007)
After sparring a while, Serene and Ein recall training during the journeys. Cierra joins in the training sessions, but the new staff goes awry before Rose and Ledah can warn Cierra!