Note: I got it! I got the game finally! Time to pour hours into video games again!
There will be a minor character (as in, inconsequential NPC) that'll be a minor character here yet will also appear later. This is because I had to go through an LP of somebody to find their name. Insignificant, I know, yet my bad habit is getting hung up on details.
This chapter may be a bit longer than the last two, though it's my fault for wanting to get in so much. This isn't to indicate any favoritism or anything; I just wanted to get what I wanted in there.
Thanks so much to Ninjacya321 for commenting! Things like that help with motivation! Also, they've got a Trials of Mana/Seiken Densetsu 3 fic involving Hawkeye! Check it out!
Special thanks to Falchion1984 for pointing out what needed to be fixed!
Riesz and Hawkeye
Laurent, Home of the Amazons
The band of armored women peered over the cliff's edge, seeing the land below. "I can't believe it." one amongst them said. "So many at once, and so close…."
The women composing the group were of many different features: some bearing hair of red, violet, gold, teal, and several colors of eyes, yet all bore the same armor that had the appearance of a soldier, yet also that of a woman. The armor consisted of essentials such as breastplates, pauldrons, greaves, and gauntlets, yet there were areas where their flesh was seen, the armor fashioned to where it protected them and exemplified their assets. They have dressed for the occasion yet also openly presented their femininity.
Such was the way of the amazon.
Below them was a brood of an entirely different color. The creatures bore the heads of women, yet that was all. Their humanity was sparse, for, in place of arms, they had wings of various colored feathers, ranging from green to blue to violet and several others. Their chests were bare, yet feathers covered their breasts and groin areas, bearing tails and sharpened talons. They presumably looked around and scouted the area, ironically mirroring what the troop had been doing before arriving at this spot.
"Captain," one among the armored women began. "When shall we get going?"
The 'Captain' in question narrowed her eyes, looking down at the gathering of bird-women. "Hold a moment," she whispered. Odd that she had yet to arrive yet.
"W-Whoa!" Everyone turned to see one among them sliding down and falling from the edge, having put pressure on a looser piece of earth and lost their hold.
"Eliza!" some troop shouted as the young, cerulean, pigtailed-haired girl fell, landing hard onto the ground below.
The harpies immediately had their attention drawn to the young scout that had just fallen, gathering around her. Eliza moaned as she lifted her head, only to see that the harpies had become interested in her. And just one look at her armor cemented that she was their enemy. Getting to her feet, the young amazon held out her spear, the bird-women gazing and sizing her up. Then, one of them rose upward and swooped down. She jabbed her weapon forward, this scraping the side of the harpy and managing to dislodge a few feathers. Though this move wasn't exactly wise, as now she left herself open on the other two sides, two harpies coming in for the attack. A slash to her thigh and a bite to her arm made Eliza shriek; she tried to push them off with her weapon. Then, another harpy descended on her, the one she had managed to strike, sending her to the ground, a pair of sharpened talons keeping her in place. Then, it raised its head and opened its mouth, revealing large, dagger-like canines that were looking to puncture her throat.
Only, that never occurred.
Barely visible against the sun descended another of the lithe warriors. This one crashed down upon the harpy like thunder, sending the bird-woman holding Eliza into shrieks of pain and causing her taloned hand to spring open, allowing the captive to slip free. The inexperienced young woman squinted against the rays to see her rescuer, and a grin played about her lips. Now that the figure was in plain sight, one could see that she cut an impressive figure, even amongst the comely but deadly amazons. Blue eyes narrowed into cerulean daggers contrasted with an otherwise youthful face as she faced down the bird woman who, perhaps also recognizing this opponent, gave a nervous keening. As the amazon readied her spear, though hers was more akin to a trident, the sunlight caught the tips of the ornamental wings which rose from the coronet upon her brow while the green gemstone in its center gleamed despite being partially hidden by her bangs.
Whereas most of her sisters worse cuirasses of steely blue, her attire seemed more akin to a dress than armor. A vibrant green fringed at the hem into a pattern reminiscent of an inverted flower that fanned out from the waist and with a low neckline that most human opponents might find…distracting. This contrasted with the simple but durable brown shoes on her feet and the pauldrons with golden scrollwork upon her shoulders.
What set her truly apart from her fellows, however, was her hair. Whereas the other amazons had theirs meticulously coiled into buns and braids to keep it out of the way or cropped short, this amazon had chosen the opposite extreme. Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders in a veritable waterfall of woven gold that reached well below her waist, near which much of it had been gathered into a ponytail secured by a distinctive green ribbon. Her decision to leave her hair at such a length had been met with some criticism since a clever and unscrupulous foe could grab a handful of it, yank her off-balance, and then run her through. But, at seeing those seeming yards of flaxen tresses, Eliza knew she was saved.
The young, blonde woman beat back the harpies away from Eliza, looking to the assembled group, then directed her attention to her troop, though she dared not take her eyes off the bird-women. She gave the signal for them to come in.
Nevarl Fortress, Headquarters of Thieves
"She's talking to him again." a young man observed, another youth with him nodding in agreement as they both hid behind the wall that served as a corner.
The first youth was a handsome young man with sandy blonde hair tied in a low ponytail. His face alone could make many a lady swoon and call to the mind of any young girl the handsome prince so ubiquitous in storybooks. And the fact that this youth wore silvery armor only served to cement the image, even as everyone else snickered at how wildly impractical such garb was for a thief, especially in the hot desert. The second youth was very different, clad in loose and airy clothes consisting of a red vest with golden trims and a violet sash over a white, sleeveless undershirt. Lilac wristguards protected his dexterous hands from both the rage of the desert sun and the biting chill of the desert night, while legwarmers did likewise for his supple legs. Tight-fitting, dark-colored pants vanished into shoes of soft leather, crafted not to turn swords like his friend's garb, but to move swiftly and silently, and his roguish appearance was rounded out by the silver embroidered headband that encircled his brow and the impressive length of cloth wrapped ponytail that descended past his shoulder blades. He had a far more tanned complexion than his friend, and between his hair was a distinct shade of violet and the exotic slant of his eyes; some believed him to have a splash of Altenian blood in his veins. Not that anyone expected him to turn his marks into Rabites anytime soon.
Currently, the two were observing an older man bearing a turban and a far younger woman seemingly in deep conversation with each other; the younger woman concealed mainly from the shawl of striped cloth that resembled a tiger's skin. Their voices were soft, yet some dialogue between them could be heard.
"Do you speak the truth?" the older man said, concern and worry in his voice.
"My dear, what reason would I have to lie to you?" the woman answered, her voice comforting. The two young men couldn't deny that her voice was like honey, yet despite its pleasantness, there was an underlying element. She tried to disguise it, yet the two young men could hear it well. And they didn't like it one bit. "The wells are drying up. All the animals are leaving. I have felt the disturbances from the earth and air. Mana is fading…."
Was Mana fading? Both young men looked at each other, their blue and amber eyes continuing to observe the two far-off figures.
"Then...I suppose something MUST be done." the older man said. "Yet...do you think such an extreme measure is necessary?"
"My dear, I would not suggest such a thing unless there were no other options," she told him, drawing closer to him, holding onto him as if he were his lover. "Yet I fear that, as the old saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures."
The older man sighed. "There will be those that won't be receptive to this."
"No, not all will," she admitted. "Yet, once they realize there is no other way, they will see. It is for the good of all of us. For those that you lead. Your children will have a prosperous future and be guaranteed survival. Besides..." she purred akin to a cat. "You shall be a great King."
That seemed to get his attention. "You believe that?"
She giggled girlishly as if she were some hapless, airheaded little teenager. "I always have, dearest."
He then put his arm around her waist to the shock of the two spying on them. "What would I do without you?"
"Don't sell yourself so short," she told him, rubbing her head on his shoulder. "Though, I do wonder whether or not you'd be able to make sure your clothes don't have any wrinkles if I didn't inspect them." he gave a hearty laugh at that, the two continuing their conversation as they went on further and further away.
The two young men were about to move forward to follow them, yet "Eagle? Hawkeye?" a young female voice stopped them. "What do you think you're doing?"
Turning around, a young woman looked at them inquisitively, her violet eyes staring into theirs. She bore turquoise hair pulled up in a long ponytail tied with a white ribbon, said ponytail coming down to her mid-back. She wore a sleeveless dress with a light blue top, a golden belt around her waist, golden trimmings on the breasts, and a lower part that ended below the belt. Attached to the belt were transparent material that sparkled, golden bands on her wrists, the rest of her dress consisting of white ruffles that went down to the floor, covering her slippers. Around her neck, however, was a new piece of jewelry: a golden choker with a large, red gemstone in the middle.
"Whatcha doing here, Jessica?" the purple-haired youth, Hawkeye, questioned.
"I could be asking you the same thing," Jessica replied. "And you, Eagle, what's going on? Unless you're planning on stealing someone's socks, I don't see why you are skulking around like this."
"No way," Hawkeye answered, looking at Eagle. "I know better than to go anywhere NEAR your socks." Eagle, in turn, rolled his eyes, yet a chuckle came out.
"Though, what are you two doing-"
The blonde, Eagle, silenced her. "Quiet! They might hear."
The blue-haired girl put her hands on her hips. "You're spying on father again, aren't you?"
"Well...not really," Hawkeye answered, rubbing the back of his head.
"Then what?" she was about to turn the corner, only to be grabbed by both of them and forced up against the wall. "I knew it! You WERE spying!"
"No, we're not!" Eagle told her.
"Yes, you are!" she retorted.
"Technically, we're not," Hawkeye answered, only to receive a look from Jessica. "We were spying on both him AND Isabella."
Jessica raised a brow. "Isabella's with him?"
Eagle nodded, not exactly happy to relay this information. "Seems like she's ALWAYS with him these days."
"Well...maybe he just LIKES being around her?" Jessica suggested, not exactly understanding her brother's hatred. "I mean, she's a little...clingy, but aside from that, I don't see anything wrong with her."
"A LITTLE is an understatement." Hawkeye scoffed. "She's practically on him all the time like they're lovers or something."
"Hawkeye!" Jessica scolded. "My father is NOT some dirty old man!"
"Hey, at his age, if he can still get it down, that's admirable in my book."
"Hawkeye…"
"Ok, fine. Fine. Shutting up now."
Eagle chuckled at this, noticing what was around his sister's neck. "When'd you get that?"
"Oh, this?" Jessica gestured to the piece of jewelry. "Well...truth be told, father gave it to me earlier."
"Father gave you this?" Eagle asked though Jessica wasn't exactly finished.
"Well, sort of. He said that it was a gift from Isabella."
'Oh, I see.' Hawkeye thought. 'So you like her just because you get pretty stuff from her.' he opened his mouth to speak, but the blue-haired young lady cut him off.
"Do you like it, Hawkeye?" she asked, her violet eyes wide and staring into his, drawing close to him and putting him on the spot. Yet she couldn't leave without an answer.
"Uh, yeah. Sure. Looks great." the thief answered, mainly to get her to back up just a bit, yet that wasn't exactly the right move, he found out, as she embraced him.
"Oh, I knew you'd like it! Thank you!" Jessica happily chirped, holding him in her arms for a few more moments before letting go. "Oh, that's right! You guys have a raid tonight! Well, I better leave you to plan that out. Still, thank you, Hawkeye!" She happily skipped down the hallway and was out of sight with that.
"Heh, looks like you're still popular," Eagle answered, Hawkeye still trying to take in some air.
"Hey, it's a natural gift," he told his blonde friend. "It's not my fault the ladies here can't keep their hands to themselves."
"You're not THAT good." Eagle replied.
"Oh yeah? When are you planning to get a girlfriend? In the next fifty years or so?"
"Hey, I could get any woman I want in this place! Not to brag, but being the head's son does have its benefits."
"Oh yeah, ass-kissing is such a benefit. Everybody better learn to pucker their lips tight enough." Hawkeye smirked.
"Hey, c'mon now-"
"And hey, maybe you'll become an old player like your old man."
"You take that back!"
"You don't like it? Do something about it."
"Why you…"
The two young men stared at each other in silence as if about to engage in a fight. Then, they both burst out laughing. "Seriously though, you're gonna find somebody who will give you a black eye one day."
"I'd like to see them try."
The two laughed again, unaware that they were now being watched. Her eyes watched hungrily like a cat at a couple of mice, listening to what she could hear.
"Well now…" she murmured to herself. "Such cheeky little boys." she despised those two ever since she laid eyes on them. However...in time, perhaps they could be somewhat helpful to her.
Borders of Laurent
Storms of feathers and battle cries were plentiful on the field, both groups of women combating each other and wasting no time trying to tear at the other. Slashes from spears and talons went on and on, injuries being dealt on either side. The blonde, young Captain, was at the head of the charge, beating back the winged creatures further and further away from the border. Though as she did so, she kept her eyes peeled. She was coming. The young princess knew that these harpies wouldn't be here without there-
"Look!"
"It's her! It's their leader!"
All the women stopped, the harpies as well, a far more significant figure from on high looking down upon them all, blocking out the sun with their massive wings. The winged creatures down below immediately parted, allowing the other to come down and make a landing. Clawed talons dug into the ground and looked directly at the Captain with hate-filled eyes. The creature before them all bore a woman's body similar to the harpies, yet unlike the others, she had no wings replacing her arms. Instead, she had arms and legs, yet in place of hands or feet, she bore long, sharpened, blackened talons, which she displayed for all to see. She did have wings, however, positioned on her back, as well as a tail, the feathers bright and consisting of deep blue, violet, and magenta. A light coating of turquoise feathers covered her breasts, sides, and groin, yet everything else was bare skin, presenting a lean, toned figure. Jewelry of sorts adorned her person, yet they were far from regarded as anything beautiful: they were crafted from bone and centered around her neck and her upper right arm, her attire of sorts finished by the top halves of human skulls being tied around her waist with a rope of sorts to make something of a 'belt', white-greyish feathers protruding from under the skulls' upper jaw. Long, flowing, light magenta hair flowed in the light breeze. Yet, her eyes presented her true intent, her scalar golden with violet irises, boring into the Captain's blue, clearly indicating she wanted a challenge. However, the most distinguishing feature was a long, angular scar that started from the top of her left breast down to the lower right of her stomach. It had long since healed up, yet the wound itself would leave a reminder of itself.
And even more, where it came from.
The Captain began to approach. "Princess Riesz!" Eliza cried out, yet she was held back by another harpy, the other amazons continuing to combat the horde.
Riesz looked upon the more significant harpy, particularly at the scar on her chest, the harpy looking back at her chest, or rather, how intact the skin was. Then, the predator thrust a clawed hand downward, the princess and Captain leaping out of the way and rolling to the side, landing a slice on the giant bird woman's side. The bird-woman released a cry of pain yet retaliated in turn, slashing at the young woman's upper arm, her roll to the other side of her opponent being interrupted by the blow, landing instead ungracefully on her stomach. Finally, the head harpy launched herself at the fallen princess, rolling out of the way just in time to avoid her adversary's talons.
Getting back on her feet, Riesz thrust her spear forward, creating a gash in her foe's side, this being returned by a taloned 'hand' seizing her throat and throwing her back against the rocky wall, the amazons and harpies parting ways to make room for their two respective leaders and their battle. The pink-haired harpy shrieked as she dove forward.
"PRINCESS!" Eliza shouted, yet, to her shock and amazement, her leader managed to get up and leap forward and dive downwards, slicing down and piercing the wing of the harpy. The harpy leader let out a high-pitched scream that sounded like a strange mixture of a young woman and the calls of a bird of prey: neither animal, yet neither human either.
The harpies stopped upon seeing their leader wounded, the wing that was struck laying limp by her side; she looked and visually examined it. She saw it wasn't broken, giving it a light flutter, yet flying for long periods was out of the question for a week or two. She looked to the blonde young woman, who was more than ready to go further if need be.
The harpy shot her one last glare before flapping her gigantic wings and taking off into the skies, the rest of her fellow bird women following behind. Soon, they disappeared.
"Princess!" Eliza shouted again, going to her side. "Are you ok?" all the other troops gathered around their Captain.
"I...I'm fine." Riesz assured her, though as she went to take a step, she began to feel the ache of her wounds already. The others only drew in further with the sole, collective goal of helping their Captain, yet the blonde continued to look up to the skies. 'They're getting bolder...just as I feared.'
Nevarl
Desert Capital Sirhtan
Well, well, well. They weren't kidding when they said tonight's operation would be significant.
The city's walls were easy enough to get over, but now that they were inside, the real challenge began. Oh sure, they were more than apt in sneaking around, not to mention that they had come at a reasonable hour at night, yet still, their target was one of some considerable status. And said status usually came with more than a few layers of protection. But hell with it. He had been itching for a challenge for some time.
The members of the guild that had silently invaded consisted of Hawkeye himself, a short, cat-like creature of violet fur with an empty sack over his shoulders, ready to be filled up, and a pair of darkly clad individuals that, had it not been for the different colors in their headdresses, those who didn't know them well would've assumed that they were outright clones of each other. The four pairs of eyes surveyed and observed the various run-down homes of adobe; windows darkened to assure them that they would mostly be unseen and unheard if they were careful.
"Ok," Hawkeye spoke up, turning to the other three. "Bill and Ben, you keep a lookout. Niccolo, you're with me.'' All three nodded and followed the violet-haired thief's lead, making their way to the rooftop of one of the small dwellings and using them as stepping stones to reach the one they were after.
And it wasn't hard to find, considering it was in quite a better state than the others, not to mention far larger. Hawkeye whistled at observing the home. "Nice place," he noted. He then looked around at the far, smaller, less well-kept abodes. "Why not put out a welcome sign too?" Niccolo giggled at that, though Bill and Ben were silent. "Hey, at least SOMEBODY finds my jokes funny."
"That's because Nicky here has no taste," Bill answered, Ben in turn nodding. The cat puffed out his cheeks and narrowed his brow.
"Ok, you know what to do," Hawkeye stated, he and Niccolo jumping down while Bill and Ben stayed where they were, watching as the younger man successfully picked the lock and entered the home.
Indeed, the interior was something to behold: the floors were composed of diamond-shaped tiles scrubbed until they shone in the tiny bits of moonlight that crept in, an elaborate and expensive rugs consisting of the finest material rested on the floor. Tapestries of a similar vein lined the walls, and various baubles and trinkets of high value decorated the shelves.
"Mew…" Niccolo observed in awe. "It's beautiful."
"Yeah." Hawkeye agreed though he had more to say on the matter. "It's only beautiful because he's taken everyone else's ability to have such beauty." he then began to make his way up the stairs. "Get all you can. I'll see what goods our dear, well-off fellow's got upstairs." Niccolo saluted and began to open his empty sack that was ready to be filled.
Quietly making his way up, the young man saw the visage of an overweight man snoring away in a large, extravagant bed. Well, at least he had something to drown out his noise. Kneeling and creeping around, his amber eyes surveyed what was around him, the interior mainly in line with what he had seen downstairs. To his surprise, a single, smaller bed rested not too far from his against the wall. A child's bed? Yet no child was around. Nor a wife. He wouldn't be surprised if perhaps this pompous old fart drove them away, yet he was here on the job, not to conjure up possible theories.
"Zzzz...that's…" the sleeping man murmured. "That's...my money…."
Hawkeye couldn't help but roll his eyes. Geez, not that he was complaining, yet this entire operation was utterly devoid of anything challenging. But, did his wandering eyes deceive him, or was that a big ol' treasure chest in the corner whispering to him, 'C'mon! Pick me! Break into me! Take everything you can!' Well...if it insisted. Going over and picking the lock, he heard tiny, faint footsteps and the violet-furred cat coming in with a full sack.
"Mew...that was easy." Niccolo meowed, adjusting the nearly full sack. For such a little guy, he had quite the firm grip, Hawkeye thought. Niccolo opened the chest for him and wasted no time gathering up all he could, the human tipping the rather heavy container sideways to better load the lurce into the sack.
Save for one single coin that bounced off the floor.
"Hm?!" Hawkeye deadpanned. Really? What were the odds? The once sleeping man rose to see the violet-haired youth and cat looting him of his belongings. "Thieves! What do you think you're doing!?" he then noticed the single coin on the floor. Of all things, Hawkeye thought. Not the chest emptied nor the full sack on the cat's back. "My money!"
"Niccolo, go!" Hawkeye ordered, the cat nodding and leaped up and out the window in a rather impressive feat. At least, he would've had the sack not been caught in the window due to its size. "Good grief." he sighed.
"Ruffians!" the rich man hollered angrily. "Good for nothing, bandits! Who do you think you are?!"
Idiot just HAD to make this complicated, didn't he? Well, as long as he was here, what the hell. "I'd go with the whole spiel that this is just a dream...but nope. This is something you need to hear wide awake." Hawkeye smirked. "Let me just say that you seem like a guy that has it all together. All the while, everybody else here isn't as well off. Now, why is that? Methinks that your so-called hard-earned money wasn't exactly as hard-earned as you say it is."
"Why you…"
"So, if anything, perhaps you should consider this a wake-up call. Now, you get to experience what the other fine folks in this place go through."
"Hawkeye!" Niccolo shouted. "A little help here?"
With a kick, the cat and his sack were sent out the window, the thief following suit. The well-off man ran outside, seeing the cat and youth making their way off. "Guards!" he shouted. "Guards! Catch them!" yet, to his surprise, no one came. Going around the home, he saw that the entirety of his protection was lying on the ground, seemingly knocked out with bits of strange powder scattered all over them. Whatever it was, it seemed to be effective, for as he went forward to take a whiff, he too fell over and joined the collection of sleeping forms.
Bill and Ben couldn't help but chuckle as they passed over, having hung back and dealt with the guards while Hawkeye and Niccolo were busy inside. "What," Bill began.
"An," Ben added.
"Idiot." the two then said in unison, joining the other two thieves in their escape.
Note: Again, changes here, but mainly from a logical perspective, as things will be dealt with in the future. After all, even if it's based on one, this isn't a straight-up adaptation of the video game with video game mechanics. Also, things will be moving somewhat slower, mainly because I want to establish everyone reasonably and believably. But even then, I hope to keep things interesting. Now that everyone's been introduced, things can progress in no specific character order. Even if they're not said, things happen in a particular order, al la, the invasion of a sure kingdom before something else.
That said, I hope you enjoy it!
