Lore of Yandor #10
The Age of Ishae, years 750-770, were times of despair and corruption. It was around this time that many dastardly organizations and groups came to exist such as the Hunters of Sin, as well as the Fireforged. Some cities that used to be the capitals were destroyed in riots and disasters, such as Urhina city, which used to be Croudor's capital. Ishae herself was corrupt beyond belief. She forcefully disbanded mercenary bands, allowed slavery, made many of the middle to lower class types lives hell, ordered executions as punishment rather than imprisonment, and she basically completely controlled the actions of all the representatives. She was the most despised senate head that the COY ever had and yet no one could take her out. Few Royal rank teams had attempted to eliminate her and all of them failed. She was eventually taken down by a mysterious assassin that left the symbol of the Hunters of Sin carved into her body. That was the only evidence of what happened to Ishae that was left behind. No one ever actually saw it happen. Even then, the Hunters of Sin continues to oppose the COY and haven't received any sort of reward for killing Ishae. Despite what they have been doing, they gave a reason for Yandor to respect them and fear them at that.
Age of Zezula: Year 780: Location: Croudor Province: Gohirk Quarry
Everyone had just met up with each other at the entrance to the quarry.
"I'm noticing a distinct lack of a pompous gallade and a cold-shoulder giving scraggy…" Sornos mentioned as his eyes searched around.
Niles wondered about that too. "Yeah, Where's Havan and Shinji?" he asked with a hint of worry.
"What happened to them guys?" Sheila looked towards Court, Lulu, and Jessica.
Lulu nudged Court in his shoulder. "Tell them," she whispered.
"Why do I have to be the bearer of bad news?" he exclaimed while everyone glared at him waiting for him to say what happened.
Court sighed. "Alright… they were both killed by Vaylie, that scrafty that you guys saw that one time. She threw Shinji off the top of that factory and Havan killed her at the expense of his own life," he finally told them.
Naoto turned away and looked at the factory in the distance. "Shinji… I'm sorry," he solemnly stated while closing his eyes.
"And you're sure that they are dead?" questioned Rukous. "Did you check their bodies?"
Court gave a slow nod. "Havan fell onto a rusty and broken support beam that pierced his chest, Shinji fell into a pile of scrap metal, and Vaylie got a hook through the chin," he described reluctantly. "I don't think they'll be coming back ever again."
"We should go back and retrieve their bodies, give them a proper send off into the Neverrest," Naoto suggested after giving a heavy sigh.
"If we go back now, we risk encountering the Fireforged, pissed off Fireforged at that," Jin mentioned as he sat down on a rock, resting his broken arm.
"He's not wrong, who knows what they are planning to do now that we killed one of them. Lumen did say that there were 9 of them. I don't think we'll be able to take them all on, and risking our lives for deceased pokemon is pointless," Lulu reminded them, although she did feel a bit heartless saying it.
"We should just head back to the COY hall of Jono city, rather than waiting here till we're greeted by those bastards," Taiyo exclaimed while watching out for any Fireforged.
Niles had his hand under his chin in thought. "We are going back to the COY hall, as much as I hate it, it's the smarter move," he said. "Sorry for those of you who disagree."
Naoto shook his head. "But! Shinji was like a brother to me, I can't just let him rot in this hellish place, and Havan deserves a better resting place than on top of a rusty, jagged column!" he distressed in disagreement.
Sheila put a hand on Naoto's right shoulder. "I'm sure we can find some way to get their bodies without risking our lives. So please, let's go, Naoto," she said, trying to reassure him.
Naoto's shoulders sagged in defeat. "You're right, it's not worth it," he stated.
"Then back to the COY hall it is," Niles announced as they all headed out of the quarry.
Age of Zezula: Year 780: Location: Croudor Province: Jono city COY hall
"Could you please keep it down, miss, pokemon work here, like our representative," Risha demanded with a groan.
The salazzle that was complaining didn't listen. "I want my daughter out of this mercenary team!" she exclaimed, slamming her fist on the table.
Risha gave her an emotionless glare. "Weren't you the one that allowed her to be a mercenary after you were convinced?" she questioned. "What made you change your mind?"
"She and her team went after the Fireforged! She said they would do missions close to her rank, something like heading into the Fireforged hideout is something a rank A team would do," the salazzle continued to vent out her emotions. She's more like me than I had thought... I should've known this was a terrible thing to permit.
Risha crossed her arms on the table and stuffed her muzzle between them and groaned in annoyance. "How much longer…" she mumbled.
The salazzle pulled up Risha's head up to her face and glared at her. "You're supposed to do something, not just sit there and groan like the undead!" she demanded as she let go of Risha's head, which fell onto the desk with a *Bang!*
Risha rubbed her now bruised chin. "Arceus, I hate parents sometimes…" she said as she saw Vermex looking at her and the salazzle with a confused look. "Sorry about the ruckus, sir. But this salazzle won't listen to me and keeps running her mouth."
"Sarivia… why are you yelling at my receptionist?" Vermex asked with a grin. "I could hear her annoyed moaning from my office."
The salazzle known as Sarivia put her hands on her hips. "At least someone I know would do something to help me is here now," she proclaimed. "All I wanted was for my daughter, Sheila, to be taken off of Team Eternity."
Vermex raised an eye ridge. "And why would that be necessary? She seems perfectly fine to me," he asked curiously as he watched Team Eternity walk in through the main doors. "No injuries present."
Sarivia twirled around to face her daughter. "There you are! You're done with this mercenary nonsense," she exclaimed as she gripped Sheila's wrist and pulled her up next to her.
Sheila gave a distressed yelp. "H-Hey! That hurts you know!" she complained trying to release her mother's strong grip.
Sarivia put her hand on the desk and peered into Vermex's eyes. "You know how I feel when someone I care about goes and gets themselves into danger, don't you?" she stated.
Vermex coughed nervously and shrugged. "You get really protective and aggressive usually, and try to make a horrible decision that negatively affects the one you're trying to protect," he said with an awkward smile. "Then I have to fix things at the end of it all."
Sarivia gave him a perturbed look. "So you're saying that I shouldn't keep my daughter safe from the dangers of being a mercenary?" she asked with a rather annoyed tone of voice. "She's just as overconfident and determined as we were as mercenaries. Trying to take on pokemon that are out of our league."
"Don't bring up the old mistakes that we made, I get your concerns, but I can't just allow you to force her hand!" Vermex exclaimed in a serious tone. "She came back and doesn't seem to be harmed in any way. If anything, that's pretty impressive."
Sheila was still trying to pry herself free. "You said you wouldn't ruin this for me and here you are, pulling me away from my dreams!" she proclaimed angrily. "I can handle myself out there and I have the support of my friends."
Sarivia looked at the rest of Team Eternity. "And I see that two of them died because of your decision to go into Gohirk quarry," she shook her head.
"But we managed to kill one of the Fireforged," Sheila mentioned, hoping it'd prove something to her mother.
"That just makes me want you off the team even more, since the Fireforged will hunt your team down for revenge," she retorted. "I don't want you to experience what they would do to you."
Sheila clenched a fist. "I don't want to abandon my friends, I'd rather go down fighting with them than sitting at our house wishing I could be there to help my team," she exasperated. "Let me be the mercenary I want to be!"
Niles had no idea what to say, but he wanted to say something. "Sheila deserves a chance at her dreams, many pe-pokemon rarely get an opportunity like that, why ruin your own daughter's chance at a life she wants? She knew the risks and she was brave enough to take them," he exclaimed. "And she can in fact fight, she saved my life twice already."
Sarivia completely brushed off what he said and looked back at Sheila. "You're going to be a thief so that we can honor your father's legacy! no more of this mercenary stuff," Sarivia commanded with authority.
Vermex scoffed. "The whole thief deal isn't even part of your family, it was part of your mate's. I know you want to continue it because you believe it honors his death, but I don't think it's what he wanted," he said in Sheila's defense. "Not for you or Sheila."
Sarivia's eyes narrowed. "What do you know about him, Vermex! You hardly spoke with him," she exclaimed.
"Neither did you once you became a mercenary…" Vermex countered. "The most time you spent with him was when you were carrying his child, your daughter."
Sarivia looked abashed. "I-"
Sheila gave up trying to escape. "He did tell me that all he wanted was for us to make the most of our life. I told him that I wanted to be like you, a mercenary, and he said that he'd be proud to see me in your position one day," she mentioned with a smile. "He had our best interests at heart, not once did he want us to be thieves like he was, I don't even think he liked being one himself."
Sarivia's eyes softened. "Is that really what he believed… I just assumed that he was determined to keep his family legacy going after what his mother told him as a dying wish," she said with a hint of disappointment in herself. "How pathetic of me, my own daughter knew my mate better than I did. I wish I'd have known sooner..."
"See Sarivia, you went ahead and made yourself think you had to do something to repay him for our mistake in the past that resulted in his and my mate's death," Vermex stated. " Instead, You wound up doing the opposite of what he truly wanted. Makes you wonder what he thinks of you right now."
Sarivia looked down with tears in her eyes. "I just didn't want Sheila to have to feel the guilt I've felt since that day. Being a mercenary brings danger to the ones you love, not only to just yourself. Me and you learned that the hard way and we've dealt with the guilt and regret ever since," she said with a sigh. "No one wants to go through that."
Vermex looked up at the ceiling and looked back down. "That only happened because we thought we could handle something that we had no business dealing with, even as a Royal rank team we weren't ready for it. I don't believe Team Eternity plans on doing something that reckless. They have a level-headed leader and he's not determined for any sort of fame or fortune," he told her. "So please, don't make another mistake you'll regret. Sheila will be heartbroken the rest of her life if you do this to her."
Sarivia finally let Sheila go. Sheila gave her mother a quick hug before rushing over to Niles.
"How's your wrist?" Niles questioned as he looked at Sheila's wrist which the impression of her mother's hand was visible.
"Really sore right now, but it feels good to have blood in my hand again," Sheila responded.
The rest of Team Eternity and Team Fate just stood there with bewildered looks.
"Wasn't expecting to hear all of that tonight," Tuba nonchalantly said as he got up from his seat.
Court stood up and stretched his limbs. "Yeah, It was like story-time before bed," Court yawned. "Except a lot deeper than an average fairy tale."
"I'm glad it had a sort of happy ending though," Jessica commented, finally smiling once more after the events of Gohirk Quarry.
Vermex put his hand on Sarivia's left shoulder and gave her a comforting look. "It was an honest mistake Sari, I'm sure Arlan isn't disappointed in you, at least, not as much as you would be in yourself. And Sheila doesn't seem to hate you, as she did give you that sweet little hug," he comforted her. "All you can do now is make up for all of it in the future, but I'd recommend that you go back home and take a break and spend some time recuperating."
Sarivia nodded. "Yeah, I'll go do that, I need some time alone," she said as she walked towards the door. She looked back at Team Eternity. "Just do me a favor and protect Sheila."
"We already have been doing that, Sarivia, no need to worry," Niles told her. "I'd sacrifice my life for hers."
That made Sarivia raise her left eye ridge. "Really now?" she said with a hint of admiration, before she headed off. "Si jolie."
Sheila's eyes widened. "You'd what?" she asked, surprised, looking at Niles.
"I'd do that for anyone on this team…" Niles said. "That's what I meant, I just wanted her to know what length I'd go to protect you."
Court patted him on the back. "Sure it was, I've used that line on a few ladies myself," he said with a dopey grin. "I know where your feelings lie when you say that."
Niles blushed and rubbed his eyes. "How about we just return the tracking device thing to Lumen and then go to sleep," he quickly suggested.
Sheila just laughed. "Yeah, let's not get too ahead of ourselves here," she agreed. "Oh, and thanks for helping me out with my mother, Vermex. I don't think she'd have budged if you hadn't interjected."
Vermex gave an elegant bow. "Anytime, Sheila," he said with a warm smile. "Also, I've sent a team of mercenaries to retrieve the bodies of your allies in the quarry, at the request of your mienfoo friend. Hopefully they'll come back with both of them."
"I see that he was still determined to give them their proper burial," Niles said, looking towards Naoto.
"You did say that we'd find a way to retrieve them, so I did just that," Naoto mentioned.
"Right," Niles said. "Anyways, like we were about to do…"
"It's just me and you here. The rest have already left," Naoto told him as he gestured around them.
"Oh…"
Age of Zezula: Year 780: Location: Glimmerstein: COY hall
The mega-absol seemed to be brushing his fur when Team Eternity and Team Fate came through the warp pads. He gracefully twirled around to see them.
"What happened to you darlings!?" Lumen exclaimed as he saw them. "You broke your arm, you have a mangled hand, and oh! Your wrist has the imprint of a salazzle's hand on it. And where has the gallade and scraggy gone off to?"
"You noticed that on my wrist that quickly?" Sheila said, puzzled at his keen eye. "Anyways, to answer your questions, Havan and Shinji died in a fight with a Fireforged, not without taking her out in the end."
"It's as to be expected, being a mercenary is not without its difficulties and depressing occurrences. At least the broken arm and mangled hand are easy fixes though." he shrugged.
"What do you mean by easy fixes?" Niles asked, prepared to hear something like 'Oh, how could you not know about this and that?'
"Figures a low-class grass type wouldn't know about my province's advanced medical technology. You guys never do get treated fairly," Lumen said with a hint of sympathy. "We can heal injuries like those with ease, so be glad you didn't lose a limb, because then you'd be fucked and wouldn't have a hand to use. How else could you please yourself missing one?"
Jin gave him a weird look. "Lumen, I don't do things like 'that' with either of my hands," he said.
Court crossed his arms. "Yeah, what he said," he went with it.
Lumen eyes widened. "Impressive… you're able to play your lute without both of your hands…" he said with admiration. "Teach me your ways, Ray of Sunshine. "
Court scratched the back of his head. "Not what I thought you meant…" he said to himself.
Lumen looked confused and he just kind of sniffed the air a bit. "Did you think I was talking about the act of pleasuring oneself in that sense, what are you, teenagers? I just thought music was pleasing to listen to and I wasn't really talking to Jin when I said that," he asked, offended.
"Well, I am one," Court responded, "No doubting that fact."
"Forget what I said, I just want my arm healed," Jin told him.
"Alright, I'll even pay for it if you want, because it's pretty pricey to have the procedure," Lumen offered.
"How much is it exactly?" Niles questioned.
"Only 3 million poke," Lumen nonchalantly started with a shrug. "Doesn't put a dent in my funds."
Everyone's jaws dropped. "How much poke do you even have?!" they all asked.
"As much as there are pokemon in Yandor…" Lumen stated.
"I don't even think anyone knows how many pokemon live in Yandor," Taiyo said. "Who'd want to count that many pokemon?"
"Exactly," Lumen said, pointing a finger at them.
"Why are you so willing to help us anyways, we aren't even a mercenary band from this province," Sheila asked suspiciously. "It's strange, especially with what I hear about you."
"Because, I have the ability to help you and if I don't I'll just regret it later. For example, Naoto probably would be dead if I had made you clean up my nightclub. I would have to live knowing that I inadvertently caused his death. And I don't want to deal with that, as Vermex had told me many times before in my life," he explained. "Me and him go way back, and that was always our saying as mercenaries, "Give to not regret.""
"You were in Vermex's mercenary band? I would have never guessed it, because he said you were a performer your entire life," Sheila said, flabbergasted.
"Hm! Performing was more of a hobby when I was a mercenary, it was not until we had 3 new members of our team that I became a full-on performer. I still remember the first time we met and our very first mission, back when we were only 12 years old. The missions we did weren't really all that difficult, but for a 12 year old they were," he said looking out the window reminiscing his past.
Age of Ishae: Year 753: Location: Glimmerstein(Flashback)
A young absol was singing and dancing on a stage with no audience, completely oblivious to the noibat that had found his way into the auditorium. The noibat proudly wore a violet scarf around his neck, it had one shiny gold star on it. He had heard the absol singing and wanted to get a closer look. He found his voice quite soothing to listen to.
After about 30 minutes the young absol finally noticed the noibat that was now clapping as hard as he could with grip claws. The absol decided to give a bow, the best way a four-legged pokemon could bow that is.
"For someone as young as you, you sure do know how to sing and dance," the noibat told the absol with a smile. "It may not be the best, but I enjoyed it."
The absol gave a proud smirk. "Even when I don't want an audience, I got one. Although, I really actually never had an audience before and I don't think a single pokemon counts," he said, biting his lip.
"Then I guess that means I'm your number one fan!" the noibat said as he quickly flew up to the absol.
"Haha… Yeah, I guess it does," the absol said.
The noibat gave an elegant bow. "My name is Vermex, what's yours?"
"It's Lumen, and I can't help but notice that scarf of yours… what does it signify?" Lumen asked.
Vermex looked surprised. "You don't know about mercenary bands?! Are you that oblivious?" he asked, genuinely worried.
Lumen flushed with embarrassment. "I-I'm not! Well… yeah I guess I'm pretty oblivious, but I was never told anything about them, I just occasionally see pokemon wearing these different colored scarfs with symbols on them. I had thought it was fashion related," he answered.
"Well, let me tell you exactly what mercenaries are, ah-hem, Mercenary bands are teams of pokemon that explore mystery dungeons, complete all sorts of missions and reap the rewards from them, and they answer directly to the representative from their province. And of course, they go on adventures into new lands and mystery dungeons," Vermex explained. "I only just made my team and I haven't even gotten a teammate yet. Pokemon these days seem to just not want to be mercenaries, no thanks to Ishae."
"Yet, even with Ishae in charge, you want to try to be a mercenary? I can see the interest and fun of being a mercenary but it seems too much to deal with," Lumen questioned.
"Ishae only messes with the mercenaries that are against her, I think, and as long as I never question her authority I'll be fine. I just wish I could find someone to join me…" Vermex proclaimed. "Maybe, you could be my first teammate? Being a mercenary gives you a lot of fame and fortune, at least once you become a higher rank and actually do something rather noticeable."
"Can't say I'm not interested, the idea of exploring new places, finding treasures and earning fame sounds like great fun… Perhaps pokemon would be more willing to watch me perform later on in my life," Lumen said. "Alright, I'm in, I can make performing a hobby sort of thing."
Vermex cheered happily. "Then welcome to Team Dauntless!" he exclaimed with open wings. "And now we make an oath!"
"You require an oath?" Lumen asked, not ready to promise anything.
"Of course... No matter what, we will always be on each other's side, and we'll always protect each other through and through!" Vermex stated proudly. "Come one! Say it with me!"
Lumen sighed. "No matter what, we will always be on each other's side, and we'll always protect each other through and through." he said in unison with Vermex.
"Not loud enough Lumen! I want to know that you're committed!" Vermex exclaimed. "One more time!"
Lumen brushed his fur on his hair back. "No matter what, we will always be on each other's side, and we'll always protect each other through and through!" he said proudly in unison with Vermex.
"And remember to not break the oath," Vermex said.
"I wouldn't ever," Lumen complied with a grin.
"Now let's go to the COY hall, have you registered on my team and do our first mission!"
They went outside into the sunny streets of Glimmerstein, and headed into the COY hall to use the warp pads to Urhina city's COY hall of the Croudor province. Vermex noticed a homeless pokemon sleeping in an alleyway with a bucket that had a cardboard sign taped to it. It had 10 poke scratched into it. Vermex put 1,000 poke in the bucket.
Lumen seemed shocked with how much Vermex gave the pokemon. "1,000 poke? That was 100 times more than what he was asking for!" he exclaimed, confused.
Vermex just shrugged. "Give to not regret." he simply stated. "Words I live by."
"So you just help literally everyone that you can?" Lumen asked.
"If I can, then yes I will. It brings you good fortune and makes you feel sense of worth," Vermex explained. "Why ignore someone in need of assistance, when you'll just regret it later on. That's what my mentor always told me anyways."
"I guess…" Lumen said. "What kind of 12 year old are you anyways? Already living by some moral words."
Vermex looked back at him. "I'm a true mercenary, that's what kind of pokemon I am. Something that is rare in Yandor," he stated.
What are you, some kind of prodigy child of Arceus? Lumen thought to himself. "Let's just go do our first mission together, I'm getting impatient," Lumen suggested as he walked off.
Age of Zezula: Year 780: Location: Glimmerstein: COY hall
"It'd be a long story and I'm sure you'd rather go to sleep in a bed rather than in those cushioned chairs, oh, if only you could see my flashbacks, then you'd get a great image of my past," Lumen said. "Anyways, back to what you came here for, come on you two, follow me, your glimmering light, to the hospital."
He gestured for Jin and Court to follow him, and they went with him.
"We didn't even give him the tracking device!" Jessica reminded them.
"You can keep the tracking device by the way!" Lumen's voice was barely heard in the distance.
"Guess he already knew we were going to do that," Tuba said. "Anyways, I'm going to sleep."
Sheila yawned and grabbed Niles's hand. "Let's go home Niles, it's been another long ass day."
Age of Zezula: Year 780: Location: Croudor Province: Jono city: Niles's and Sheila's house
Niles and Sheila finally return home and open the doors, which creaked upon opening.
"Great, back to this old place again," Niles said.
Sheila gave a heavy breath. "At least we can breathe this time," she commented as she headed towards the bedroom. "I hope we didn't forget to close the windows…"
Niles shrugged. "Are you really worried about thieves right now? There's nothing in here to steal besides our fresh air," he said in response as he entered the bedroom. "If anything, they'd use this house to hide what they stole."
"I don't really want to think about thieves right now, I'd rather just go to sleep," Sheila said as she jumped in bed face first into the pillows. "I just wish we had better blankets."
"I'm with you there, I get cold easily," Niles said. "At least I sleep next to a fire-type."
And with that they finally went to sleep.
AN1: So yeah, this is the chapter where I start really digging into the lore behind some of my characters, it's a bit of a break from the shit in the last chapter.
Here's the OC form, just the same as ever.
OC Rules
1. The classic. No Mary or Gary Stues. You can submit some very skilled and/or powerful OCs, but you must give them at least 2 or 3 weaknesses.
2. There's a bar of quality that you must pass in order for your OC to be accepted. This is because I get some OCs here and there that lack any substance at all, and boy is it hard to work with that. Luckily for you guys, the bar isn't that high and you have unlimited attempts anyways (please no spam though).
3. No human turned pokemon OCs.
4. I will not accept incomplete OCs or OCs that just do not fit into the world of Yandor.
5. No main villains/antagonists. I'm very iffy about them in general, as they're hard to fit into the story.
6. PM your OCs please. I'd much rather see reviews in the review section over them. I know this hurts the guests, but it's really not that difficult to set up an account. If you do end up sending one in the reviews for whatever reason, the only way I'll accept them is if you clearly put time and effort into it.
7. Fair warning, no character is safe from death. Since, I roll dice to determine battle and choice outcomes. However, I may overrule the dice on certain occasions. In short, I'll try to do what is best for the story.
OC Form!
Name:
Nickname/alias (If applicable):
Species and gender (You can submit any species including legendaries, besides Arceus. And for genderless pokemon, just tell me what they prefer to be considered):
Estimated Age (Pokemon don't age the same as humans, so I just need you to tell me if they're a child, teen, young adult, adult, or elder):
Role (Teammate to the main character, recurring villain, just some random shopkeeper, another mercenary band leader/teammate, or maybe a pokemon that I can just kill as an example of how shit Yandor can be):
Province (tell me what province they live in, just know that certain types usually live in a certain province, but they can be in any province really (very unlikely). Read the Lore of Yandor in the introductory chapter for info on that. You can ask any question about the provinces if needed and if I can answer it):
Personality (I need decent enough description that'll allow me to get your OC right):
Character Alignment (You can look up the alignments on google or just ask me about it):
Backstory (I won't ask for much here, just give me a backstory that really shows why they are the way they are):
Relationship? (No, this doesn't mean sex scenes are planned. I'm asking whether or not you're fine with your OC having a relationship develop, and their sexuality):
Ability:
Move-set (give me 6 moves):
Fighting Style (Can be as descriptive as you feel it should be):
Quotes (This is so you can give me a general idea of how they act, talk, and how you'd see them being written. A minimum of 4 is required.):
Other things that you must tell me (like if they have anything unique about their appearance, or if they can mega-evolve, stuff like that):
And the form for mercenary bands (Just put this form above the OCs that are in the team)
Name of team:
Scarf color:
Rank (E, D, C, B, A, S, H, W, Royal):
Members:
Why created:
What they've done:
Forms will be on my profile so you can copy it from there.
And that's all, thanks for reading people, hope you'll be here for the rest of the story. ^:^