Sorry about the posting constantly. I was editing some stuff, went over the posting limit and...well, stuff happened. My bad!
At the very least, here's a mug shot of how Oscar looks.
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In a time long forgotten... When the land was still one, a great war ignited. A war between men and demons. Darkness covered the planet as men, sorcerers and demons fought each other to claim control over the lands. In the darkest moments, Warriors and powerful Sorcerers formed a pact to work together and defeat the demons. But still, their combined forces struggled against the dark beings.
So the Warriors and Sorcerers decided to turn towards the gods and received a gift in the midst of their pleas.
The: Valis Crystal.
This crystal---a gift from the gods, held a power to create miracles. The power to raise the dead - the ability to give a man the strength of twenty, and even the power to destroy. The Warriors and Sorcerers of the time used the crystals powers to these ends and thus was able to drive back the demon hordes after a summer of war. Yet, when the war was over, the Warriors and Sorcerers began to fight over who would take ownership over the Crystal.
In the end, the Warriors made the foolish choice to attempt to destroy the Valis Crystal. A decision in which caused a massive explosion through the lands; as well as leading to natural disasters to overcome the land. Floods, Hurricanes, Storms, and Magma erupting from the earth. In the end, these cataclysmic events tore the land asunder - splitting it as well as lands being submerged into the oceans.
It's said that even though this gift from the gods was destroyed, the pieces lay hidden, to once again be placed together to form the Valis Crystal.
Chapter 1 Yanal. Part 1.
Page 1:
"Ah! How I love the feeling of the morning sun on my face...!" A young girl said as she looks up towards the sky while sitting on a grassy hill, lightly pressing her palm against her forehead to block direct sunlight from her purple eyes. Standing with a wide smile across her face, she bent over and picked an old wicker basket off the ground and began walking uphill. The handle was loose due to it's age as well as the woven threads had many splits along the seams and ends.
She always saw these flaws but never took the time to attempt to fix them due to her being satisfied by it being useful enough as it was.
Reaching the top of the hill, she reached an old tree that stood over fifty feet tall and housed hundreds of fruit in it's branches. Pink circular fruits with purple stems hung from the tree, as if they were waiting to be picked by her. She smirked as she got closer to the tree and placed her hand against the trunk.
"Alright, tree. I'm only going to take a few Ikilo berries from you today. I'll try to be gentle, okay?" she said to the tree as she closed her eyes and her smirk faded slowly.
She felt the wind blow against her cheek softly and her long braids on each side of her head begin to be lifted. The leaves of the tree rustled lightly at first and suddenly change to a violent rustling as the branches swayed from left to right, or up and down. Ikilo berries began to dangle from the branches--back and forth as some began to fall and hit the ground.
She opened her eyes slowly and looked towards the fallen berries. "One... two... three... four... six! Okay! That's enough to make a pie! Thank you for baring with me." She stroked the tree with her hand as she turned away and picked the Ikilo's from the ground and place them in her basket. As she went to pick up the sixth one from the ground, she noticed that it hadn't turned completely pink yet. And it's texture was rather rough.
"Oh. This one is no good." She placed it back on the ground and looked up at the tree. "Um. Sorry to bother you but can you spare one more?" She stared at the tree as a brief silence filled the air. "Well. I know it doesn't feel great but I need just one more. Please?" Once more, silence filled the air. "Well fine! No one wants any Ikilo's from a worn out second rate tree like you anyway!"
Turning away from the tree and placing her left hand on her hip, she huffed while sticking her nose in the air. The tree's leaves began rustling lightly; an a snap was heard from above. She looked up quickly enough to have a Ikilo land on her forehead.
"Ouch!" She rubbed her forehead before glaring at the tree than picking the berry off the ground. "Jerk..." She placed the berry in her basket and sighed. "Well, at least it's ripe... and my skull is fractured." She began to walk down the hill thinking to herself as to how uncomfortable she made the tree by taking it's fruits from it's branches. Maybe it was an act of harshness and mutilation... After all, how would she feel if someone one came and just ripped her hair off her head just because they thought they needed it.
She then began to realize how illogical this thought was, and her rumbling stomach only helped to verify this.
"I need to hurry home. I'm starved and I'm sure everyone is waiting for me to get back. I shouldn't have daydreamed off like that... Dinner is probably going to be late because of me..." She shook her head as a hand gripped her shoulder. "Yes, it will be." A stern voice from behind her spoke.
She gasped while her eyes widened and the basket dropped from her hand. She felt a chill down her spine. "I... I... I..." she began to turn her head towards the voice.
"No excuses, sister. You day dreamt out here for almost an hour and mother was worried. And I had to come here to find you. Thank you, Kana." the voice came from her brother who stood at average height of five-nine, with long blonde, punk styled hair, a light skin completion, leather armor breastpad, linen pants with a drab tone of blue and dusty leather boots, with a sword and sheath strapped to his back. His most defining detail being his Blondie haired monkey like tail.
"Brother! You know how I hate it when you sneak up on me!" *she turned fully and gave him a punch to the gut with her little balled fist. "You make me so mad!" He hunched over; placing his arms around his abdomen as she straightened out her now ruffled red long sleeved shirt from frustratingly lashing out at her brother.
"Oh! You really put all you had into that punch! I think you really ruptured my stomach. I... think I'm seeing a bright light! It looks so beautiful..." he fell on the ground, he laid out flat as his arms and legs were spread out.
Kana was not amused.
She walked over to her basket and picked it up as well as placing what berries fell from it inside. "You big wimp. I didn't even hit you that hard. You love drama too much, brother." She began to walk away as he slowly sat up and rose to his feet.
"And it seems to get harder and harder to make you laugh as you get older, sister." He started walking eventually catching up to her.
The two could hardly be recognized as brother and sister from first sight. His completion comes in complete contrast with her darker toned skin as well as her green toned hair color being in contrast with his Blondie. Their age difference did not help in determining their sibling status seeing as he is a nineteen year old young man and she just recently turned eight.
Although a way that made it easy for people where they lived to tell if they were brother and sister was either they were seen enjoying each others company or being frustrated at one another. Sometimes to the point where strangers would believe that her brother was a random man - scolding a young innocent child because he can. At those times, Kana would explain that he is her older brother before the situation would escalate.
As much as she argued with him, or how much she would almost have him arrested by accident by the local authorities, she still loved her brother though. She was forced to live in this world of life bound cliches as most others.
"So brother. What were you doing at home? I thought father had just hired you for work." Kana said as she looked into her basket, trying to make sure she didn't forget to pick a berry off the ground.
"He hired me two months ago for your information. But I... was on vacation for a week. So I came back earlier than he did. I just went out of town for awhile is all."
She turned her head towards him and narrowed her eyes. "Two months and you're already taking vacations?! You just decided to take one in two months?! You're SO lazy! I bet you went to Ulto to gamble on Jinu racing didn't you?" He rubbed the back of his head as he coughed. "
Well... yeah..." He replied as she stopped in her tracks and pointed at him. "We're struggling to live and you gamble what you have rather than contributing?! You lazy good for nothing!"
His head hung as he dug in his pocket and dragged out a small leather purse with a horse haired rope tying it. "I did win some coins..." She looked up him, still irate but started to rid herself of her frown. "How much did you go there with...?" she asked as she snatched the sack from him.
"Six silver pieces." he replied as he shrugged.
As she opened the sack she sighed. "Two gold pieces...? Brother... Ten silvers make one gold in value. You didn't win THAT much..." she said, disappointed.
"It's something, okay? I'm trying my best out there, you know!" he snapped back at her. "Well it's not enough! There are four mouths to feed and only two gold pieces isn't enough! You lazy bum!" she shouted harshly awhile tying the purse closed again.
He sighed. "I know..." he leaned his head downwards.
"You're worthless." She placed the purse in the basket.
"You're right..." He leaned his head down more.
"The WORST!" She huffed as she looked at the hand that gave her the purse. It was wrapped in white bandages as usual to make his blade wielding easier but there was fresh blood leaking through them. "... And your hand is bleeding. I bet you went somewhere dangerous to gamble again and got roughed up by thugs that you owe money to." She reached for his hand and held it with her free hand.
"... Yeah. I owed them a few silver pieces and they wouldn't take a 'I'm sorry' or 'give me more time.'" He sad while putting on a sad and pathetic face.
Kana shook her head and let go of his hand. "Lets go back to town... the healing house is still open and they only charge a copper piece for injuries still..." she shook her head once more as she thought of what a useless bum of a brother she has. A life bound by cliches indeed she thought.
As they walked through the grassland, the two approached a road that was paved to make travel for merchants, Pilgrims and travelers easier. Kana walked off the grass and onto the road, looking towards the left she spotted a familiar sign that was made from a wooden stick with large arrows pointing towards the north, south and east.
"Well, since we're going home, brother, we'll take the south road back to Ranga." Kana stopped in front of the sign as her brother stopped as well, shaking his head.
"You said that as if I didn't know my way back home, Kana. In fact, it was me who taught you how to read in the first place---never mind what most signs look like." She huffed while looking at the sign "Well, once and while you come home and you stumble and crash into things while bleeding, brother. It's a wonder you ever know your way back home from your gambling skirmishes."
He sighed and shrugged as he dismissed what he believed to be her nagging towards him. "But I have a question for you brother." Kana placed her basket down and approached the sign.
"Yes?" he replied as she stopped in front of it.
"I know that Ulto, the gambling town is to the north--where you keep getting in trouble at by the way, and that to the south is Ranga, our home town... But what is this place, "Kevana"? You never told me about it."
Her brother put his hands on his hips and looked at her. "I didn't tell you because you didn't have to know. You were young enough to not be told. Even now, telling you should be out of the question... but..." Kana tilted her head. "But?" Her brother rubbed his cheek with his thumb, thinking of if he should bother explaining the politics of the towns to her. She was always a highly intelligent child for her age, but there were subjects that would evade even her understanding.
"Alright. I'll explain it to you, but it's a matter of knowing about the area all together." he came to the sign and placed his index finger on top of the arrow that read 'Ranga'. "Ranga is our home town. Until forty years ago, it was a much smaller and rural village until a certain research project was finished by a scientist who lived there named 'Dr. Tui.' Dr. Tui was researching a way to make a boat that flies in the air rather than traveling by sea."
Kana nodded silently as he continued. "Everyone thought he was insane to so much as believe that a ship could fly in the air. It took him twenty years of research though and he accomplished just that. I'm not a technological type so you would have to ask someone who understands how he did it. Regardless, after his research was done and the first air bound ship was created, the lords of the lands began to catch wind of this and fund Dr. Tui to make more ships for travel or even war use."
"When funding started coming in, Dr. Tui used the money to develop air ships for the village to make trade easier. Kevana is a trade and business town which houses everything from food, medical herbs, to cloth. Ranga being a rural village at the time needed those supplies from Kevana through trade. But traveling to Kevana by foot takes twenty six days. So the easiest solution was to trade by these ships. Soon enough, ship yards were built to house the airships and this expanded the village into a town sized area." He said as Kana tugged on his arm.
"And dad owns one of the ship yards. One that you have a job for protecting the airships when they take off. But all you do is slack off, you bum."
He nudged her hand off of his arm. "Har har you little green headed midget. Now, as I was saying that's what Kevana town is and why we're connected to it through air-travel. As far as Ulto goes, it's a gambling city. By connecting Ulto to the travel plans, many travelers can decide to take time off, forget their problems and gamble."
"They have betting houses in Ulto as well as coliseums to either participate in or spectate and bet cash on. They... also have... um. Other businesses there." He said while he dropped his hands and his face began to blush slowly as a grin came across his face.
Oh? What kind?" Kana asked while looking at his now beat red face.
"Um...! Meat shacks! Yeah! Heheheh...heee...." he said as a long and odd silence filled the air.
"...Okayyyy. Whatever, brother. But thank you for the info!" Kana regained her poise for carrying the berries and continued for Ranga.
Meanwhile, as the brother and sister continued along their way. Not far below their feet laid a sewage system... Where the gears of fate began to grind.
Quickly paced footsteps caused the mucky water of the sewers to kick up and disturb the small vermin in the area. They rushed into their holes in the floors and walls as the steps came their way. As the footsteps passed their holes and spots in the decor just as quickly as they came, they began to rise from their homes and inspect the figure running in terror. As they turned their bodies in the opposite direction, the only sight they beheld were thousands of red illuminate spots, shaking from right to left, up and down, in all directions wildly. As the lights passed, life in the holes did as well.
"Haas! Haas...! Haas...!" The figure came to a sudden halt as a large wall was all to be found at the end of the passage way. "No.... a.... dead end...." Quickly turning, the sight of the red spots were seen not forty feet away. Bouncing in all directions, quickly. A sudden shriek was hear from their direction. A loud call that sent chills down the pursue's spine to the very core of it's existence. "... ... ..."
As the lights quickly approached the figure's location, a hand was reached behind tattered robes, quickly unstrapping a rod from behind. Holding the rod towards the figures, it began to glow as this person began go speak in an odd tongue. The sewers reacted to the glow as they began to have light shinned in all directions. Now, the pursuers could be seen. Their long and gritty, grimy sharp teeth flashed sharply in the light, their green, bubbled and scaled skin as well as their sharp claws were as bright as day to the figure.
Before the pursuers could make contact with their target, the sewer was completely covered with light as the creatures shielded their eyes from the brightness. In a moments notice, there was no more brightness for these creatures. Only darkness as their bodies laid limp in the sewers waters while smoke raised from the majority of their mangled bodies and lost limbs.
"... ha.... ha... ha...." the figure turned towards the right, looking up, a small duct was spotted. It looked like a rather tight fit as the figure walked towards the duct. ".... I would rather not---" the complaining of these ducts were cut short by the howls of creatures. When they arrived, they saw nothing but their fallen brethren. The creatures arched their backs and gave a mighty cry. Not only to let the figure know that they are coming, but to instill the thought of payment for these deeds...
The figure faded back into darkness as the brother and sister embraced the light.