On A Pale Chocobo

On a pale chocobo~

Referring to "On a pale horse" from Piers Anthony?

O_O holy crap...

Day 99 - Recap - Part 11:

When the two head honchos arrived, we must have looked amazing.

Covered in blood, turban to boot. Sweating profusely. Dirty. My mouth was covered in black.

"He's ready to talk," I said, as I led them in.

Wolfgang gasped as he saw him, and Cid merely grew silent.

I wanted, I suppose, to prove that I wasn't crazy. Totally crazy, that is.

If they agreed that whatever was said was actually said, then I suppose I would be deemed sane. They would see that nothing I said was made up. It would explain my actions.

Almost.

There was an awkward silence.

"What is this plague that turns friends into enemies?"

The red demon was weary. I sensed that I had pushed his heart further than it should have been.

"It started off as a tainted brew... it sends them mad... it taints their body once their mind is corrupt. The brew makes their blood, saliva... everything becomes an ingredient made to create the same vile potion. They lust for flesh... they lose their souls, and go to hunt more. When the brew comes into contact with the final ingredient... it starts over."

"What is the final ingredient?" Cid asked.

He lolled his head and gave a laugh, blood sputtering a bit from his mouth.

"Your life blood."

Cid was filing all this to memory.

"Who do you answer to?" Wolfgang demanded.

He gave another laugh.

"Evil goes by so many names... why must we serve but one person?"

He gagged for a moment.

I stepped forward to him and my left hand did its thing again.

And then he shrieked as the slimy tendrils began to flick and poke at his opened arm.

"Answer his question and the pain goes away!"

When I turned next, Wolfgang was shaking.

"Answer him."

I saw it in his single eye that he was about to be lost.

"We had tried to resurrect our lord, and we failed. We Demons, we know old magic. Older magic than you would ever know... And we know that you can create a vessel, a damned body, if you try hard enough. While we tried to... we found that we could transfer His spirit from one body to another. Those who were 'Turned'... were simply vessels for the Shadow Lord's return. Every soul we tainted was simply another soul that would strengthen the Shadow Lord's..."

"And soon, enough will be Turned that he can simply come back on his own."

He cackled again, and this time his head lolled limp.

I spun to Dasva. "Electrocute him, now!"

And as Dasva did that, I saw his eye flail open for but a moment, and with my left hand I broke through his skull and bit down into his neck.

It was painful for me on both accounts. The electrocution was easier to tolerate.

Taking in the soul of a second demon was not so easy.

Beel, it's actually referring to the song from the halo soundtrack, since I never got around to reading those books. It's on my todo list.

so... freaking... awesome....

i love this man xD please keep it up!

Are any of the readers here artistically talented enough to possibly make cover pages for each volume? :3

Day 99 - Recap - Part 12:

Dasva and I cleaned ourselves up. I headed back to the medical room and the nurse swapped my bandages. I was supposed to be resting, and she harped on me for that.

"But monsieur, you are wounded!" she pressed. "You're just a child!"

I sighed. If most people knew what I had been through, they would stop thinking about me like a child.

I started to walk out of the room and as I did she suddenly grabbed me.

"Forgive me, monsieur!"

ANd then there was a needle in my arm and everything went fuzzy.

That was the ninety-sixth day.

On the ninety-seventh day, I awoke to find Wolfgang by my side.

He looked strangely mournful.

"Why the long face?" I asked, but I'm not sure if the words came out too clearly. He glanced up at me, looking a little shocked.

"You were screaming in your sleep. The nurses were too scared, and so I took you under my watch."

So it was getting worse again.

"My apologies," I said. I started to stretch but had to stop; my arm hurt entirely too much when I did that.

"Why did you do it?"

It was an odd sort of question. Why did I do what?

"You mean, why did I take the other demon?" I asked.

Wolfgang was unsure what I meant. "The part where you... bit him."

I stood up and gave a sort of sad sort of laugh.

"I had to make a judgment call. We were about to lose him; he was dying."

But then I realized that he didn't really understand what I meant still.

I gave a sigh.

"I took his soul, so that if I must, I can harvest information out of him. Or maybe it will have other effects on me..."

I glanced at my left hand.

It had become very scarred in the last few days.

"Then you are no different than them."

I could not deny that.

"I would rather corrupt myself than let our people fully fall. You don't trust me."

He was taken aback, but was equally truthful. "No, I do not."

"Then verify everything I said against any of the Immortals. Against anyone on my squad. Something happened in Jeuno, and a ton more happened in the Empire," I said. "I'm telling the truth. That's why I brought you in during the interrogations. So you could see that I'm not crazy. So I could see I'm not..."

I think it was at that point that Wolfgang realized that by sending me on the task that he did, he broke me.

I was a broken soul. I was chipper inside sometimes... but it was getting harder and harder every day.

"I'm sorry."

We both said it at the same time. It was a little bit awkward, very much so sad, and a little bit funny.

"I'm for our cause, Wolfgang. I'm probably the only weapon you guys have that they don't know how to counter, because everytime I take one of them inside, I gain their tactics. Their mannerisms. If I take enough of them... I may even be able to become one of them. I just want this over... There are so many places I'd rather be, but I'm here because I will not let our lands burn."

Wolfgang simply nodded glumly as I spoke. I think the magnitude of what I was dealing with had hit him.

"I've got a few ideas. If the Demons really are creating some sort of soul, then I'm the perfect candidate to fix that problem. You just have to promise me something."

"What?"

"If I ever fall to what I face, I want you to kill me and bring my body back to Al Zabi."

There was another very long pause.

"I do not understand, but I promise."

Day 99 - Recap - Part 13:

I struggled against the nurse again, and she promised me that tomorrow I could go free, and she used the needle once more and I knew blackness once more.

And such was the ninety-seventh day.

When I awoke again she was changing my bandages and I was allowed to go, but I had orders not to push myself too far.

Like that would ever happen.

Cai was waiting for me and walked me back to our quarters.

It seemed like they kicked some people out and replaced them, because now the cots were just us.

Stikle was in the back, presumably because so no one would trip over his animals. He was bruised and sleeping. In the next cot was Selim, sharpening his daggers, and then was my cot. Across from me was Caiyuo, behind him was Rumaha, and Ludo was at the end across from Stikle. Alyria, Marz, and Dasva were all in their own little secluded cluster.

There were a few empty cots. I guess we had room for expansion.

"Have I missed much?" I asked, sitting on my bed.

"Stikle's been playing with Behemoths, trying to patch them up and get them to trust him again. Not much else," Rum said.

"The Immortals have set up camp all around Qufim. As their leader, I suppose you should fill them in on the current situation," Cai said.

"If I knew what it was," I murmured. "Has Dasva filled you in on what happened?"

"That information is highly classified," Selim said, sounding very bored. "So naturally, we all know. You screamed a fair bit out of it in your sleep."

That sort of information greatly disturbed me.

"What else have I been screaming?" I asked.

No one answered at first.

"Sect, let's go for a walk," Cai said suddenly. He grabbed a box from under his cot and headed for the door.

Confused, I followed.

We did not say much until we were all the way out at the pond in the center of Qufim. We were alone.

He opened the box and pulled out a glass bottle that had an auburn liquor in it. He also grabbed two small glasses and filled them up, handing one to me.

"You've been screaming names in your sleep," he said dryly after a moment.

I sputtered after the first sip. I thought my throat was burning.

"What sort of names?" I wheezed, more from the liquor than the statement.

"Names of people that you've killed. People that you would have never known the names of. Friends of ours... family... We figure that if you scream their name, that's like verification that..."

"Altana be damned..." I muttered, and took another sip.

I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to relax.

"I think... I think I took in more than I can handle this time. I think that demon was really high up."

"He could be. He could have been a direct link to... whatever it is," Cai said.

I looked into my drink and swallowed the rest in one sip. Everything inside of me started to burn. Cai refilled the glass.

"I don't hear him inside me. I wonder what's going on in there," I said.

Cai shook his head, taking another sip.

"Do you have a family, Sect?" Cai asked.

It was a question out of nowhere.

"When I was little, I had one..." I said. It was a delicate subject. All the bitterness I had ever felt was suddenly back culminating inside of me. "My mother left us, and then my father left us. I was too young to remember much of it..."

"Altana... I never had a clue," Cai said. "Siblings?"

"An older sister. One day she went out to look for mom and dad..."

There were some things that I never spoke about. This topic was one of them.

"She never came back for me. I was six years old. Without a trace, they all just left me. I've been alone since then."

Cai looked very troubled.

So troubled that he started to slowly weep and began to drink very quickly.

"Last night, as you slept, you started screaming... You started begging for forgiveness..." he was trying to dodge it.

I felt the icy, still feeling hit me and he didn't need to say it.

"You were asking your parents to forgive you," he choked. "You said you killed them."

We were silent.

I spent my whole life wondering if I would ever see my parents again, only to find out that I had screamed their names in the list of people that I had killed.

I killed my parents.

I grabbed the bottle from him and drank it all down.

"I'm sorry I had to tell you," Cai said.

I could only shrug numbly.

"***happens."

Wish I could draw for you, Sect, but you know my talents lie in the same realm as yours.


Of course, I DO work with a guy who can draw, but he doesn't play FFXI. I could always ask him if he'd be willing to do some doodles if you'd like.

I'd love to have someone from the community to do this. This is an ffxiah thing.

I figured as much, but thought I'd ask anyway.

Now get back to day 99 lol

that would be awesome, but the thing i like about novels without pictures is that the reader can imagine the whole world themselves, in the style they like the best.

also, you could hold a contest with the prize being a super awesome secret prize

If only I could draw...

Oh, this would just be a single scene or image capturing the spirit of the particular part. Only 4-5 pictures.

If all goes right, part 3 will be finishd within the next few days, depending on how inspired I am.

Do it for me. :0

I don't think anyone else on our server reads this. I asked in AU and got nothing.

Screw your server, I'm more important?

Think of Muffin, do it for him. ):

...wut?

You don't count.

=/

I like stories with pictars the best!

Day 99:

When we returned, Cai kept bringing out bottles.

This morning, I wanted to die. Rumaha held my head over a bucket. He's such a nice friend.

Breakfast had been grits and some eggs, and I felt better after I ate.

Cai was still passed out. He looked rather elegant with the half filled bottle of nog by his side and a hat we had somehow procured covering his face.

I vaguely remember us all singing before Wolfgang came down and tried to shut us down.

I don't think he was successful, judging on the fact that he was currently passed out on the floor and his shirt was missing. I vaguely recall Cid showing up with some more liquor and we started playing poker with a Cardian Deck someone produced from a storage container. I think Cid also handed out cigars, because we all smelt like sweet smoke.

After we cleaned up--where the ladies went in this excursion, I have no idea, mind you--and found Wolfgang's shirt and armor and got him fixed up, we had a meeting. What was the path to take from there?

"We have an army of Immortals, and it will double in size at some point," Cai began. "I think we can begin a full frontal assault."

"We don't know their numbers, and they have home turf advantage and superior technology at the moment," Cid countered.

"Every day we don't do something, they gain more ground," Rum chimed in. "They were able to comfortably dock and start a battle here within moments."

What Cid said was on my mind.

The home turf advantage.

"We need to capture a Turned."

Everyone kind of stared at me.

"No, really, I'm serious. They've demonstrated that they can keep coming here with ease... but think about what Cid just said. Advantage of the home field. We need to figure out where they lose their advantage. To the map!" I said, and jumped up and we all gathered around the map.

"Jeuno was swarmed, and has been a constant attraction," I began. I grabbed a pencil and circled Jeuno and placed an 'X' over it.

"The Southern Continent was a cesspool for them," Cai said. "They were pretty bad. They didn't decay very quickly. I guess it was too humid. Too much shade. Too many places to hide."

We crossed the South off.

"They're just fine here; the cold seems to keep them fresh and clean," Cid said, grabbing the pencil and crossing off Qufim and the ever obvious Northlands.

"The East can't harbor us all yet; give it another few years for them to expand now that their war is over," I said, a bit too optimistically. Cai gave me a nudge and a smirk, but we crossed it off.

"They weren't doing so well on the way to Windurst from here, but Windurst itself is vulnerable because it's right on the water," said Stikle.

He drew a circle with a question mark inside of it.

"The Jungles of Elshimo will be the same as the South," I said, and crossed them off.

"San d'Oria is too close to their base, and so mild that they're not affected at all," Wolfgang said.

And we all stared at a single small continent.

"If they can barely stand the trip to Windurst, how can they survive Altepa?" I asked.

We placed a circle over it with a check in it.

"Are you saying to relocate everyone and everything?" Wolfgang asked.

"I think it's the most logical course of action," Cid said. "The sand will slow them. The heat will bake them. There's enough land that we can set up base far from the shore..."

"What about supplies?" Stikle asked.

Cid actually started laughing.

"We have the manpower, and a convenient tunnel straight from Bastok. All we have to do is route water out from the underground streams in Korroloka. It would take us a few weeks, but I think we can do it. There's also the whole remnants of the Caverns down there that we can secure..."

We all fell silent for a few moments, thinking about it.

"Let's reconvene tonight and discuss this further. This is a daunting task," Wolfgang said.

Cid gave another laugh.

"Oh, Wolfgang, you think so little of me..." and he walked away.

:D



ALTEPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yay Altepa!!! :D

Day 99 - Evening:

There was nothing else going on today, hence why I had time to write all that I did.

We decided that we did not need to capture a Turned.

Cid was not present this time around. We decided to send a group of people out to determine if Altepa was safe and habitable.

Do I really need to say what group was going to go?

We head out in a few days. Cid will be coming as our leader. We were naturally tasked with scouting for survivors and bringing them with us or sending them to Delkfutt.

We were honestly struggling with numbers by now. Wolfgang had rough figures estimating the total population before this crises and also had an estimation for Turned that were eliminated. The numbers were entirely too skewed.

Really. We're talking that only a third of the population has been accounted for.

Where are the others?

/Hug ):

Day 100 - Early Morning:

I kept thinking back to what Cai told me last night.

I felt more apathetic than anything, and that's what scared me. After the initial shock...

I mean, they birthed me. I owed my creation.

And I chopped their heads off, or something?

But the red demon--I really have to find out their names some time--said that the mind was lost when turned.

The demons inside of me were unnaturally quiet tonight.

So here I am, sitting back at that pond again, wondering what I feel.

More than anything, I feel lonely. Lonely in that I want to be back with The Empire. Back where I belong.

With her.

I wonder if there were others like me.

Was I just another hero that passed through?

Would another young man pass though, and maybe he would stay, and the empire would have an emperor?

These are thoughts that I don't like to wonder, but I wonder them anyways.

There are a few Immortals on the other side of the pond, skipping rocks. They are waiting.

One of them just nodded at me as our eyes locked.

I can't imagine how they feel. They were just ordered to save a land that wasn't their own.

Some of them had died saving it.

All of them had seen the horrors that belonged to us.

Yet at the same time, I have to admit, that if we failed here, the horrors would span to the West and East continents, too. The South had already fallen...

Whenever I think about the South I am always drawn back to a single plan that seems to be the only one that will work: burn the land. All of it.

There are too many trees, too many crevices. Trees can be replanted, flowers regrown, towns rebuilt... lives cannot be remade, though, and that makes them the highest priority.

I'm tired, not just physically.

The baby Chocobo I found is doing well. Stikle told me today that he's been taking care of it. Apparently we have a stable of Chocobos, between what was left from the Duchy and what the Immortals brought.

I'm so tempted on fleeing Eastward, but I know it's a silly thing to do.

Besides, I barely know what sort of danger I am now.

The headache isn't going away. If it keeps going on... I guess I'll search inward. Perhaps it's more than just my first hangover.

There's a whispering in the back of my mind that tells me I'm right.

If that's so, I foresee more sake tonight.

went and read this whole thing while waiting for the update thing. i must say, im impressed o.o bravo to making an awesome story =0 if ya ever need a world weary whm to give ya a teletaxi, give me a tell lol