Welcome to Adventu, your final fantasy rp haven. adventu focuses on both canon and original characters from different worlds and timelines that have all been pulled to the world of zephon: a familiar final fantasy-styled land where all adventurers will fight, explore, and make new personal connections.
at adventu, we believe that colorful story and plots far outweigh the need for a battle system. rp should be about the writing, the fun, and the creativity. you will see that the only system on our site is the encouragement to create amazing adventures with other members. welcome to adventu... how will you arrive?
year 5, quarter 3
Welcome one and all to our beautiful new skin! This marks the visual era of Adventu 4.0, our 4th and by far best design we've had. 3.0 suited our needs for a very long time, but as things are evolving around the site (and all for the better thanks to all of you), it was time for a new, sleek change. The Resource Site celebrity Pharaoh Leep was the amazing mastermind behind this with minor collaborations from your resident moogle. It's one-of-a-kind and suited specifically for Adventu. Click the image for a super easy new skin guide for a visual tour!
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"How in the world did you get upside down in that monster cave anyway?"
"Would you believe me if I said I'd gotten lost in the snow at night and woke up that way?"
"Well, I don't know what creature that was about to eat you, but you're lucky that your family was asking around for help in retrieving you -- and that we were in the area."
"Yes, I know Mr. Dragon Rider! I-"
"Caius."
"Huh?"
"It's Caius. No need for formalities."
"Oh! Of course!"
Over the mountains, Vordun soared. On his back was his usual partner, Caius Dragelion as well as a young lad that looked to be just into manhood. Caius and Vordun had been resting in the nearby village when they had been hired by a mortified mother who had claimed her son had gone into the wilds just before a blizzard had started, and had not returned. Caius and Vordun had managed to find the lad hanging upside down in a frozen cave, their legs frozen between icicles. Some kind of monster had been preparing them for a meal before Caius had cut the monster down and freed the lad. As the village came into sight, Caius would motion for Vordun to touch down where they would find the mother waiting.
Caius let his legs dangle on one side of the saddle as he watched the heartfelt reunion. These sorts of things made the job worth it, he knew. They also made him a little sad too. He'd hoped for years as a kid that he would have a moment like this, somehow, some way. But he never did. A decade had gone by and Caius had remained alone. That was just how life worked sometimes. And it reminded Caius just how important his job was.
Once he'd collected his payment, Caius and Vordun found themselves wandering the outskirts of the village after he'd stocked up on supplies. They would be leaving this mountain soon, and thank the Astrals for it. He was never a fan of the cold.
Vivi's eyes stung as he fought back the tears as his fist balled up. It wasn't just the fact that he was alone again, but more so that he had misplaced his friendship in someone who just hadn't understood. He didn't understand that Vivi hadn't just fought to fight. Yes, there hadn't been many times that he would have been able to talk his way out it, but look at things now. This was a different place, different circumstances and different choices. It really was true, he was tired of fighting so much. Vivi still felt bad that he had flown off the handle when he first saw Kuja here. The talking had happened afterwards though, and hadn't Vivi gotten to understand him just the little bit better. Weren't they both afraid of the same thing in the end even if they chose to behave differently? Vivi wiped at his tears as he nodded to himself. It didn't matter if Amarant didn't understand, Viiv knew what he wanted and what he was going to do
As he continued his march to get to the bottom of this mountain that went on forever, a shadow overtook him and Vivi looked up to see if a large cloud had covered the moon.No. It was something flying! Vivi ran to the side of the path to make sure the thing didn't swoop down to try to pick him up and eat him. A dragon flew through the sky and for a moment Vivi wondered if it were Kuja and Ms. Ava, and thought how coincidental it was they were heading in the same direction. But as he looked up to the sky, he could tell the dragon was different. Could someone else also use dragons like Kuja? Vivi's curiosity got the better of him and he waddled through the snow towards the place the dragon began to descend.
Vivi was considerably slower than the aerial creature, and he thought that he had lost all hope of figuring out who the mysterious dragon and rider were. Still in the distance, he could see lights and his eyes lit up as he realized that meant there were people there to keep the lights on. Vivi began to run tripping over a hidden log before shaking the snow off and continuing to run towards the light. Closer and closer the rough outlines of the village came into view, and Vivi almost shouted he was so excited and hoped that there would be a place he could warm up. As he was running through, he noticed someone walking away from the village with a....dragon!
"Hey," Vivi yelled as he ran up behind the duo being dwarfed by both of them. "I'm Vivi!" he glowed as he spoke hoping they would turn to him. "Can I pet your dragon?" Vivi thought the best way to get to know someone with an animal was to show the pet love and hopefully receive some in return. Vivi rocked back and forth as he waited to see if he had been heard.
Peering out at the mountain below, Caius leaned over Vordun's head when the dragon lowered their neck, placing his hands on Vordun's head and resting his chin on his knuckles as he let out a tired yawn. It had been a long day, filled with just a bit too much excitement. Coming way too close to failing the job had taken a lot out of Caius. Sure, there was adrenaline in the fight, but when there was a good chance that he would fail before he even got to the fight? That wasn't fun at all, that was nerve wracking in all the wrong ways. Luckily, he had a walking Force of nature at his side to help him get through tough situations like this. Strong winds and snowstorms that would slow down or even stop the average man, were no match for a dragon. Still, they had cut it rather close. A minute later, and that kid would have been a lunchsicle. While he had kept a cool and calm exterior while he dropped the kid off, now that they were away from the village, Caius let out an exhausted sigh against the dragon. He could almost hear his heart continuing to pound furiously, still not having winded down from the close call.
Perhaps it was a good thing that someone had called out to them, otherwise Caius might have fallen asleep. But the yell of what sounded like a child prompted Caius to straighten up as the duo turned to face him. They certainly looked like a child, though they were a bit wide in stature to be too young, conflicting with what their height and voice might convey. They also seemed to be dressed in a way that Caius didn't recognize from anywhere he had been so far, and those giant glowing golden eyes were also a trait that caught his eye. But they seemed harmless, at the least.
Though Caius had to hold in a snort when they - Vivi, they said -- asked if he could pet the dragon. Caius wasn't used to these sorts of reactions. Most people were usually anxious or intimidated around Vordun, even if he was friendly. So it was a nice change.
"Of course" Caius spoke softly with a gentle smile. He placed a hand on Vordun's back and inched forward a bit, a silent command for Vordun to move forward that the dragon obeyed. The dragon leaned forward and sniffed at the black mage a moment, letting out a gravelly grumble in turn.
"Oh, don't be like that" Caius remarked toward Vordun with a small laugh. "I'm sure he means well. And I don't think he's falling for your big, scary monster act either. Let him pet you, he's not gonna hurt you."
The dragon let out a snort, steam emitting from his nostrils as they let out a begrudged growl, the lizard lowering their head low enough for Vivi to reach.
Vivi rocked back and forth as he waited for the mans answer. His little fingers twictched and itched at the hope the man would say yes. Vivi understood that some pets didn't like to be petted though, so he stayed his hands for the time being. Vivi beamed up at the man his eyes glowing brighter with each passing second as anticipation built up. And then the man said yes! Vivi squeaked with excitement as he and the dragon approached. Still he tensed as the dragon sniffed him and grumbled, but if the man said he was nice than Vivi would believe him
Vivi rubbed behind the dragon's ears and cooed. "What his name, Mister..." He stared up at the man realizing he hadn't asked for the man's name. He felt a little shame that his over excitement had caused him to be rude, but he tried to gloss it over by continuing to talk to the dragon. "I wonder if you'll be as big as Ms. Ava one day!" Vivi wondered aloud as he scratched underneath the dragon's chin. He felt a pang of sadness as he wondered what Ms. Ava was doing and about how she probably wasn't getting treats anymore, but he knew she was capable of fending for herself which made the sting less potent.
A harsh gust of wind caused Vivi to shudder violently and pull away from the adoration for a moment as he hugged himself to try and warm up. "Why are you guys out in the cold?" he asked as he tilted his head looking back up at the man. "There's a lot of monsters out here too. It's pretty scary and not safe." he nodded fervently trying to drive his point home. "Or are you guys trying to get down the mountain too?" Vivi blinked up at the man as his questions kept tumbling out of him. He was worried the dragon and the man might be too cold and wondered how he could help them out.
Vordun appeared to change on the dime, as Vivi scratching behind his ears seemed to prompt the dragon to let out a deep cooing growl as he nuzzled his head against his hand, which caused Caius to completely lose it in hysterical laughter. Even he hadn’t known that Vordun liked being scratched behind his ears that much. What was he, a cat? “It looks like you found a sweet spot for him. Good job” Caius praised with a small smile once he had regained his composure.
Vivi asked for their names, or well, asked for Vordun’s name first. Then Vivi quite clearly seemed to realize he hadn’t asked for his. “I’m Caius” He introduced warmly. “Mr. Snugglepants here is Vordun.”
Vivi continued talking to Vordun, going on about his ponderings as to if he would one day be as big as a Ms. Ava.
“Ava?” Caius inquired in turn with a curious eye. Was Ava a beast? Perhaps a dragon that another person had tamed? There was only one person he knew that had tamed a dragon, and he doubted they were friendly enough to let a soul like Vivi near their dragon. He supposed it was possible that there were other dragon tamers around. He hadn't known Kuja was one, after all, and he hadn't heard of any others beyond himself. So it was certainly possible. He supposed he'd just have to keep an ear out, out of curiosity. Perhaps if they were as kind and has as kind a dragon as one that Vivi would refer to affectionately, Caius would certainly be happy to offer them a place in the Dragonblades. It was in the name, after all.
Too bad he was just setting himself up for disappointment on this one.
The gust of cold wind that followed clearly bothered Vivi. Caius and Vordun had gotten used to it and their shivers were a little less exaggerated. But he did ask questions of them, and he shook his head. "We were just cooling down a bit after our last job, resting here at the village before we headed down the mountain" Caius explained. "We're mercenaries, we get paid to help folks out when they need a monster hunter, or someone with a dragon to search for a missing villager."
He looked back to the village, then. "Come on. Let's get you back. We can't have you freezing out here. I was intending to let Vordun rest at the nearby stables where he'll fit, we can talk more there."
He had heard Vivi say "too", indicating he was trying to get back down the mountain. Caius had considered just offering right off to fly him down. But it was too cold tonight. He didn't want to risk letting Vivi freeze. The morning would be better.
Vivi beamed as the dragon cooed at his touch. "Nice to meet you Mr. Caius," he said looking up to the man before turning his gaze back to the dragon, "and you too Mr. Vordrun." Vivi hummed his own contentment as he continued to pet the good boy. Caius asked about Ms. Ava and Vivi turned to him to reply. "Yeah, Ms Ava is," Vivi stretched his hands towards the sky as he got on his tiptoes and it still wasn't enough to explain how big Ms. Ava had been, "this big. She's my friend Ku-"
Vivi stopped abruptly and glanced around. They weren't friends. Kuja had made than abundantly clear time and time again. At best Vivi was an unwanted presence at this point. Vivi looked down into the snow, and tried to keep himself from snifiling. And with his run in with Amarant a short while ago, Vivi couldn't even say if he had any friends at all at this point. Vivi wiped at the tears that were beginning to form. He didn't want these two to worry about him if he started crying.
"She's someone I know's dragon," Vivi corrected himself looking back up at Caius. "You're perfect the way you are though," he remarked to Vordrun. He didn't want the dragon to think he wasn't as good as any other dragon after all.
Vivi shied away as Caius talked about his job. The only mercenaries he knew were Amarant and the girl he had been working with. They hadn't particularly seemed like the nicest people Vivi had met, but Vivi was going to keep an open mind about Caius and Vordrun. "Do you do it because you get paid or because you get to help people?" he asked genuinely as he cocked his head.
"Okay," Vivi nodded as the man said they should go to the village. "Do you think if they have an inn, they'll have hot chocolate?" It sounded so good and the fastest to warm up both physically and emotionally. Thinking about how cold he was, Vivi cast a fire in his hands and held it up for the three of them. "It's not much, but it should keep us warm for a little bit if we huddle." Vivi started to wobble towards the village.
It was pretty clear who he was referring to. There weren't many dragon tamers in the region, as far as he knew. Though he realized quickly that it didn't matter, as Vivi was beginning to wipe his face as he turned away, quite quickly after cutting off from the mention of Kuja. His brows furrowed. What had that monster done to this child? But as Vivi moved on quickly, he wasn't sure if there was a chance for her to really bring the conversation to a point where he could ask.
As he asked about if he did mercenary work to help people or for the pay, he shrugged his shoulders as he started to lead them back toward town. "The Dragonblades, my mercenary group... We formed because we wanted to help people. Because we wanted to make a difference and have the means to do so. We take on the most dangerous beasts and criminals we can, so other people don't have to" He explained. "The pay... Is a means to an end" He admitted. "If we can afford to and it's an emergency, we don't ask for a fee. But the way I look at it, is that if I can afford to finance doing this... Then I can do this more. And the more people that I can help.
At the same time, we have many who have either lost their homes to the monsters here, or bandits... Or were brought here from other worlds. People who need a way to survive if the only thing they know how to do is fight, like I was at one point. Giving them a means to put food on their table so they can go out and help people themselves is something that I'm happy that we can do."
Caius nodded his head in appreciation when Vivi created a flame to keep them warm for the time being. Once they reached the stables, he made a motion for Vivi to take Vordun in. "If they give you a hard time, tell them he's a breed of horse or something. They shouldn't though, considering Vordun was present when I took the job here. Everyone knows we're here already" He remarked. "I'll be back with the hot cocoa. Don't fret on it, I think you know by now that he's friendly."
It might seem strange that he trusted Vivi not to run off with Vordun. But Vordun was a big boy, if Vivi tried to take him or harm him in any way, Vordun would just eat him.
Caius returned before long with some hot cocoa, and a few warm animal crunchies. Handing Vivi his mug, he went to Vordun's stall and held out the crunchies to the drake. After a moment of sniffing them, Vordun gobbled them up without mercy.
Vivi didn't say much as Caius explained his mercenary business. Vivi nodded solemnly as the man explained that they helped those who couldn't help themselves. Memories of all the people who had been hurt when the big cities had been attacked played through his mind, all the people hurt, all the people dead. Vivi's flame grew bigger as his righteous indignation burned through him. It wasn't fair. "People shouldn't have to be afraid to live," Vivi commented shaking his head. Vivi didn't want to fight any more ,but he understood exactly what Caius was on about. Sometimes he would have to to help others out.
"There's more to life than just fighting though," Vivi replied as the man mentioned those who only knew how to fight. "Maybe, they just weren't given any other option." Vivi felt really bad for those people. Fighting and only fighting was draining. He wanted to take each one them out through a walk through a garden, or have them watch a play, or just enjoy a good meal the like Quina could whip up. Vivi just wanted them to know there were things worth living for other than just picking up their blades and arms.
"Okay," Vivi said when Caius asked him to take Vordrun into the stables. "Are your ready, Mr. Vordrun?" Vivi asked the dragon before turning towards the stables and wobbling over. Vivi approached the stablekeeper and started to speak but was cut off. "Yeah, yeah. Dragon guy. Just make sure the beast doesn't eat of the other animals," the woman replied dryly opening the gate to the stable. "He wouldn't do that!" Vivi replied his voice rising in surprise, but the woman simply huffed before walking away
Vivi got the two of them situated before he looked up into the dragon's face. "I'm sorry she said that," Vivi said wringing his hands and looking up with his beaming eyes filled with sadness. "Sometimes, people just don't understand things that aren't like them, or thing that they don't understand." Vivi reached up to scratch behind Vordrun's ears to try and comfort him. "You just have to keep being you even when people are mean. You know what's in your heart."
Vivi turned around as the stable door creaked open and Caius came in. "Thank your, Mr. Caius," he said as took the hot chocolate and sniffed in the aroma. Vivi took a few sips as he thought of what to even talk about now. "I..." he hesistated not really sure where he was going with this. "I don't want to fight anymore. I don't want to die again. But, if someone needs help, I'm going to help them. I think I understand what you're doing." Vivi took another sip of his cocoa looking into the cup as if it had answers swirling around with the marshmallows. "I want people to be happy."
Caius smiled sadly when Vivi would remark that people shouldn't be afraid to live. And that there was more to life than fighting. Though at the least, he seemed to understand that many had no choice. And he nodded his head in turn. "That's more true than many could ever know" He responded softly. "Many people who join the Dragonblades are people who didn't have a choice. They're from worlds that forced them into positions where they had to fight to survive. I know because I'm from one of those worlds myself" He admitted in turn. "If I wasn't... I'm sure that my path would have been far different from the one that I walk now. But it is the path I walk, and it is the one that others do as well.
The least I can do is offer them a foothold when that walk turns into a climb."
He had to wonder how old the one in front of him was. By his mannerisms, and his speech and voice, he came off as an innocent child. Yet, these were things that he appeared to be knowledgeable in. Most likely, he was far too young to be talking about these kinds of things. It reminded Caius of the childhood he had lost as well. Something he could never get back. But this kid? He was still young. The last thing he should be doing was concerning himself with these sorts of affairs.
But they had both already said that many just... Didn't have a choice. And he did not know the path that he walked. So he could not pass judgement on it.
Surprisingly, once Caius had left and Vivi had dealt with the stablehand, Vordun actually seemed to snort a bit of steam grumpily when the stablehand had spoken up. It was as though Vordun had understood what they said, as well as the concept, and it had wounded the drake's pride. Vordun's intelligence was still something though, that Caius was very much still figuring out. He was definitely far more aware than many beasts Caius had encountered.
Caius was happy to see that things were well when he arrived with cocoa. Nodding his head after handing Vivi his, he would sit down at the chair nearest to Vordun's stable area and listen as Vivi spoke up.
"You don't want to die again?" Caius asked, his eyes shooting up in alarm. What had Vivi meant by that? Had he misspoke? He didn't understand. "As far as fighting goes... For some, they can stay away. For others... We can't. Not when there's always going to be people in trouble somewhere. That's just... How it goes. But that doesn't mean you can't contribute and help people in other ways if seeking out fighting isn't your style. There are plenty of ways to help people."
He took a moment to sip from his drink. Vordun meanwhile, had curled up and seemed ready to get a bit of a rest. It had been an exciting little while, after all.
"Even if sometimes, there comes a time where you just gotta draw your sword and get down to it. Even in a world like this, where the choices are plentiful... Sometimes that choice isn't there. And you just gotta grin and bear it."
He smiled slightly. "Especially people like us. Who just can't stay away."
Vivi shook his quickly as Caius asked about his death. "No I don't. It was scary knowing I was fading away, that I was going to stop, and there was nothing I could do about it." Vivi's voice trembled as he remembered lying in the bed his children and Mikoto telling them all about his friends and hoping, waiting that any of them would come for one last goodbye that never happened. Vivi sniffled as his tears mixed in with the hot chocolate, and he turned to wipe his face on his sleeve embarrassed he was crying in front of Caius and Vordrun. "Did you die too? Or are you one of the ones who didn't before coming here?" he asked turning around calming himself down a sniffle.
Vivi looked down into his chocolate again before taking a long sip to warm up the cold shaking in his chest. "I was made to fight. That was my purpose before I woke up. I'm just glad I woke up earlier than the others, and that Grandpa found me before I hurt anyone." It wasn't the other Black Mages' fault that they were designed to do what they did. They just didn't know better until they woke up. Vivi's cup rattled in his hands as he downed the last bit of it as his body shuddered. "I guess you're right, Mr. Caius," he admitted when the man said sometimes there was no choice. "I just really really hoped that here I wouldn't have to anymore.
Vivi sat his empty mug on the stall door above him as he conjured the fireball into his hand once more to keep warm. "What would you do if you didn't have to fight?" he asked Caius peering over to the man his eyes widening with curiosity trying to get to know the man better. "I think I'd like to learn to cook as well as Grandpa or Quina could."
