Chapter One: A Start...

The wind blew, ruffling the banners perched high atop the grand buildings of Giant's Helm. The city was a sight to see. Buildings the size of palaces dotted the city with many buildings ranging in all sizes filling the gaps. Many of the larger structures sat with large domed roofs, many times in brilliant mettalic colors, reflecting the sunlight in every direction. Every roof seemed like a perfectly polished helmet, some might wonder if the city earned its name from these buildings or if these buildings were inspired by the city itself. Each building was grand in its own way, though. Even the smaller of the buildings stood tall, as if the buildings themselves were gleaming with pride. Every large stone structure was kept in prime shape by its owner, showing the pride of the people in their city, too. Even so, the pride for their city did not transfer to their lord. The banners high above the city often were glared at with anger. Some would simply stare, as if wanting to ask the banners a question. Despite an absent lord the city continued on, though. Many of the Council of Elders could only ponder why it kept going. Although respected; the council had very little power. If not for a well set-up structure the city surely would have crumbled under it's own filth, greed, and thievery. That was one thing they could thank their lord for, at least.

Lord Malthros, ruler of Giant's Helm, last descendant of the True Vorgardians, strap of the Helmet, Guardian of Vorgardian History, had been missing for several weeks now. Most commonly people asked where their lord had gone, why he had abandoned his people, and if he would return. But to some an even greater question is how he had left. The lord was always attended with an Honor Guard and a fleet of politicians, begging their point. He could hardly stir at night without some one in the city hearing about it. And yet, vanished he had. Without a trace.

And so the people of Giant's Helm worried, and hoped only to continue their lives, without their lords support. Gods, but how could that be possible! The politicians played their game, plotting, manipulating. Many hoped to gain some sort of leverage or power in the absent of their lord. While others hoped to set things up to appear wonderfully in their lord's eye as he returned. Hoping to gain some grand prize and favor for keeping their lord's interest in mind. But those who worried most where the soldiers. The captains of the city where all tried veterans, defending the city against many brigands and other nations. These men where wise in ways none other saw. The captains worried about the city destroying itself because of greedy politicians, but even worse was their fear of a large-scale attack of another nation. Giant's Helm was named so for a reason. Vorgardia was rich in resources and many ancient treasures. The helm of the continent, Giant's Helm, was the only way in and the only way out. The city of Giant's Helm strictly monitored trade on and off the island. If a nation where to control Giant's Helm, they would control the entire land.

It was a strong possibility many factions have by now noticed the state of the city. The Council tried not to let news spread, but something of this level simply could not be hidden. How long until the enemy would arrive? Could they stand strong without a leader?

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Far, far away from Giant's Helm was the continent of Irendi. Widely known for its eternal winter, it was unlike Vorgardia in many ways. Since the fall of the Frozen Throne the continent had been passed around and loosely held together by many groups. The harsh lifestyle of a frozen wasteland made easy by the citizens' trouble with the change in powers. The city of Shyron was not a large city. Despite that, it remained an incredibly active city. The first city many came to when visiting Irendi, it remained a steady domain, despite its changing hands of leadership. Much like the citizens of Giant's Helm, the people of Shyron did what must be done to mantain their lifestyles, trying not to worry too much about the higher working of politics.

The last real kingdom to hold power here was the kingdom of Felwor. A sinister kingdom with a dark history, they held the continent with an iron fist. The Frozen Throne ruled Irendi at the time but the ancient bloodline was thinning and the True Irendians growing small. Felwor was seen as the true power, the real rulers of Irendi. Despite their grande power and influence, they stayed true to their agreement with the Irendian king, Dream. Many whispered it was because Felwor feared Dream that they did not act up to claim the entire land. But Felwor had no one to match their might and not a single soldier knew the word fear. The king of Felwor was called Doom Hunter. It was an alias but very few knew his true name. Those who did dared not speak it, out of respect and fear of Doom Hunter himself.

But all that is in the past. Doom hunter stood atop a high hill overlooking Shyron. A general of his, known only as Dragon King, was an upstart. With the fall of Felwor he grabbed as many soldiers as he could to create the mercenary group known as Ryoku. Ryoku quickly made to have Shyron theirs. Shyron was all they knew, after all. Doom Hunter knew Ryoku would not make it far. Dragon King was a soldier, not a leader. And he would never aspire to something more. But Ryoku was not his worry. With him stood two men from the old kingdom of Felwor. Sinsie, a good natured young lad with wavy brown hair. He almost always wore a calm expression outside of battle, seeming to refuse common emotions to touch him. A man of sense and fairness, he always tried to see both sides before making a decision. Next to him stood Cea, almost a polar opposite of Sinsie. Cea was a man of action. He assumed each person naturally of bad nature and waited for them to prove otherwise. Even so, he was a man of honor and cared greatly for justice. Looking at the two, Doom Hunter wondered how they had ended up serving Felwor, which was known for its "evil" nature.

After Felwor, Doom Hunter had fallen off the radar of the lands. Few knew what happened. Those that did, though, stayed true to Doom Hunter. They saw him as a leader despite him having anyone to lead. Cea and Sinsie came to him now, asking for advice. They were young and had many hopes and ambitions yet. They saw him as a teacher and hoped for his thoughts on their plans. Sinsie, who had joined Ryoku. And Cea, who had joined the merchant kingdom of Alfitaria. Both protested they saw the filth and chaos of the land. Ryoku, claiming neutrality, had shown time and again their hot headedness. Alfitaria, also claiming to be neutral, had shown their greed and weak minds to get the better of them. Neither Sinsie nor Cea were satisfied with how things were going. They came to Doom Hunter outlining a plan for a new kingdom. One to bring order to the backwards thoughts of the current powers.

Being a leader of the greatest kingdom of its time left an effect on a man. Doom Hunter had become extremely adept with world politics. Just looking at these two men told Doom Hunter the power of their ambition. The impact these two had on the world would be extremely great. Possibly the greatest in a very long time. Though he did not doubt the two men, he still worried their impact might be too great. Doom Hunter told himself he no longer cared about the lands he had left but part of him couldn't help but to plot.

"Your ideas and ambition are both very great," he told the two. "But you have to be careful. There is more than meets the eye in this situation. You two are focusing on the two power houses, Ryoku, and Alfitaria. But what of Alexandria?"

Cea slashed his arm down replying, "tch, that joke of a kingdom. They do nothing. They claim to be the good guys yet they do nothing for the chaos of this land. They are no threat to us, or to anyone, with how little they do."

"Even so," Doom Hunter replied, "You can not put an entire kingdom out of your plans just because of its lack of action. But Alexandria was only an example. There is a more powerful group you must worry about. More powerful than any kingdom of this land. They shape lands from the shadows. Lands we have not seen. But even so, their power is unmatched. They call themselves the Watchers. And I have reports they are coming to this land..."

Sinsie slowly let his eyes travel to Shyron. He shook his head and asked, "what would you have us do then? We know nothing of this group. There is no word of them among the people. How can we fight something like that?"

"Really, you can not. It's foolish to fight an enemy without knowing the enemy first. Wait a few months. That is my advice. Wait for them to lay a hand on this land. Watch the Watchers and make plans. Perhaps they will take out your competition for you, who knows. But it would be best to just wait for now." Hopefully, the two would wait long enough for him to prepare the kingdoms for a fair chance while they waited for these "Watchers".

With a nod, Cea turned to Sinsie, "come, we are leaving. Thank you for this conference Doom Hunter. As always we appreciate your thoughts on our matters." Without waiting he turned to leave back down the hill where their Chocobo were waiting.

"You must think on what I said, Cea. Do not be rash." Doom Hunter turned his back as the two left and looked down to Shyron. Ryoku was moving again. Doom Hunter pulled his hat down and shook his head. I hope what those two plan do not destroy what the people of this land think about rulers...

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Later, Sinsie and Cea boarded a ship leaving the docks of Irendi. They headed for Argo, known as the Central Hub of the Land. Here they could continue planning. Argo had mantained its own neutral government for as long as anyone could remember. No kingdom had an influence in Argo. Because of this, it was a perfect base of operations for the two.

As Sinsie sat down in the hull of the ship he looked to Cea, "So, what do you think of his advice? The Watchers? To think a group would be capable of what he claims... What will we do?"

Cea paced back and forth in front of Sinsie with his hands behind his back and his head down. "We act. I don't care what this group has done or plans to do. They will not be able to stop us. If things go our way... Nothing will stop us. And if they don't? Then it matters not that we didn't wait. Fate would have made its choice!"

Leaning back, Sinsie rested his head against the rocking wall of the ship. Closing his eyes he said to Cea, "if that's what you want to do then that's what we'll do... For now you should get some rest, it's a long voyage and we have a lot of work to do when we get back." And with that Sinsie drifted into a light sleep.


As the ship came to a halt, Cea gave Sinsie a light kick in the leg to let him know they had arrived. Without waiting, he walked above deck and went to mount his Chocobo. As he walked down off the ship, Sinsie caught up on his Chocobo. They didn't get far before a boy in the crowd spotted them and rushed towards them. Ethril was a young lad, not old enough for a beard even. But he tried his best to be a loyal knight with honor. Since the beginning of their planning Ethril had become a sort of attendant for Sinsie and Cea. Despite his age he was one of the few people the two could trust.

As Ethril pushed through the crowd he waved his arm shouting, "my lords! My lords!"

Cea mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for Sinsie to hear, "Let's hope he brings us good news..." As Ethril finally pushed through the crowd and began walking next to their chocobo in hurried steps Cea turned to him and asked, "well lad, what's the news?"

"There is a buyer!" Ethril exlaimed. "He is interested in the transfer immediately."

"And how much will it be sold for?" Cea asked, his hopes rising.

"He says he will pay over 850,000 gold for it! He will allow us to count it before the transfer and will provide the chests for transfering and everything."

"This is a sign Sinsie. We must go forward with our plans. It's time to begin recruiting."

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No less than a couple weeks later, Cea stood at the docks of Giant's Helm. The docks themselves were not in the city. Because of heavy trading, they were forced to move the docks out of town, to make room for the large ships transporting goods. This worked perfectly for Cea though. Because behind him stood several of his own ships, bought with the gold from the trade he had made. The ships were brand new, each made the exact same. And at the top of each mass stood the bright red banner of his people. The banner blew proudly with the wind of the sea, mirroring Cea's pride. His people. From the ships poured hundreds of people. Almost all were soldiers, each wearing perfectly matching bright gold painted armor. The armor was modeled after Cea's new armor, given to him by the Mri'teq. The Mri'teq were a dark, shadowy race, long forgotton by the mortal men.


"And so, the deal is made. We will grant you the power you desire, young mortal. But forget not, we will get our half of the bargain. One day we will come to collect. If you are not willing to pay up we will take what is rightfully ours," the shadowy figure spoke to Cea, barely visible. The Mri'teq had abandoned the mortal world and lived in a plane of their own. One with very little light. Worse was the fact that light seemed to shy away from the dark figures. It seemed as if they pulsated darkness. Cea didn't know if it was luck or fate stumbling across them but either way he planned to gain from them. He cared not their almost demonic-like traits would suggest they have a dark nature. Perhaps they were evil but he was forced to live in their world for a long time and he had learned their word was very strong. Not only that but they had taught him a lot. Knowledge from eras long forgotten. Fighting styles, war techniques, political games, and a power none knew existed... They had given him the knowledge and power to be stronger than any mortal man. Time did not seem to effect Cea in this realm. Because there was no sun light he could not be sure, but he felt as if years had passed here. He spent every waking moment here being trained and taught the ways of the Mri'teq. Maybe they wanted to take him in as their own, if that was possible. But if that was the case he probably wouldn't have had to bargain his soul for a way out of their world. Not that they were stingy. They promised him a way back to his world and had given him a suit of armor and a sword, crafted by their people.

They told him the armor was invincible. Unable to be broken by any mortal methods. Even better, they claimed the "pathetic, childish magic you humans throw around" would be absorbed more likely than not by the armor. The sword pulsated a dull blood red. They named it Raid'n Ainad. Soul Eater. Feeding off the victims of the blade, it was created millenia ago. Hundreds of thousands of souls: humans, elves, dwarves, trolls, every species to ever exist had earned its place within this dark blade. Cea had no chance to test it yet, of course. But the Mri'teq spoke highly of the blade, claiming it would cleave through any blade or armor that would cross him. Of course they spoke very lowly of the "mortal steel" claiming it looked like a child had found some rocks and played at his father's forge. Cea often wondered how they could even speak of stuff from his world. They must have a way to view it but he had never dared ask.

So he had sold his soul to these dark creatures. What of it? He would be given the chance to return to his world with power unlike that known to his world. He would have a chance to make his impact on the world. And apparently no more than a day would have passed since that fateful day he was sucked into their realm. That meant he would know what he was going into. Know what had to be done from the start. The first thing he would do is seek out his old friend, Sinsie. He had to convince him first more than anyone that change must come. "I understand, Sin'rad. When you come, I shall hand you what is yours. I am grateful for my time with you. I thank you." And so he stood from his knees and turned to leave without another word. As he walked several feet ahead of him a light seemed to swirl, opening into a large portal. The light from the portal blasted him, taking him a step back as he covered his eyes with his arms. For only a second he was tempted to look behind him, to see what the Mri'teq actually looked like. But he feared a punishment for doing so. So he walked forward through the portal without looking back.

Outside of the portal he recognized himself on the cobble stones of Argo. It was mid-day and his bright golden armor shone with a brilliance he had never seen. He laughed to himself, Gold armor. For a minute I thought it would be black. And without another second of thought, he made for the docks. Ryoku, and Sinsie, would be in Shyron...


Soldiers lined up in ranks behind Cea. It was amazing how perfect their lines were despite how new this army was. Cea could only wonder if part of that was because of his Mri'teq inspired army training. Either way, it didn't matter. What did matter was that they were lined up perfectly. With Cea's plan, the image of his army would be his most powerful weapon for the day. Soldiers lined up in clusters of thirties. Every cluster had an officer at the front, marked by their plumed helmets. And every ninety soldiers, or three clusters, was lead by a general. The generals were the main people Cea focused on recruiting. Many were strong players in the world who had fallen off the radar at the end of the Felwor era. Some had joined kingdoms but Cea had still managed to recruit them.

One such general was Hood, who had joined Alfitaria with Cea. Hood was known and feared during Felwor. Rumors stated he had wiped out entire squads of soldiers with his magic. Whispers spoke of him being crazy, extremely eccentric. Killing for the joy of it. Cea would almost believe it, having a run-in with Hood once awhile back. He had dodged several of Hood's lightning bolts while Hood simply muttered "run" over and over. Even so, he was confident in Hood's abilities and had no fear of lightning bolts being aimed at him any longer.

Another general was Jeebs. A man of legend, known best for his long beard and simple white garments. Another man extremely gifted with magic, he truly was a man of legend. People only knew of him from hearsay, very few had ever seen him. Falling in and out of history for several generations, it was a wonder the man was so powerful.

Those two with Sinsie, were his highest ranked men. The men he trusted most with his plans. But even so, he had many other powerful generals who had joined his cause. Manboy, an incredibly powerful martial artist who was one of the last few from the Frozen Throne. It was said he trained alone for months in Irendi, wearing nothing but his martial arts pants. Haze, a powerful knight who had been hunted by Felwor during the entire kingdom's life and yet had evaded them the entire time. Jack, a new name in the world, was a very strong martial artist as well. He wore a fluffy black mop of hair, a style Cea did not recognize from this land. And of course, Galano, the Daedric Knight. His armor alone marked him as a fearful knight. Cea laughed when seeing his armor. That's how he envisioned his would look when he was in the realm of the Mri'teq. With all his generals he had nearly one thousand soldiers. One thousand soldiers was an amazing number, considering he had nothing only a couple weeks back.

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Sinsie had donned some sturdy, silver armor before setting sail for Vorgardia. Over the armor he had a long coat with a hood, which had two dangling cat ears at the top. He had said he found it funny letting his appearance throw people off. Not to mention the power and lore the symbol of a cat had with it. He rode his chocobo up to Cea and said, "everyone is ready to march. They are spread out thirty men wide with their officers leading as you said."

Cea glanced to Giant's Helm, "good, begin the march."

A ten minute march had led them to the large stone walls of Giant's Helm. Cea held his hand up to signal a halt. A man atop the gate gaped at the army. Another came up behind him, hitting him in the back of the head, most likely reminding him of his place. The second man shouted down, "Who are you? Why do you bring this army against our domain?"

"I do not mean harm. I wish to speak to your leader." Cea noticed the man who gaped glance worriedly at the second man. Cea raised his hand and spoke, "No, I do not mean your political leader. I mean the leader of arms. I want to speak to your general, under his terms. My soldiers will not enter the city."

With a brief pause, the man finally replied, "You come alone. I will fetch him."

As the man ran off Hood rode next to Cea and said, "Alone? Is that wise? Surely you don't mean to..."

Cea cut him off, "I do mean to. It won't be long, don't worry. I know this general. Alfitaria had tried to worm its way into Giant's Helm, you'll recall this, Hood. I was part of the group trying to convince them. This general is a man of reason. And with a little motivation, he shall see my side of things. Our men will be in the city before nightfall, you can be sure of it." Without waiting for a reply, Cea began riding forward as the gate of the city rose.

As Cea rode down the rode of Giant's Helm, citizens began to gather and stare at him with amazement. With his glittering gold armor, bright red cape, and strong red chocobo, it was no wonder so many eyes were glazed over. To be able to make such a scene with himself was promising. Things should go well...

He was led to a tall building not far into town. The guard's quarters couldn't be far from the gates, in case of a battle. Cea dismounted and handed his reigns to a stable boy who had run up. He would not worry about his chocobo, no one knew his intentions yet anyways. The building was a very plain brick stucture with few windows. There were more arrow slits than windows. It was a good, functional building. No need for flashy stuff here. Inside was rather dark, lit barely with lanterns in the main room. The man he seeked, Alasm, stood behind a desk. Lining the walls of the main room stood very tense soldiers. They eyed Cea with suspicion, some even having their hands resting on their sword handles.

"So I turn Alfitaria down and they bring an army to my gates? You really think this will end well for you!" Alasm slammed his hands on his desk, shaking the objects on it. He cared greatly for his town. Despite leaving in relatively good terms, a threat at his gates would change things.

"Relax friend. May I have a seat?" With a sharp nod from Alasm, Cea had a seat across the desk. "First, I would like to make it apparent I am not with Alfitaria. You may remember from last time we met I spoke some what sourly of my employers. You need not know more than the fact I have left them. I am my own man now. In fact, I lead the people outside your fine city's gates."

Relaxing slightly, Alasm finally sat on his side of the desk, his arms laid on the desk. "So you're not with Alfitaria. You are your own man. What does that matter? You still present an army at my gates!"

"I am not here to conquer you. If I wanted to I would not come during the bright of day. Considering my soldiers seem to fancy shining golden armor, you could imagine why. I come here presenting a deal to you, instead."

Laying back in his chair, Alasm grunted, "A deal? What deal could you possibly have with me."

Cea remained with a straight back, perfect posture. He rested his hands on his lap. He wanted to give off the image of a man of power. A man in control. He replied to Alasm, "Last we spoke I marked you as a man of great intelligence. You are a man of reason, Alasm. That is why I requested speaking to you, instead of your politicians. You do not need to hide the truth from me. I know Malthros has been missing for a great time. What seems like Ages ago, I once fought with Malthros, you know. He was a powerful knight, a great man. But by now you know as good as I do that he is gone. And he will not be returning. I know you worry about your city being sacked by savages. How long until Alfitaria does come with an army? They are a greedy group, they will not rest easy with your 'no' you have given them. Or how long until Ryoku comes? Surely they will want to expand their power to other lands. Even worse, the tension between these two kingdoms. Even if one had conquered Giant's Helm without much strife, they would bring pain behind them as the other group grows jealous and tries to take what the first had gained."

With his head resting on his hand, Alasm studied Cea. He seemed calmed down a bit and said, "Go on..."

"Neither group knows of my army yet. I have not declared myself. I will not lie to you or try to sugar coat things. I am asking your leave to bring my men into this city. The politicians of this city fight among each other. They think they have the power but you are the one holding this city together. Even so, this city needs a leader. It needs a king. With my army, my name, and my cause, I will protect this city. Not for me, not for you, but for what is right. Your men are stretched thin and crime has increased. With my presence we can fix that. Once I enter the city and declare myself, men will flock to my cause. We will return Giant's Helm to its glory. And more, I will dedicate myself and my people to protecting and bringing growth to Giant's Helm.

"Do not worry about asking your Council of Elders. You know as well as I they will not understand. They will protest and fight. And things will be ruined. Enemies will come and we will end up with a three way battle, utterly destroying this city. Once my men enter the city, the politicians can not protest. Even so, I want you to understand I will not be changing how things work. You have protected this city for years, and I hope to keep it so. I can trust you with this. So, what say you?"

"What you propose... Is simply crazy. To think, allowing an entire army to enter without leave of the Council. And yet . . . everything you say is the truth... When we met before you earned a lot of my respect with your manners. And I can see in your eyes you speak truth with your good intentions..." Alasm let out a sigh, and continued, "You say you trust me.. And now I will trust you. I will allow entrance. You do realize this may destroy the upper class completely, don't you? Declaring yourself King..."

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Cea stood from his chair and said with a smile, "well if that's the case don't you think it will be for the better? Men who cannot reason do not deserve power. I will hope to speak with you tonight, we have a lot to talk about yet." And with that Cea turned to leave.

Without bothering to mount his chocobo, he made for the gates. Once he reached the entrance his men must have known the outcome because at the sight of him off his chocobo, they began marching in.

Sinsie stopped next to Cea and let the soldiers march past him. Each cluster had orders already and would begin immediately. Sinsie dismounted his chocobo and turned to Cea, "By the Gods, you really did it?" Cea gave him a nod, smiling to him. Sinsie just shook his head, "Incredible. I can't believe you've done it...

Cea motioned for Sinsie to walk with him and turned away from the gate. "We are not done yet Sinsie. Getting our soldiers to occupy the city was the easy part. Now, I must visit the palace... Go grab the generals and one deok." A deok was three clusters. Ninety soldiers should be enough to make a scene...

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