-The Promised Land RPG Planet History and Geography

You are set in a not-so-distant future world. A world that has been plagued by conflict and war for almost two hundred years, the great wars only stopped within the last five decades. The only reason the wars do not continue today is simply because too many of the warring factions have been destroyed or conquered, and the human population is drastically low. And most of the human population has congregated into three giant cities across the world.

This world has two giant continents on opposite ends of the world. These two continents are only known as the Alpha Continent and the Beta Continent. Only a few desolate islands are scattered amongst the oceans.

Alpha Continent is the larger of the two continents, to scale it is mostly similar to modern-day Asia. Alpha Continent has two giant cities on it. (These cities will take on familiar names from games or movies, just so they can be remembered easier). The first super city is known as Midgar. A thriving metropolis with its own unique powering system. Not a true military city, but it has minor defenses since it was one city of the major three that was battled for the most. This city is located in the north-eastern region of the continent and is the second largest city of the three. It has no true government, and only a minor military police force.

The second super city is called Zion. Though the smallest city of the three it is easily the most well defended. This giant military base was founded by a cult-faction known as "The Senate". The Senate was created mid-way through the 200 years of war and believes in world domination... not a group to mess with. Their home city of Zion is almost invincible to any large scale military force, the city itself sports a giant wall surrounding the city that has large artillery cannons within the wall. The only known ways of getting into the city without Senate permission are through air-insertion or by sneaking in stealthy with small groups. Zion is located in the south-west section of the Alpha Continent.

The massive area between Midgar and Zion is almost a total baron wasteland, many bloody battles were fought on the Alpha Continent. These battles created the baron desert, and survivors gave it the name "The Desert of the Dead". There are rivers and small lakes scattered across the Desert of the Dead, but it still takes a brave soul to cross the desert. And its not just the heat that will kill you, small groups of drifters are known to lurk the desert like vultures... picking off the weak.

The Beta Continent on the other hand is a more prosperous land. The continents shape is similar to that of a North America and its a land of tree's and grassy plains. Directly in the center of the Beta Continent is the largest of the three cities. The largest city truly has no name, its only known as The Super City. The Super City looks like a much large version of New York City, with large skyscrapers the city spans for hundreds off miles in all directions from the center of the Beta Continent. The Super City is visible from space. Its governed by a democratic society, but does enforce its rules strictly. No true major battles were fought on the Beta Continent which is why the Super City was able to prosper as much as it did.

-The Element Of Prosperity Saga

There was an ancient folk legend, a legend of a place called "The Valley of the Promised". And in this valley, there was something there called "The Element of Prosperity". It was said that The Element of Prosperity was granted to the first person to ever locate it, and the person who got the Element received the power of the ancient warriors who roamed the planet long before the 200 Years of War. Legend states that the man who found the Element of Prosperity would not be immortal, that he could still die by the hands of another warrior. And if the "Warrior of Prosperity" was to die the Element of Prosperity could either flow into the body of the man who killed the Warrior of Prosperity, or return to the Valley of the Promised and wait for the next person to discover it.

The only trick was that if the Element of Prosperity returned to the Valley of the Promised, the Valley would actually seal itself off and actually relocate itself to another place on the world. After the relocation, the Valley would remain sealed never to be discovered for another century. It was rumored that at some point during the 200 years of war, one man managed to find the Valley of the Promised and was blessed with the Element of Prosperity. And folklore says that the Warrior of Prosperity led his army on a campaign to destroy the newly formed Senate. But the Warrior of Prosperity, in a gruesome battle, was killed by a young head warrior of the Senate known only as "The Apprentice".

The Apprentice knew the Element of Prosperity could enter him and grant him the power, but The Apprentice had a tainted soul within him.. and it reacted unusually to him and the Element returned to the Valley and was sealed away for another century. The Apprentice was furious and vowed to live until he could find the Element again.

A hundred years to the day have passed, and The Apprentice lived to be a very elderly man who could still give up a very good fight. Now it is said that The Apprentice is actually one of the head rulers in the Senate, known only as "The Senator".

Rumors recently have said that a small group of Senate infantry discovered some unusual mountains that weren't recorded in any geographical maps. The location or even continent was never given, because shortly thereafter a group of drifters attacked the Senate platoon and both sides were killed in a bloody exchange. It is believed that now The Senate is searching for what they believe is The Valley of the Promised.

---------- STORYLINE ARC CLOSURE ----------

 In this latest addition to the growing tale of good versus evil and the growing legend of the Element of Prosperity the newest Warrior of Prosperity came through many painful trials and ultimately received the Element of Prosperity in a way not seen before in Element legends past.

A lone man named Sephiroth X, a forgotten soldier tormented by a shattered and heartbroken past, searched for the Element initially for the power of revenge against the man whom changed and ruined his life forever... the man who led to the death of Sephiroth X's fiancé Catrina... the mysterious Dark Crono. For an unknown period of time Sephiroth X experienced vivid and horrid nightmares circulating around Dark Crono and a confrontation between the two in a rainy populous. region of the Super City Through intense pain and suffering Sephiroth X eventually put the pieces of the puzzle together and found his way towards the Element of Prosperity... only to learn that Dark Crono had known the fabled relics location this entire time and needed X as a key to unlock the legendary Valley of the Promised along with the necessary presence of the mysterious Azriel, brother of the last Warrior of Prosperity.

As the two powerful beings entered the Valley of the Promised they lost control of their superhuman powers and were forced to race each other towards the center of the Valley in order to get the Element of Prosperity and as both of them reached for the Element in unison something dramatically unnatural happened to the Element... it split. Dark Crono and Sephiroth X were flung from the Valley of the Promised as the Element of Prosperity shattered in two, and in the wake of the event the two halves of the Element that both X and Crono carried brought to them knowledge of one thing... that knowledge being if the Element of Prosperity was not reunited in one soul, that it would kill both of them.

Initially Sephiroth X was content with such a sacrifice in order to put an end to his arch nemesis... but through persuasion from a close friend in Zack Strife and a relative stranger in Jack Golizze they convinced X to face his true destiny and confront Dark Crono once and for all in the foreshadowed arena of the Super City. 

The inevitable confrontation came and proved to be one of the most awe-inspiring battles witnessed by anyone since the end of the 200 Year War. Through the pouring rain onlookers in the Super City watched as Sephiroth X and Dark Crono fought to the death for the right to determine the fate of the Element of Prosperity and the fate of the future. After all the dust had settled, after the rain had stopped, after both men had gave every ounce of their existence towards destroying the other... Sephiroth X walked from rubble victorious... the new Warrior of Prosperity.

-The Fallen Phoenix Saga

*Rain fell profusely down onto the road of the Super City. Lighting flashed and two figures stood locked in mortal combat in the center of the road. Lighting flashed and thunder roared as the Mastermune and Masamune clashed, Dark Crono and Sephiroth X fighting with intense faces painted upon one another. Lighting flashed again and the people lining up the streets appeared, standing completely emotionless like statues. Thunder rumbled and suddenly Crono vanished from in front of X and the streets where lined with fire rather than people. In another split second flash of lightning the fire turned back into the people, but now they had become fleshy corroded caricatures of their former selves. Sephiroth X stood there quickly looking in all directions wondering what was happening around him and then felt something different land on his body from the sky, as he looked up the sky was now raining blood rather than water. With another rumble of thunder some unforeseen force shot X backwards a few yards and as he quickly drove his feet into the pavement to stop himself there was another flash of lighting. The people had returned to their normal form and the rain returned to normal and standing motionless with his arms crossed behind his back was Dark Crono with his hood and infamous glowing eye gazing directly at Sephiroth X. Gripping the Masamune, X dashed at Dark Crono and as he grew closer and closer to his hooded nemesis Crono never moved an inch. Then with a massive surge of strength Sephiroth X swung the Masamune at Dark Crono and just as X saw the blade touch the cloak of Crono, everything went black as he heard two words.

Forgive me…

*In a cold sweat Sephiroth X shot up in his bed gasping for air briefly. X’s eyes quickly looked around remembering he was once again residing in the abandoned gymnasium in the slums of Midgar. X rolled to the side of his bed and sat at the edge of it wiping some of the sweat away from his forehead.

Sephiroth X- Another dream…

*It had been just under two weeks since that fateful night in the Super City where he had defeated Dark Crono. But in the past few days the nightmares of Crono that haunted him before had started to return, this time incorporating new unusual elements to them. 

Sephiroth X- Let it go, X… he’s dead

*Crono was dead… Seph knew it to be true. He saw the blade of the Masamune strike through the body of Crono and deliver the fatal blow. But then there were other things that bothered X deep within his gut that he just couldn’t remove from his conscious… when the dust settled there was no body… no cloak… and witnesses said the Mastermune just vanished. Sephiroth X shook his head and looked at his hands as they balled up into tight fists, the Element of Prosperity was united within Sephiroth X now and he felt his newly enhanced powers flow through his veins… if Crono survived the battle then The Element would have never reunited… that was what made X confident.

*News of what transpired in the Super City became the definitive talk of the town, newscasters and the press alike dubbed it ‘The Battle for Prosperity’… a corny yet fitting name X thought. But news of the battle had yet to become widespread across the Alpha Continent, only people who had direct satellite feeds to Beta Continent news seemed to have heard of it yet and the masses that heard of it via word of mouth still dubbed it a rumor or urban legend. That was why X found himself back in Midgar of all places, he wouldn’t be given strange looks or anything unusual because of whom he was and he could still live in relative anonymity for now. Not to mention not a soul would look for the Warrior of Prosperity in a beaten up old gymnasium in a long forgotten area of Midgar.

*Although something had apparently happened within this very gym while X was on the other side of the world. Things seemed more beaten down and damaged then they where when he left here, and along with that X could sense a definitive yet faint evil taint residing here… possibly Valtiel.

*Seph stood up from his bed and put on his coat and then grabbed the Masamune as he walked out of the bedroom and made his way down to the main open area of the gymnasium. His footsteps echoed on the gym as he walked out into the center area, he was going to take a little bit of time and try to relieve himself of the tension that his nightmare provided by sharpening his sword skills a tad. Seph closed his eyes and gripped the Masamune softly as he began slipping into a meditation, but just as his nerves started to settle something triggered his 6th sense abruptly and one loud thunderous slamming sound echoed through the gym originating with the large gymnasium doors. Seph’s eyes shot open and his head turned towards the doors to see one large fist-like indentation in the metal frame. X took a few steps towards the door and a second loud booming noise echoed through the gym as a foot like indentation slammed into the door. Then with a prompt third slam the metal door gave way and crashed against the gymnasium floor sending dust flying into the air as the silhouettes of three figures could be seen in the doorway. 

*Sephiroth X stood there calmly as the three intruders entered the gymnasium and approached him, and as they came into the light of the gym the identities of the three figures became known. They were three high ranking Holy Order of the Magi priests… Rivel, Eve, and Teras… the three Magi that X saw get executed by their own leader. Surprisingly, a smirk of arrogance came to X’s face as he spoke.

Sephiroth X- Well at least you had the courtesy to knock. Nice to see you guys aren’t pushing up desert daises and that the Holy Order of the Magi has bounced back nicely since their eviction.

*Rivel, Eve, and Teras stood there silent for a moment. They had different attire on then before, not the traditional Magi cloaks. These were more leather made combat body suits with makeshift cloaks descending from the waist, similar to how X’s own attire was. On the right hips of everyone they all still had holsters for their traditional weapons, although those weapons did not appear to be on them at the time. X then noticed on the left hips of all of them were sheaths holding one katana per person. The final thing Sephiroth X then noticed about the three priests where their eyes… they all had green eyes… just like X.

Sephiroth X- I must say I really like the makeover you three got… is that new eyeliner?

Rivel- …It seems the Element has given you a blinding arrogance.

Eve- Perhaps we can remove that look off your face.

Sephiroth X- Heh, same Magi sense of humor I guess. So can I ask why you guys are crashing my private time?

Teras- We’ve been sent here by High Priest Revan himself to bring you to him.

Eve- He requires your services.

Rivel- Specifically the services of the Warrior of Prosperity.

Sephiroth X- Keh, we’ve been through this once already. But lemme think about this, hmm no.

Teras- We’ve been given permission to bring you with us by force if necessary.

Sephiroth X- Oh really, so that’s why you’re still alive I take it. Brought back just to apprehend little old me?

Rivel- The Holy Order of the Magi subjected us to a special treatment to equip us with the ability to combat you. We were given an enhanced version of the same serum that gave you your initial powers long ago.

*X smirked faintly once again.

Sephiroth X- That explains the eyes then.

Rivel- Except the ‘X’ experiment we were given was a perfected version of what you fell victim to. So you could say we are the… perfected versions of what you would have been.

Sephiroth X- Perfection is a strong word.

*Rivel unsheathed his sword and took a step forward.

Rivel- Then perhaps I shall show you what perfection is.

*X’s smirk became a bit more profound as he sheathed the Masamune and stood there with his arms to his side.

Sephiroth X- Try me.

*Rivel walked up to the defenseless Sephiroth X and proceeded to slash away at him. X calmly spun and weaved his way around Rivel’s blade with seemingly minimal effort. Rivel slashed at the legs of X whom promptly hopped into the air to avoid the blade, and in the same motion Rivel threw a roundhouse kick at X’s head but X ducked under the kick just as his own feet landed on the ground. Seph kept calmly backtracking as he avoided Rivel’s sword, Rivel himself looked noticeably frustrated either by the fact that he was missing Seph or that Seph’s arrogant smirk had not left his face yet. After a few more quick slashes at Sephiroth X, Rivel then drove his sword directly at Seph’s neck in an attempt to impale him. Just as the tip of Rivel’s sword got within a few inches of Seph’s neck the hands of X shot up from their sides and grabbed the blade by pressing his palms against it.

Sephiroth X- Not bad. I hope this isn’t the best you can throw at me though.

*Just as he finished his words, on both sides of him the tips of Teras’ and Eve’s swords hovered just above X’s shoulders. X’s smirk vanished and his eyes darted from left to right to see Teras and Eve standing at his sides just barely within his peripheral vision. Seph figured now it was probably time to get serious and promptly let go of Rivel’s sword and bent his knees and spun into a spinning sweep kick tripping up all three of the Magi priests.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

*On the other side of the world in the Super City; Jack, Zack, and Bax found refuge in a backwater suburban hotel complex where they managed to get a room up near the top floor. It was the late night hours of the hotel so everything was totally quiet, also due to the fact that not many people were using the hotel at the time, and the three men were trying to rest for the time being.

*The silence was promptly broken however as down on the lobby floor of the hotel the sound of a loud boom was heard followed by the sound of a large group of people scurrying into the hotel barking out orders at one another. The sudden eruption of noise managed to pull Zack, Jack, and Bax out of their room and they all leaned over a railing looking down upon a spiraling staircase that gave clear view down to the lobby.

Bax- What’s going on?

*Zack observed the men whom where running into the hotel and saw them forcing open first floor hotel rooms investigating and searching. They were in military uniforms and carried surprisingly heavy weaponry, assault rifles of some sort.

Zack- … They’re here for us.

Jack- How do you know?

*Zack turned and looked at his friend Jack.

Zack- You think that many people with that kind of weaponry are hotel security looking for a kid who stole a candy bar?

*The witty sarcasm made sense to Jack as his earth breaker suit quickly surrounded his body. Bax quickly paced into their hotel room and came out carrying his swords and Zack’s weapons as well.

Bax- We might need these. 

*Jack leaned over to try and get a closer look at the people raiding the hotel.

Jack- Can you tell who they are?

Zack- Not from up here I cant… it looks like about a drop of six floors down to where they are… 

Jack- Perhaps we should make it easier for them to find us.

*Zack gripped his buster sword tightly as the flames of Bax’s weapon ignited as well. The three men nodded to each other and then in unison leapt over the security railing and down the six-floor drop to the lobby. All of the soldiers were still on the first floor and were re-gathering to move up to the second floor, little did they know that they decided to regroup right where Zack, Bax, and Jack were about to land. And a few seconds later three distinct ‘thud’ sounds were heard as the three fighters landed on their feet within the group of soldiers.

Soldier 1- What the?!

Soldier 2- Its them!

*None of the soldiers shouldered their weapons in fear of friendly fire but tried to use their bayonets as melee weapons. Zack’s buster sword knocked an assault rifle clear out of a soldiers hand as Zack followed it up with a prompt knockout punch to the face. Bax used his dual swords to dispose of a couple of soldiers near effortlessly and Jack and his armor were landing thunderous rib shattering punches to their designated targets. Zack jumped up and landed on the shoulders of one soldier and spring-boarded off of him and swung his sword at another soldier near him, dropping the soldier instantly. The soldier that Zack had spring-boarded off of had the unfortunate pleasure of having momentum send him right into a thunderous haymaker punch of Jack, breaking his jaw and caving in part of his face. Bax used one of his swords to take out the knees of one soldier and snapped his neck as the soldier went down to his knees. And then with minimal extra effort, Bax, Jack, and Zack stood in the darkened hotel lobby with a small platoon of dead soldiers around them.

Jack- Well that was easy.

*Jack went to one knee and quickly began examining the uniform and items that one soldier was carrying. Bax and Zack promptly started examining the other soldiers to see why they were here in the Super City looking for them.

Jack- These… are Senate markings!

*Zack pulled something off of one of the soldiers, a small PDA item with information displayed on it.

Zack- Look here… This thing has an entire mission layout on it.

Bax- What does it say?

Zack- It has photos of the three of us imprinted on it. The mission description reads ‘Apprehend the following men associated with the Element of Prosperity carrier: Use non-lethal force.’ It’s signed from Senate high command.

Jack- But the Senate doesn’t even have jurisdiction out here… why are they here?

Zack- It’s the Senate… need we say more?

Jack- Good point. When have borders stopped them before… this was possibly meant as some covert operation or something.

Bax- But how did they know we were on the Beta Continent?

Zack- Maybe someone saw us out on the road watching Seph battle Crono?

Jack- That’s probably the most likely explanation, a Senate informant probably saw us and tracked his here.

Bax- We should gather our stuff and get someplace else.

Jack- Agreed. It won’t be hard to find a safe place again though. Even if the Senate has small operative cells in the Super City, it’s not nearly comparable to what we would encounter in a similar scenario on the Alpha Continent.

*Zack stood straight as he observed the Senate soldiers lying around him one more time.

Zack- Well in any case we should get moving. If there are more Senate troops around here then we haven’t much time.

*Zack looked to Bax and Jack and the three of them nodded in unison in response to his words.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

*In a high skyscraper near the core of the Super City there was one floor that was completely shut down. It was an empty storage floor with only a few support pillars and a large set of windows revealing the magnificent city outside which also gave the room a pale ambient light with still little to no visibility. The door from the elevator shot open as several armed personnel stormed in with assault rifles already shouldered. None of the soldiers had flashlights or any kind of illumination objects turned on though, there was one soldier in the center of the group that was carrying a kind of thermal scanner however, and they talked quietly over a voice chat line.

Soldier 1- Anything on thermals?

Soldier 2- Negative. Nothing yet.

*Another soldier in the group seemed to be stepping cautiously and occasionally peeking down at the floor.

Soldier 3- Something’s not right here… the floor… it doesn’t feel… right.

Soldier 1- Quiet and stay in formation.

Soldier 3- But…

Soldier 1- QUIET!

Soldier 4- Its rather quiet here, you sure intel places him here?

Soldier 1- Positive.

*The soldier with the thermal scanner kept slowly sweeping around the room.

Soldier 2- Nothing yet… This rooms cold.

*The cautious soldier again directed his attention towards the floor.

Soldier 3- I’m not shitting you something’s not right about this floor it feels-

Soldier 1- I SAID SHUT UP GOD DAMNIT BEFORE I HAVE TO-

*The soldier with the thermal scanner then picked up something just as the first soldier began shouting.

Soldier 2- Hot signal! Hot signal! There he is!

*Perfectly aligned with one of the pillars on the floor a thermal image of a body appeared from virtually thin air. As the soldier lowered the scanner momentarily to look at the target with his own eyes, he immediately saw two crimson red eyes open up from the blackness… the eyes of Azriel.

Soldier 3- Guys the floor is moving or something!

*The soldier holding the scanner held it up again towards Azriel and as he did so the thermal signals coming from him spread down into the floor and quickly encompassed the entire floor itself.

Soldier 2- What the hell?! His thermal signature is spreading everywhere!

Soldier 1- Flip on your lights!

*The group of soldiers all promptly turned on their rifle flashlights. As the lights turned on they saw the red cape of Azriel covering all of his body minus his head, but the problem was the cape didn’t end near his feet. The soldiers quickly panned down to the floor and saw that the cape was spread out across the entire floor of the room.

Soldier 3- DAMNIT I TOLD YOU SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH THE FLOOR!

Soldier 1- That’s the target! OPEN FI-

*Before the lead soldier could even finish the command Azriel’s cape shot to life and pushed itself upward sending all of the soldiers into the air. Azriel darted from his hiding place against the pillar while his cape retracted back towards him and ran to one of the soldiers who was still in mid-air. Azriel in the blink of an eye grabbed two SMGs that were holstered by one soldier and then sprinted towards the panoramic window of the building. Just as all of the soldiers landing on the floor with an echoing thud Azriel dove at the window, shattering glass reflected light from all directions as Azriel twisted in mid-air pointing both SMGs in the direction of the soldiers on that floor.

*Light from the Super City reflected off of the shattering glass creating an almost beautiful image as Azriel squeezed the triggers of both SMGs. The flashes coming from the barrels lit up the dark floor filled with soldiers as bullets flew threw the air. Soldier after soldier quickly fell to the ground dead as Azriel began descending downwards to the streets of the Super City, SMGs still pumping out bullets as empty shells fell like shiny metal rain to the ground below.

*While Azriel descended down faster and faster his weapons finally ran out of ammunition. As he ejected the clips from the weapons he noticed something familiar inscribed on each gun, the emblem of the Senate. Those were Senate soldiers who were sent to find him, for whatever reason Azriel did not know nor did he seem to care. As he discarded the weapons in mid-air, he reminded himself that the still had the Mastermune of Dark Crono and knew there was a specific purpose for carrying the fabled weapon. His cape then shot to life once more and began to completely cover his body like a velvet red cocoon. The cape completely covered Azriel and the shape of Azriel’s body began to whither and fade away until every trace of him faded away.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

*Calling the ‘slums’ of Midgar dirty, rundown, and littered with homeless people was traditionally an understatement, but something else had been looming there for quite some time. Sitting motionless on a rooftop in Midgar, Valtiel remained an inanimate corpse without any kind of life.

*Valtiel had been lying there for days, maybe a few weeks even. Dust, dirt, garbage, even a small bit of moss had started to accumulate on and around Valtiel. However, despite the lack of life that seemed to be coming from the body of Valtiel, the mind within was a much different story as Valtiel and Fallen both recited what they wanted in their shared mind… and went over what they knew was on the horizon.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

*In a dark dreary place far beneath ground, a series of stonewalled hallways dripped with moisture from the muggy air as they led to a specific chamber blocked off by massive double doors. The room beyond the double doors was almost perfectly circular and quite large. It was filled with items and artifacts that would make you think it was either a religious domain or a scientific laboratory, or a horrid mix of the two. A series of shelves contained various sized vials and glass containers complimented by thick hardcover books while more shelves along other parts of the circular wall were reserved strictly for books only. Just over a dozen cloaked and hooded men filled the room all scurrying around placing containers and books in various places in preparation for something. Then on the floor itself there was a symbol etched into the stone that distinctly identified the group that ran this underground lair… the emblem of the Halo of the Sun.

*The men where priests of the Holy Order of the Magi.

*Standing like a statue amongst all of the almost chaotic movements of the lesser priests stood Magi High Priest Revan. His eye’s darted around making sure everything was being placed right and all the proper preparations were being made by his subordinates. Revan wanted this to go perfectly and felt he would have to give strict punishments to those whom were delaying this procedure. Revan’s patience was worn thin over the last couple of weeks, the abrupt eviction from Zion and the painstaking journey across the Desert of the Dead pushed the limits of himself and his priests, not to mention they lost a small but noticeable amount of their own thanks to the harsh conditions of the desert itself.

Revan- Hurry gentlemen, time isn’t with us when it comes to this. Take your places.

*At Revan’s order, the priests within the room all moved to predetermined places around a large circular table in the center of the room which also bared the Halo of the Sun emblem. The group knelt before the table perfectly spaced out between one another, leaving one space open for Revan himself. High Priest Revan slowly stepped up to his place at the ‘head’ of this circular table but did not kneel, he rather gazed at what laid on the table before him. A dark ominous hooded cloak was laid out before him on the table along with the shattered remnants of the hilt of a sword near where the cloak wearer’s right hand would be. 

*It was the cloak of Dark Crono and the shards of his Rainbow Katana.

*Revan’s gaze didn’t break from the artifacts on the table, but he could simply sense the eyes of his priests all fixated upon him waiting for the signal to commence their ritual. Revan nodded his head slowly, and in perfect synchronization all of the priests around Revan’s table began slowly motioning their arms in a methodical manner. The priests in unison all quietly began chanting in an ancient dialect as their motions slowly increased in speed and fluidity. As they performed this sacred Magi ritual, small golden orbs of light slowly began appearing and rising from the top of the table. Revan himself removed the hood of his own cloak as he saw these bits of light begin forming and floating up from the table. He closed his eyes, extended his hands palm-up over the table, and raised his head up slightly as if he was praying to the afterlife. For a moment Revan joined his fellow priests in their ancient chanting before breaking off into his own speech, speaking in traditional language.

Revan- We call to the void of the demonic realm… To summon a soul back into the world of the living… We share our power with your own, dark world beyond worlds, and exchange as for the flesh and soul of one… Bring us the one who displayed the power of the unholy gods… Bring us the demon who dawned the dark robe we lay before you… Bring us the one named Crono…

*As Revan spoke, the golden balls of light began to pulsate while more and more of them appeared - basking the room in an eerie dull and golden aura. On the table itself, the robe of Dark Crono rippled from a mysterious, unfelt breeze and slowly began to expand as flesh filled it. Dark clothed legs faded from thin air, as did arms, a torso, and a head. As Revan lowered his head and opened his eyes to look down upon the table… the cloak at last was filled by the body of its master. All of the priests continued their chanting and fluid motions and as the body finished materializing all of the golden glowing orbs stopped rising and instead hovered in mid air. Revan pulled his eyes from the lifeless body of Dark Crono and looked down to what sat on the table directly in front of him. It was a moderate sized glass container that had unique blood inscriptions engraved on one side.

Revan- …And now as you bring us back the physical and spiritual… we pull the two apart………………Now!

*With the exclamation of the word ‘now’ all of priests emphatically shot their arms down to the floor and pulled their gaze away from the table down to the floor as well. In unison with the priests’ movements Revan himself slapped his hands together as if catching something, through this motion all of the glowing orbs in the room immediately shot towards Revan and vanished from visual sight. There was a moment of complete silence in the room while Revan slowly raised his hands up near his face, and as he gently parted his hands a single dense ball of blue tinted light floated between his palms. Revan smirked in delight as he looked at the ball of light, and a lone rumble of thunder echoed in the room. Revan’s eyes then darted left and right to the priests immediately beside him and they both promptly stood up, one picked up the glass container while the other picked up the cover for the same container. The two priests raised the container and its lid up near the ball of light between Revan’s palms and slowly Revan lowered the blue ball of light down into the container, with a nod to one of the priests the cover for the container promptly was placed on sealing the ball of light within. Revan carried the container of light over to one of the shelves in the room and his priests immediately followed behind him, as Revan sat down the container the blue ball of light bounced around within before small blue bolts of electricity shot out from the ball of light. As this unusual reaction occurred the ball of light began to take shape, it took the form of a physically in-shape humanoid with large protruding spikes of hair. The blue ball of light eventually took the shape of a being that, although clothed differently, had the exact same physical build, hairstyle, and facial features of Dark Crono.

*Revan and the other priests took a few moments to marvel at the blue glowing representation of what they believed to be Dark Crono.

Revan- We’ve done it gentlemen, we’ve separated soul from body… We now have the body of a powerful physical specimen at our disposal.

*The eyes of the blue colored Crono opened up slowly and the soul looked around attempting to understand what was happening. The soul then looked down at his arms and legs almost as if perplexed of what has just happened, why he wasn’t in the robe, why he was tinted blue, why he was seemingly shrunken and placed into a glass container. The soul never spoke a word but as he looked up at Revan and the other priests he attempted to run at and punch the glass container hoping to shatter it but to no avail.

Revan- Look at the poor little soul struggle, its like a caged animal. 

*Revan tapped on the glass, directly on the blood red inscription etched into the glass.

Revan- This container has a special spell cast over it my friend, so unless someone ‘out here’ attempts to destroy your new home… you cannot escape.

*The blue soul frowned in anger at Revan for a moment, then as if a light bulb came on within the soul’s mind… his facial expression turned to shock and worry as his eyes pulled away from Revan.
*The body of Dark Crono remained solemnly on the table with little attention. A single priest turned his head to marvel at their keen ability to bring flesh back from the afterlife. His moment of self-marvel was cut short as he saw something happen that he knew shouldn’t be happening.

*The right hand of Dark Crono’s body curled into a tight fist.

*The priest felt a chill of fear run up his spine as he cautiously took a step backward, bumping into a priest who in turn bumped into Revan whom almost stumbled into the glass container holding the blue soul of Crono. The priests and Revan all turned to confront the person who started the chain reaction of stumbles.

Revan- Be careful you fool or we’ll risk breaking the-

*Revan cut himself off as he looked back to the table. Shock and fear overtook his facial expressions as he saw the body of Dark Crono standing atop the table facing away from them as the body slowly pulled his hood back over his head. Slowly the body turned to face them, an evil smirk being the only thing visible from his face now covered in darkness from his hood. Then from the blackness under the hood of Dark Crono a single golden eye slowly opened and glowed brightly as it gazed right into the very souls of every Magi priest in the room.

Dark Crono- Fate conceives the most accidental of saviors...

*Dark Crono calmly crossed his arms behind his back and walked past the table’s edge. For a few brief seconds, he remained in the air before returning to the floor. 

Dark Crono-  …And any observant could foresee mortals to bring about my rebirth.

*Revan looked in awe of the moving body before him… his head darted back to look at the blue soul they had trapped a few moments ago and then back to the Dark Crono. The dark silhouette tilted his hood slightly to glance at the blue soul trapped in the glass container, and his smirk grew a little.

Dark Crono- The weak cannot expect to control the powerful.

Revan- What the hell is going on? The ritual went according to plan… the soul is right there… and yet the body is standing here talking as if there was a second-

*Something clicked inside Revan’s mind. They did everything by the book, captured the soul, perfectly restored the body… but there was one thing Revan didn’t take into account nor was it predictable at all. Dark Crono analyzed Revan’s thoughts taking delight in watching him piece everything together.

Dark Crono- An improbable nor practical situation… the second soul… 

*In a progressively growing panic, Revan did the only thing he could do.

Revan- Priests! Weapons!

*All of the priests in the room quickly encircled Dark Crono and unsheathed short bladed swords from under their robes. Crono’s eyes narrowed as he watched Revan escape from the room.

*As if his mind was currently elsewhere, he uttered a single word out loud as he knew he couldnt summon his Mastermune.

Dark Crono- Azriel…

*Priests from both sides of Crono slashed down at him with their weapons and the dark one effortlessly dodged the attack. Crono promptly pivoted on one foot and spun 180 degrees with his fists extended outwards, both colliding with the jaws of the two attackers. As Dark Crono heard the sound of their jaws breaking, he grabbed the priests’ swords by their blades and pulled them from their hands. Promptly Crono twirled both blades in the palms of his hands until the hilts of the two swords smacked against his palms. Immediately after getting a suitable grasp of these weapons the dark one slashed the swords to his sides and felt the blades slash through the jugulars of the priests he just secured the weapons from. Two other priests darted at Crono from in front and behind him, Crono easily sidestepped out of the path of the two, jumped into the air and did a spin kick into the back of one priest’s head forcing him to emphatically head butt into the other charging priest. As Crono landed he stabbed one of the staggered priests in the back with one sword and almost effortlessly deflected sword slashes from other attacking priests simultaneously.

*From within his glass cursed sarcophagus, the blue soul of Crono watched in anger and horror as he saw his own body slaughter the Magi priests. Mortal blood flowed across the floor as they all made their futile attempts to slay the dark power that they brought back from the grave. 

*As the room’s shadows stopped moving, the victor stood silent with thoughts and visions surging through his mind. With his eyes still focused on the stained floor, Dark Crono spoke out to the blue soul and shattered rainbow katana indirectly.

Dark Crono- As it lay, your innate weapon is no longer my ally… Even I must abide by the elemental balance. …Verily, fragmented remnants of the unforeseen past have little value in this realm.

*Dark Crono smirked demonically at the captive.

Dark Crono- Justice, it appears, will commend your life’s sacrifice and attempt to remove my existence.

*The blue Crono balled his fists tightly as he saw the cloak extend its right hand. Instantly, the room’s bleak light was extinguished – creating a void room. Crono, in a rage of futility, pounded against the glass walls around him once more as hopelessness and unrivaled frustration overwhelmed him.

*High Priest Revan walked with extreme haste through the halls of his chamber instructing the occasional wandering priest to immediately return to his or her quarters. 
Turning the corner to another hallway, he thought he heard something behind him and accordingly turned around to look for someone pursuing him. As Revan turned back around to continue down the hall, the gold eye of Dark Crono stood inches from his face.

*Revan staggered back in shock and fell down onto the cold floor.

Dark Crono- Your irrational desire for my soul removed several of your best priests.

*Revan lay silent, starting to accept that his end was near.

Dark Crono- Killing you, despite the pleasure, would be meaningless at this moment… …You possess great power among the misunderstood Magi civilization. This is a mere gift of my generosity, Revan. It could have been your last..

*Dark Crono pulled two Magi swords from within his cloak and threw them down towards the floor. The blades slammed down into the floor just barely missing both sides of Revan’s head as blood from the swords splashed onto his face and the floor. Revan’s eye darted to both swords and by the time his eyes went to look back at Dark Crono… the dark one was gone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

*The Masamune twirled in Sephiroth X’s hand as he dodged sword slashes from Rivel, Eve, and Teras. X jumped over an incoming slash from Teras and kicked off the chest of Rivel in mid air as he swung the Masamune to block an attack from Eve. As X landed the three enhanced Magi priests all darted at Seph with impressive speed and swordsmanship, X could tell that their ‘perfected experiment’ did make a noticeable impact on their abilities, but they didn’t overwhelm X just yet.

*Rivel slashed at Seph with his katana, X promptly blocked the Masamune and as he exerted his strength against Rivel’s blade X freed one of his hands and swung a powerful left hook connecting right on Rivel’s chin. While Rivel staggered backwards Eve slashed at Seph’s back, sensing the incoming attack Seph leapt high into the air and landed up in one of the steel rafters of the Midgar gymnasium. Teras promptly pursued the newly appointed Warrior of Prosperity and landed on a steel rafter next to him. X and Teras exchanged sword slashes for a few moments before X began jumping backwards from rafter to rafter with Teras in pursuit. Sparks lit up the rafters as their blades clashed continuously jumping from rafter to rafter then as Seph landed on another steel beam, Eve leapt up into the air just behind where Seph was.

*X sensed Eve behind him and X back flipped over the incoming sword and over Eve as well. Seph intentionally over jumped the steel rafter behind Eve barely and as he fell down just past the beam he stuck out one arm grabbing the bottom of the beam and using his momentum to slingshot himself back up at Eve, driving his legs into Eve’s back and slamming Eve against Teras sending them both crashing down to the gymnasium floor near Rivel. Sephiroth X landed on one of the steel rafters again holding the Masamune in attack position as he looked down at the three mako-eyed Magi attackers. Eve and Teras got back on their feet and acted as if they wanted to pursue their target, but Rivel restrained the two.

Rivel- Enough.

Teras- But he-

Rivel- This battle is nothing more then a stalemate right now. You forget we’re fighting him in his environment, he’s more familiar with this place then we are thus compromising our advantage.

*Sephiroth X heard Rivel’s words and couldn’t help but smirk and make a verbal shot back at them.

Sephiroth X- Judging by how you three were fighting I don’t know if there was an advantage to compromise.

*Eve frowned and growled a slight bit in anger, Rivel kept Eve restrained however as Rivel himself shot a glare up at Sephiroth X.

Rivel- You will encounter us again. The Holy Order of the Magi will have the Element of Prosperity in our ranks, and will have it before our Senate counterparts as well.

Sephiroth X- The Senate?

*The three Magi attackers turned and made a hastey retreat from the gymnasium. Sephiroth X slowly hovered down from the rafters landing in the center of the gymnasium floor while looking out through the door that Rivel, Eve, and Teras broke through on their way in. 

*Thoughts ran through Sephiroth X’s mind…For so long he could only think about his inevitable clash with Dark Crono, but that had now come and gone. As he looked through the busted doorway he felt as if he was looking out into the future wondering what was on the horizon.