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SORRY THIS IS VERY LAME, first posts are hard for me

The Warrior felt an itch under his skin, something that sank into his bones and bothered his very core. After his meeting with Garland, the nameless man felt … roused, in a way. As if his spirit had been elevated to a place it hadn’t been for quite some time. He felt less directionally challenged, spiritually, than he had in quite some time. A path had opened up for him, or maybe, his mind had just been cleared of a perpetual fog. Within his heart, the knight felt a strong purpose, and the urge to act upon it.

He wished to help others, and drive back darkness, one small step at a time.

Perhaps it wasn’t the quickest way to bathe the land in light and help to purify the wretched spirits that haunted near every corner, but it felt right. This was no cycle of war with a simple purpose; this was a real world, with very real problems. It had been difficult to accept the fact that he couldn’t solve every problem, and it had been even more difficult to accept that he couldn’t stop all evil from happening -- or even playing a part in it. However, as he’d battled against his demons, physical and literal, the Warrior of Light had found a way to live in this world, and a way to help it.

Torensten -- he’d only been present in the city for a few short hours, and thankfully, no one had called out to him. With the passing of time, the rumors of Torensten’s saviors had faded from popularity, and the Warrior was thankful for it. He needed no additional attention; the knight attracted plenty of stares with his suit of armor and horned helm. Yet, strange entities had become the near norm around the city, and other cities in Zephon … It seemed people stared much less than they used to.

While Zephon was different in many ways from the Kingdom of Cornelia, it did share some similarities. Things around this world were more high technology, as he’d heard it called, but in some ways, things were just the same as they had been back home. When people were in trouble, they called for help in any way that they could. They took to the streets, they organized others, they posted fliers. While the Warrior couldn’t read well, he could identify the scrawl of a frenzied and worried person.

Thankfully, people passed the bulletin board fairly regularly. He was able to overhear a couple of men speaking about one of the fliers -- a woman, who’s daughter had been kidnapped. The knight gleaned all the information he needed from the conversation and departed without a word.

It was strange, he mused as he walked down the path toward the neighborhood the woman listed on the flier, how the world could continue to spin normally when such evil clearly underfoot. How the people he casually passed on the street were able to go about their daily lives, laughing and smiling, working and relaxing, while there were others who were truly suffering. While there were people out there who could cause such pain. Of course, that was just how everything worked. It was not in all people’s hearts to drop what they were doing to help those in need. It was not a trait that everyone shared.

Everyone had light in their hearts, or so the Warrior believed. But, not everyone had the strength in their arms, or the courage in their blood, to help everyone else around them.

The knight double checked the tightness of his gauntlets as he approached the woman’s home, his sword at his side, his shield upon his back. He was surprised, pleasantly, to see that she was already outside, speaking to another man. The blonde man appeared to be quite sturdy and built, perhaps a warrior of sorts himself. The Warrior of Light slowed in his tracks, stopping just short of the house, listening in on their conversation. He did not want to interrupt, and risk the woman forgetting any important details of her story.

The knights and guards of Torensten were indeed stretched thin, thanks to the problematic dragons and monsters that haunted the outskirts of the city. The Warrior quickly quelled the feeling of guilt that rose from his gut, concentrating instead on the story being told. He agreed with the other man -- the situation sounded like slavers of sorts. The woman was lucky she hadn’t approached them; slavers were notorious for moving at the drop of a hat, the moment they got a scent that anyone may know of their location. Her reconnaissance served her well, and now, her daughter could be saved.

The man pledged himself to the woman’s cause, and with that, the knight moved forward to make his presence known. His blue eyes lingered on the woman a moment, a soft expression in his gaze, before he turned his attention to the man, post-salute.

“I would join you in this most important of endeavors, if you’ll have me,” the Warrior spoke strongly, a passion in his words as his heart pumped under his armor, the terror this woman’s daughter was suffering weighing on his shoulders, “I overheard your conversation. I believe my knowledge of the area and experience in matters similar to this one could, at least, be helpful to you in this quest to save Emily.”

And, perhaps, cleanse the world of one band of evil men.

The knight, wholly focused on the mission at hand whether he was welcomed or not, turned his attention back to the grieving and desperate woman, “You stated that you tracked them to their camp. Could you please give us those whereabouts, to the best of your memory?”

It would be too dangerous for her to come along, the Warrior knew. When other’s loved ones were in danger, they tended to react without using their better judgement, following only the desperation in their heart. They were a danger to a delicate mission, and put themselves, and others, in more harm’s way than necessary. As for the man -- he seemed experienced, or at least gave an air of such. Either way, he had a good heart, to come to this woman’s aide.

Perhaps, together, they could quickly reunite the mother and daughter, and bring a little bit of peace back to their lives.

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A short post, since Wolly is just tagging along and he's not very talkative

The Warrior was pleased, but not surprised, to hear the other man agree to his joining the quest. When it came to rescuing people taken against their will, especially younger people, the more the better. The knight had never really been turned away for offering a helping hand before, and he was glad that this wasn’t a first.

The woman was quick to pull out a map, frantically explaining that she’d marked it in case anyone came to help her. The Warrior took only a quick glimpse as the other man took the map, folding it into his belongings. Good, a map would work much better than vague descriptions, and from what he understood of the conversation so far, they needed to work quickly. The knight nodded to the woman in acknowledgement before turning his attention to the man who he would be accompanying.

"If you intend to go through with this... I plan to leave quickly. If you can make your preparations quickly, meet me at the outskirts of town within the hour. I'd rather not leave the child's fate to chance."

“Of course,” the Warrior replied to the man’s retreating back. He turned on an armored heel and stepped away as well, preparing to go and borrow a steed he’d become familiar with from his previous times in Torensten. The sun warmed his face as he moved along swiftly, his armor clinking along as he made his way down the various paths towards the outskirts of the walled city. This seemed as if it would be a simple mission -- rescue the kidnapped girl -- but the knight was glad to be of help. Helping others, it was all he knew, and it helped to make him feel whole once more.

And the thought of the poor girl, held captive by terrifying men, it turned his heart cold. The heat of righteous anger flowed through his veins for a moment before he dismissed it, instead focusing on quickly preparing for the mission. Not that he had much to get -- just a steed to quickly make it to the location. The Warrior of Light didn’t carry much on his person other than what he needed, and with his sword and shield, he’d need nothing else.

Less than an hour later, the knight arrived to their designated meeting area. He was mounted of the back of a horse; a silver dapple stallion with a black mane, with nothing else on his person other than his weapons, and a small bag with medical supplies. As he approached, he nodded to Caius, whom he noted was riding one of those interesting, giant birds he’d seen about. Chocobos, he’d heard them called.

Not seeing the need for much chitchat, the Warrior glanced out toward the forest, and then back to the man before him, “Take the lead, and I will follow close behind. We should hurry.”

Time was of the essence, and the knight was more than used to working with others while knowing nearly nothing about them. As long as they were working toward the same cause, their strengths would come together at the right time.

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KINDRED SPIRITS

Thankfully, the man seemed just as eager to get moving as the knight did. The blonde observed the map for a few moments before folding it back into his belongings, "Let's go". The Warrior gently pressed his armored heels into the sides of his steed, knowing how sensitive the stallion was to subtle movements, and quickly followed behind the man on the Chocobo at a comfortable sprint.

The weather around them betrayed the seriousness of their mission. Had it not been for the dire circumstances of rescuing a young girl captured by slavers, perhaps the nameless man could have taken in the beautiful splendor around them. Torensten’s climate was always fair, with an underlying cool breeze from the nearby sea. The trees and grass were lush with life as the sun bathed them, and nary a cloud in the sky came to interrupt their view. Nature continued to exist as normal, truly unbothered by the evilness of man that was hidden away, somewhere deep in her leaves and trunks.

The Warrior kept his steed just to the man’s left, his blue eyes always darting about the landscape for clues to the presence of others. Tracks ahead, disturbed foliage off the path -- there signs of men all about. It was a well traveled area, yet, there were signs of disturbance in the long grasses and shrubs off the path as well. Places a regular traveler would not bother to venture through. They were the more complicated paths of people who did not wish to be followed.

For the most part, the pair had ridden in silence. That didn’t bother the knight much; it was fairly common, where he was from. He was a man married to objectives and purpose, who did not typically reach out to speak to others. Especially as of late, when attempting to make allies had backfired on him spectacularly.

However, when the man spoke up, the Warrior of Light gave him his full attention, "Caius". The knight nodded, before quickly replying, “I’m naught but a warrior of light, so you may call me whatever you wish. I have no name.”

Caius seemed to be a professional of sorts, the knight noted. He guessed as much by the man’s demeanor when they spoke to the woman in the city, with his formal bow and controlled speech. Caius, so far, had been leading them well, but the Warrior wondered of his strength in battle. It was likely that they would be facing many foes, and potentially monsters as well on the way to and from the area. The knight only knew battle, really, having lived cycles of it again and again, but this man seemed … whole. Though he gave off the professional and rugged attitude of a man who had seen, and perhaps, done too much in his short life, he still seemed wholly human. It was something the Warrior could appreciate. Perhaps, Caius had as much experience in battle as his eyes seemed to tell.

"It's interesting, your timing. Is the woman a friend of yours?"

“No,” the Warrior admitted honestly over the sound of their galloping animals, his hand loosely holding the reigns of his horse, “I overheard others speaking of the woman’s flier, asking for help. I simply happened to be in the right place, at the right time.”

The knight paused for a moment, before continuing, “Are you a knight yourself? You appear quite the professional.”

It was a kinder word than world weary perhaps, or battle scarred. The Warrior didn’t want to presume what all Caius had been through, or his occupation, but he had a feeling he was teamed up with a somewhat similar spirit. The only thing the knight had ever been good at was identifying battle potential in others, and so far, it seemed Caius could have perhaps been a knight, in another time, in another world.

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Wolly is so boring when he's not fighting, IM SORRY

"Good to meet you, Horns."

The Warrior’s lips twitched in a barely-there smirk. He had been given many strange nicknames in his time by various friends and allies, but none had ever called him Horns. Likely, because a horned helm was quite common in the Kingdom he hailed from. It wouldn’t have been a specific enough nickname in Cornelia. However, he would now know that, if anyone anyone addressed him with that moniker in the future, that they had heard of him through Caius.

"I hadn't realized there were knights of any sort, in any official matter anyway. Just soldiers."

The knight quietly acknowledged this. It wasn’t the first time someone had given him an odd look for using the term knight. Right, depending on who he spoke to in this strange world, a true melting pot of many different people from many different places, a knight was nothing but a fairy tale, or perhaps outdated history. A soldier was a more present term for what he was, yet the Warrior struggled to think of himself as anything other than what he truly was. A knight with an allegiance to light.

Caius, as the Warrior studied him, appeared much differently than he and his friends likely did. His clothes were more sleek and modern, reminding him of someone he’d met before in another cycle, in another time, but the memory was annoyingly fuzzy. Caius also had a more brazen and confident air about him -- as if his body spoke for him in the silence. Such an attitude was typically harder to read in knights, who hid their emotions behind literal masks and spoke only through battle, at the command of their liege.

"I'm a mercenary. My partner and I, we take honorable jobs with the intention of helping people best we can. Taking on the biggest monsters, or rescuing children from bandit camps. I'd do it for free, all knightly like you... But not making a living would eventually mean I'd have to find a 9 to 5 in order to fund said expeditions, doing this allows me to put all my time and focus on something I'm passionate about."

The Warrior mulled over Caius’s words for a moment. Mercenaries were common, even in his world, so the concept was not lost upon him. People who did work for others for simple repayment. It was an honorable job, depending on what missions the person took versus what they didn’t. A moral compass was all that stood between a man who helped those truly in need, and one who helped to sew chaos by walking a more grey-to-black line. However, the man seemed quite passionate about what he did, and his demeanor oozed good intent.

The knight simply blinked away his desire to explain that he didn’t do work for free just because. He took money when was forced to, of course, as many would. However, the Warrior had lived off of the land for as long as he could remember. For many things, even in this world, he didn’t need money. He also worked alone, though, meaning that the only tools he typically needed were his own sword and shield. There was no need to get procurements for anyone else. He fixed dents in his armor alone, kept himself clean with simple herbs and fresh, running water, and slept below the stars. For many, it wouldn’t be a glorious life. However, for the knight, the simpler, the better.

Ahead, there was a subtle shift on the horizon. The foliage gave way to something that didn’t belong; the sharp points of something man made. Even at such a distance, it was clear that the structure stuck out like a sore thumb in the otherwise fairly unremarkable and serene landscape. Soon, it would be time to talk tactics and come up with a plan.

"And you? You claim you're a warrior of light. You clearly have the same intentions I do. But who are you exactly and what is it you do?"

The knight turned his crystalline gaze to Caius for a moment as his gloved fingers unintentionally tightened on the leather reigns in his hands. This question never seemed to be missed, no matter who he spoke with. There was not a being in the world who could simply accept that he was a nameless man who fought for the powers of light.

“I am a knight, hailing from the Kingdom of Cornelia,” the Warrior explained calmly, wishing that he had more to explain, not only for Caius, but for himself as well, “I am touched with amnesia, I’m afraid, so I cannot tell you much of my past. However, as I did in previous lives before this one, I have dedicated my life to battling chaos within the world, in order to preserve and restore peace. Whatever it takes.”

Hopefully, that would be a satisfactory enough response for the mercenary. The knight didn’t really have much more else to explain to him, without regaling him of all that he’d been through in this strange world thus far. Most people had a hard enough time believing that there was a fight between literal Gods of Chaos and Harmony, and now wasn’t the time to potentially upset the man he was to be working with.

With their potential target in sight, the Warrior pushed away all further casual thoughts and discussion, muttering to his companion, “Have you any further information on the group of thieves ahead? It would be in our interest to begin crafting a plan of attack.”