Final Fantasy: Rise of Despair
By the way, in case any of you are wondering, I considered character submissions but in the end I decided against it. Therefore every character you see will have been created by yours truly. My apologies.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy: Tactics Advance. I do however own the characters and the plot.
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The Prologue of a New Age
Bervenia was a regal city. Large buildings anywhere from three to six stories in height. This is the city of nobles. The roofs were mostly gold in color with gold pillars at the doors. The window curtains were white silk, and the building exteriors were mostly white, finely polished marble. The most magnificent building of all was the royal palace. It spread out wider than any other building in the city. There were five towers connected to the palace and one part of the castle near the center that was a few floors higher than the rest, obviously indicating the throne room. Somewhere behind the palace the Bervenia coliseum stood.
The coliseum was like a white version of the Roman coliseum, only it was completely whole. The stands for the spectators rose high above the ring. Which was a large square stone area surrounded by a mostly grass and dirt and stone walkways that stretched from the four entrances to the sides of the arena. The judge presiding over the matches was non-other than the judgemaster, the highest ranking judge in Ivalice. He was standing at the east edge of the arena. Behind him was a stand reserved exclusively for the judges, and normally the king and his court. The entire judiciary was behind him as no clans were battling today. Virtually all the clans came to this event to earn a chance at ruling Ivalice.
The judgemaster was human, like most judges are. He was about 5'11" in height and he was completely clad in silver armor. He had a long flowing blue cape behind him adorned with golden patterns that formed a flower and several petals. Underneath the cape in a transparent sheath was a massive sword. The sword was as large as he was and even thicker than he was. The end of the sword actually formed a circle and the sword was made from mythril, a strong semi-white glowing metal. The Judgemaster's helmet was closed; it had two eyeholes and vertical lines near the mouth to make it easy to breath. The helmet had a spike on the top and horns that were similar to ram's horns.
The Judgemaster finally stepped upward to the arena and in to the center. "Citizens of Ivalice! You are all gathered here today to witness a historical day! The day that a new king is crowned!" The Judgemaster paused and let the people carry on with their applause. "There are many that have entered this tournament, and many will be defeated in grueling one on one combat. Yet only one! Only one shall receive the crown and the throne!" The Judgemaster once again let the audience continue with their applause. "Now then, without further delay, let the battles begin!" The Judgemaster declared, amidst the cheering the judgemaster called out the first two contestants. Thus the battles had begun.
Several of the early matches were rather dull since people of all skill levels, weak and strong, had entered in this tournament. Thus the early matches usually ended quickly. However as the tournament went on the contestants started to match up with people closer to their skill level. But there was one exception.
One contestant, covering himself entirely in a blood-red hooded cloak, making it hard to even discern his height, continually had his matches go the exact same way. His opponent would charge at him with their weapon drawn, and then the contestant would move his arm quickly and his opponent would fall to the ground nearly-dead. This contestant having apparently drawn a sword too quickly for the untrained eye to see. Even if his opponent was a magic user, the magic never seemed to hurt him, and soon the magic user would lose patience and charge in anyways. Every match, the contestant never had to move from where he was standing.
After this contestants quarter-final match he went back to wait for his next match. On his way, a figure from the shadows spoke to him. "Is everything going as planned my master?" A young, but emotionless yet deeply loyal voice asked.
"Yes… as promised… for your loyalty… you shall… be my Marshall. Is everything ready?" The contestant asked. His voice was a deep, sinister echo. A voice that would chill you to the bone marrow.
"Of course my master." The young voice replied, staying hidden in the shadows.
"Good…" The contestant replied. Without exchanging another word, the contestant walked away and the young man seemed to disappear in to the shadows.
Finally the finals were here. The tournament had lasted all day, starting from early morning and now it was approaching twilight. The contestant in a red cloak stepped up on to the arena from the North edge, while his opponent stepped up from the South edge.
His opponent was a human ninja. Like most ninjas he wore purple ninja robes, black gloves and thick black socks that ended in sandals on his feet. His nose and mouth were covered in a purple mask and only his eyes and forehead were visible under the purple turban. The ninja's eyes were brown, and his hair was red. He had two Katanas sheathed on either waist.
"Now we have our finalists! One will be crowned king! And the other will walk away in defeat! From the North! We have the Black Blade!" The Judgemaster announced. There was only a reluctant applause. Throughout the tournament, everyone in the stands got an uneasy feeling from this cloaked stranger, particularly the Nu Mous that were in the audience. "From the South we have Chad! The silent assailant!" The Judgemaster announced. For Chad, there was applause.
"You hear that?" Chad asked his opponent. "That applause just shows that they are willing to accept me as king over you. But I admire your strength, so I should appoint you to the new royal guard once this is over." Chad said in a cocky manner as he pointed the katana from his left waist at his opponent with his right hand. Chad then laid that Katana on the ground. "I won't be so stupid like your other contestants!"
The ninja made a few hand signs like Naruto. "Wood jujutsu! Wood Veil!" A green puff of smoke came from his fingers, and then suddenly thick green vines burst from the arena floor and wrapped themselves around the Black Blade, who made no effort to try and avoid this. The Black Blade was now completely immobilized where he stood. "And to make sure…" Chad made more hand signs and when he finished with the tora sign, a golden puff of smoke came from his fingertips. "Metal Jujutsu! Metal Veil!" Then a golden cloud of metal powder rose up all around the Black Blade and completely shielded him from view. "Now taste my blades!" Chad zipped in to the golden cloud. The contestants heard a loud scream and they began to murmur.
The golden cloud finally disappeared and the Black Blade stood where he started completely unharmed. The vines that were wrapped around him were now brown and dry, and Chad lay on the ground bleeding heavily. The Black Blade walked slowly toward the middle of the areana.
"Citizens of Ivalice! Our new king!" The Judgemaster announced. In spite of the odd feeling the audience received from this guy they all gave a loud applause. "Does our new king have anything to say?" The Judgemaster asked, as one would respect an equal.
"Yes…" The Black Blade said. Everyone's applause stopped slowly as they shivered in fear upon hearing his voice. "From here on, I shall be known as the Black King." He paused for a moment, as the air suddenly seemed to grow colder. "And now…" He breathed heavily.
At this time a young human, probably fourteen years old walked in to the arena from the North entrance and stood next to the Black Blade. The boy had silver hair that reached down to his neck and combed neatly so that not a single strand of it was in his face. The boy was wearing black chest armor, red sleeves that went in to two black armored gloves and red pants that went in to black armored boots. The chest armor was lined with golden lines that occasionally formed loops. Hanging on the back of his waist almost horizontally was a sheath that apparently had a thin sword in it and the handle was black adorned with two red rubys. His purple eyes showed no fear, no anger, no emotion at whatsoever.
"…This… is my Marshal… of my new Black Army…" The Black King continued. People began commenting on how someone so young could be that high of a rank. "Now… I leave… you all with… an ultimatum." The Black King said more sinisterly.
"What was that?" The Judgemaster asked. After a long pause, the Black King finally answered.
"JOIN OR DIE!!!" The Black King shouted menacingly. His young Marshal then swiftly turned to the judgemaster and in the blink of an eye had his thin silver sword stabbed through the Judgemaster's chest.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Everyone then sprang from their seats and made for the exits.
"Judges, we must act!" One of the judges in the stands said. "Draw your…"
SHING
But before that judge could finish the young Marshal had leaped in to the stands and stabbed his sword through that judge's throat. "Now I shall kill you…" The young Marshal said without showing any sign of enjoyment or disgust at what he had done.
"Do you think a lad can fight the judges?" One mocked angrily, drawing his massive sword and taking a swing. The Marshal jumped on to the broadside of the sword and stood on it and decapitated the judge. His sword then gave off a purple glow and he dashed through all the remaining judges, leaving all of them to fall to the ground dead with no visible wound on their bodies.
"Black army! Mobilize!" The young Marshal shouted. As the people from the stands ran for their lives, humans, Bangaas, Nu Mou, Moogles, and Vieras of all sorts of classes, but still in black and red outfits, came out from hiding who knows where in the stands and to seizing people as they ran.
"You have a choice." A Bangaa warrior said holding his sword to a Nu Mou's throat. "Join the Black army or die." The Nu Mou surrendered quietly.
"Join or die." A Viera fencer threatened a young moogle.
"But I have a fami-ly!" By the time he finished that the fencer's rapier was thrust through the moogles throat.
"You have a choice… join or die…" A Nu Mou black mage threatened a middle-aged couple. "3… 2… gah!" Suddenly the Nu Mou black mage was slashed in the back by a greatsword wielded by a generic human soldier.
"Run!" The soldier said as he traded blades and killed a warrior, immediately killed a moogle thief, but was then stabbed in the back by another moogle thief and shot by arrows. But the couple did escape. All around the arena, people were either killed or taken away or saved by brave vigilantes. The vigilantes mostly consisted of the contestants but a few were just spectators. We had human paladins, bangaa white monks, viera archers, moogle time mages, nu mou black mages. Basically all kinds of classes of these people helping out, unfortunately a number of them died protecting these people. The Black King meanwhile, just stayed in the center of the arena and watched the chaos from under his hood. His Young Marshal then walked up beside him.
"Master, should I do something about this small resistance?" The young Marshal asked him.
"No… let them fight… let them… delay the inevitable… either way… my reign has begun…" The Black King said. "You have been… most useful… Marshal Agon…" The Black King said.
"Thank you my master."
"Hang on! I'm getting you out of here." A generic ninja said. He formed a few hand signs. "Metal jujutsu! Metal veil!" The metal cloud shielded him and the people behind him from the eyes of the black army.
"Fira!" A nu mou black mage burnt three black army members severely and used this as an opportunity to escape with the people behind him. When it was finally over, blood was all over the stands and corpses strewn about. All the remaining black soldiers escorted their prisoners elsewhere while marshal Agon and the Black King looked on.
"These corpses… are a… waste of space…" The Black King said.
"Very well then my master." Marshal Agon raised his hand above him, closed his eyes and focused inward. "Black consuming…" After a brief pause, a black swirl appeared beneath all the corpses, black tentacles came from the portals and dragged the corpses in to the portals, lost for all eternity.
"Let us go…" The Black King said. The two walked out of the stadium and toward the castle.
Over the years, the Black King placed harsh taxes on the people. Anyone who could not pay the taxes was forced to join the black army, and if it was a family with children, the children were taken away and raised in to the black army. If anyone openly insulted the king or a member of the army they were to be instantly killed.
Bandits were rare these days, but the black soldiers were much worse. After joining the army they were usually brainwashed and were allowed to cause whatever trouble they wanted in the towns. The citizens were required to quarter the troops, that or face any punishment the black soldiers saw fit. Familys were torn apart, innocent people killed, the only safe haven was the mostly moogle town of Baguba port for reasons the reader need not know right now. But moving there was almost impossible since the black soldiers patrolling the areas leading to Baguba were instructed to kill anyone that came to live there.
Clans now shifted from fighting each other for turf or influence or money to now banding together to have a chance at surviving against the Black army. The clans were broken up in to the clanmaster, the second in command, and the four elites, followed by the normal members. The largest clan in Ivalice is known as clan Liberation, and are more commonly known as the rebels.
Now ten years later, we join in with the tale of a small clan in the Lutia pass, forming the main road between Cyril, Sprohm, and the Nubswood. The clan is known as Clan Falcon.
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There will be one more real chapter, and then an interlude chapter. Enjoy.