13th installment of the VGNU.
Dragons and Broadswords,
Mystery and Adventure,
Final Fantasy has them all!
The beginning of Phase 2 for the Video Game Novel Universe.
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2,000 years ago, a cloud of darkness spread across the Earth. It brought with it raging seas, terrible storms, scorching heat, and crumbling stone. The weight of depression and apathy crushed entire civilizations, and monsters crawled forth from the darkness. The Crystals that held the balance of the elements began to whither and darken, and powerful Fiends were sent forth to drain and guard the Crystals. For 2,000 years they have laid dormant, but now they awaken. 200 years ago it was Tiamat, the Wind Fiend, in the northeast. A hundred years later it was Kraken, the Water Fiend, in the northwest. Now, soon, Lich the Fiend of Earth will wake in the southwest. A wise Prophet, Lukahn, claims that soon, four Warriors of Light will appear to save the world.
And four Warriors they received. Thomas, Claudia, Henry and Richard were the strongest paladins of Gaia, and the Crystal Shards chose them. When they arrived in Cornelia, they were given a trial; save the Princess Sarah from the clutches of the evil Garland. The Warriors stormed the Temple of Fiends, quickly subduing the previously undefeatable knight. As thanks, the King had the bridge to the next kingdom repaired, and told them the truth of their quest. They must travel to Pravoka in the east, procure a ship, and find the Crystal in the west before Lich wakes.
The Warriors set forth to Pravoka, dispatching the rogue pirates that overran the city, and taking for themselves the pirate ship. They promised that upon the completion of their mission they would help rebuild, and set west across the Aldean Sea. They were stopped at the closed channel however, as the Dwarves did not want the darkness unleashed. Hoping to garner support from the Elves, the Warriors sought out the Elf Prince, who they found lying in a deep slumber. Supposedly a Witch could help him, but her magic was stolen by a creature named Astos. The Warriors changed course for Astos then, growing annoyed with the running around, but knowing it was the only way. They cared not for Astos' riddles, and tormented him with raging blades until he surrendered the Crystal Eye. The Warriors then traveled to the mountain peaks north of Cornelia to seek out the Witch Matoya. She too offered riddles the Warriors cared nothing for, but at least she gave them something to wake the Elf Prince. Finally the Elf Prince gave his demand to the Dwarves to open the channel and let the Warriors through.
Before the Warriors could reach the Earth Shrine, they were stopped by the monsters destroying the city of Melmond. The monsters here followed a single leader, a Vampire the Warriors found familiar. It was Astos yet again, and for causing trouble a second time the Warriors once more beat the ever loving hell out of him until he left and took his monsters with him. They then continued into the Earth Shrine where they wasted no time defeating the first Fiend who had just woken from his slumber. Surprised by their victory, but grateful, the Sage Sadda took them back to Cornelia, where they met with the Elder Council. The Sage, the Witch, and the King argued for hours over their best course of action. The King claimed to let the Warriors continue, the Sage demanded answers as to why things were so different, and the Witch refused to accept that death was not the answer. The Warriors, having no understanding of what was really happening, set out on their own to continue the quest.
They sailed to Crescent Lake, camping and bashing monster skulls and camping and slaying demonic beasts along the way. Upon reaching the Silver City, they met Lukahn who had foreseen their arrival, but the Warriors didn't care for his words either. All that mattered was the mission. So Thomas, Claudia, Henry and Richard entered the flaming Mt. Gulg, waking the Fiend of Fire Kary a hundred years early. They tore her apart, and brought light to the second Crystal. Returning to Crescent Lake, they were told to leave. So they did. On an Airship they took from the harbor without bothering to ask.
Knowing it wasn't vital to the mission, but figuring why not, the Warriors had heard stories of a King Dragon and set course to find him. On a small cluster of islands, they met with the Dragon King Bahamut who was imprisoned beneath a mountain. He promised to grant them great power if they passed his test, and sent them to the Castle of Ordeals. From bottom to top, the Warriors slew every monster, even the undead Zombie Dragon that guarded the treasure they came for. Bringing it back to Bahamut, he gave them increased strength, durability, and skill. Newly invigorated and ready for combat, the Warriors set out now for Onrac.
While the town of Onrac seemed hostile to newcomers, the Warriors didn't seem to mind. Their puny mortal weapons no longer meant anything to the walking line of tanks that were the Warriors of Light. Following Dr. Unne's instructions, the Warriors dropped below the choppy waves to the Water Shrine deep, deep underwater. There, a phantom mermaid attempted to guide them, but the Warriors opted for a challenge, facing every monster they came across head on. They didn't even realize they'd already fought and killed Kraken until they came to the Crystal and realized they'd reached the end of the dungeon.
Nearing the end of their quest, Dr. Unne directed them east to the final Fiend. He said something about needing something to enter some tower to get to a city in the sky, but the Warriors didn't care. They had an Airship. That could fly. They took that above the clouds and headed east until they saw the city. A bunch of mechanical people lived in the floating metal city, and they didn't seem like monsters so the Warriors left them alone. When they were brought to Tiamat however, they were confused. Their weapons wouldn't harm this Fiend. So they devised a different tactic-- beat the hell out of it and pin it to a wall. As massive as the multi-headed dragon was, the strength of three Warriors was enough to hold it down. The fourth of them, Henry, they decided, as it was his turn, activated the final Crystal. Tiamat still tried to fight back, but soon the city was falling and then Bahamut showed up. Bahamut ate Tiamat as he tried to run away, and the Heroes were given a ride back to Cornelia.
Returned to the castle, the Warriors were met with confusion by most and disgust by the Witch Matoya. They'd really managed to defeat the darkness, as simple minded and brutish as they were. But as strong as they were, Matoya knew they would fail the final test. When Chaos was revived in the Temple of Fiends, the Warriors had no clue why, but they set out to face him anyway. The monsters there, like all before, were no match for them. And when they came face to face with Garland reborn, they feared nothing.
But it was a trap they were not prepared for. Chaos pulled them into his dimension of insanity and set upon them the full might of his evil powers. Standing shoulder to shoulder, Thomas, Claudia, Henry and Richard stood behind their shields. They were strong enough to defend against the God, but they had nothing to attack him with. He was too far, and even throwing their swords at him seemed to do nothing. They had no magic, no ranged weapons, and Chaos would not let up his attacks. They had realized their grave error. They had put all of their focus on brute strength, and ignored the many cryptic sayings of those wiser than them. They were fools, as Matoya often called them.
And then the Crystal Shards spoke to them, and they heard the voices and felt the power of Warriors long dead. Nine incarnations of heroes, this now being the tenth, stood before them in this very spot, facing off against the God Chaos. Nine incarnations of heroes had lost their battles, and given their life and energy to the Shards.
Finally making the wise choice, instead of the brute force one... Thomas, Claudia, Henry and Richard gave their lives as well.
Chaos had won again. Again and again and again the cycle had gone on and would continue over and over and over... 2,000 years of hell on repeat for eternity. Worlds fell before his never-ending might. He laughed at their pitiful attempts as they tried and failed, and like so many before them, and so many would after, their worlds were reduced to ash.
