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moogle_workshop2011-07-23 12:27 pm
breyzyyin.livejournal.com) wrote in moogle_workshop2011-07-23 12:27 pm
{Fan Fic} Fortress
Username: Yin (of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
breyzyyin)
Class: White Mage
Title: Fortress
Summary: My entry for the "Five Years After" fic challenge over at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ultima_arena. Set six years after FFXII and five years after FFXII: Revenant Wings. A mysterious building known only as the Fortress has appeared in Ivalice, and with its appearance fierce monsters and similar ruins have also shown up all over the world with no explanation. As the armies deal with the monsters, a Clan Centurio member and an unlikely companion are contemplating what they've seen and what to do next after escaping from inside the Fortress itself...
Characters/Pairings: Larsa = Lamont (it is the alias he used when he was first introduced in FFXII to the party). Neesa is an original character, but I designed her to be an ancestor to Lady Neesa from Vagrant Story (a homage to another awesome Ivalice Alliance game! ♥). Ashe and Montblanc are both mentioned in the fic (as is Neesa's brother), and the mysterious Judge-like character from the Fortress concept art also makes an appearance.
Word count: 997
Rating/warnings: PG (maybe PG-13 at parts due to fight scene and character death descriptions).
Author's Note: The story was based off of what little information has been given on the possibly-cancelled-but-hasn't-been-officially-confirmed-to-be-cancelled-yet Fortress game. Since I kind of leave it so open-ended I'm almost tempted to write more chapters for it or something...but I'm not sure about that yet. XD
----Legal Disclaimer: I do not own any of the games or any of those games' characters that are featured in this fic. They are the rightful property of Square-Enix.----
She had landed the killing blow.
Blood fell down in hot, heavy droplets that splashed onto the ground and walls in a sickening mockery of an artist's canvas--red glinted off the metal of her spear all the way to its handle. She had stabbed as hard as she could: a piercing, raking blow through the eye and down the throat...
The wet sucking sounds of broken breath filled her ears...the thrashing of the body, of the fearsome teeth, were just as threatening as the dragon itself. With no thought but pain and despair, it was rolling and crashing.
Despite her exhaustion, she narrowly avoided the talons by hugging the wall and diving out of the way. The tail flew at her before she registered it, the impact causing her vision to go black, then blurry--her entire body limp from the force.
She was sailing through the air, having found the one expanse that opened to the outside. It was a miracle that she hadn't been crushed by the walls and writhing mass of muscle...but they'd been several stories up. A certain death for sure...
And then there was an abrupt stop to her freefall: a sharp yank that had her back hitting the building's side so forcefully that scrapes and bruises under her clothing was guaranteed. Spots sailed through her vision again, her lungs unable to pull in air from the shock.
Blood swimming to the top of her skull, she glanced up--the dark skin of her face turning purple with the effort.
A gauntleted hand gripped her ankle in a crushing vice--the helmeted face looking down at her impassively in the night sky and fire-glow from torches.
She gasped, jerking awake with a quick motion. Her feet became tangled in the cloak she'd been using as a blanket. The effect brought back the hazy memories of her dream--the sharp pain as she dangled for what had felt a lifetime.
"Neesa?"
A voice from across the small campfire...her companion's face came into focus, a concerned look in his gray eyes.
"...I'm fine, Lamont."
A gloved hand reached out to examine the nasty cut she'd gotten on her forehead earlier when one of the Fortress denizens had ambushed them.
"I have some Potions if you need them."
She smiled thinly. Ever since she had met Lamont, he seemed to have an inexhaustible amount of medicinal items.
He was young, only eighteen. Four years younger than herself. ...A chemist's assistant, she had decided.
Though she wondered if that was accurate. She could tell the name he'd given was false--his clothing and fencing moves seemed of the caliber used by nobility. She often wondered what he was hiding.
Aside from that, he never said anything false to her: half-truths or silences when he couldn't think of what to say. Neesa wasn't going to pry--he was a great help and proved himself through actions.
She was glad to have found him upon the first floor of the Fortress.
Why she had agreed to investigate was a mystery. There were plenty of other jobs at Clan Centurio: peace and diplomatic relations between the nations of Ivalice had returned following the war six years ago, as well as the incident with The Purvama of Lemurés a year later...but the work for the clan remained.
The Fortress had appeared suddenly near Nalbina: a towering citadel comprised of many different structures, all of which were protected by a strange barrier not even magicks or airships could break through. Smaller, similar ruins began showing up elsewhere. Fierce monsters in large hordes threatened the general populace around them.
It had been the Queen of Dalmasca herself who had approached Montblanc for clan assistance in investigating one of the smaller ruins on the Giza Plains. Neesa was the only one foolish enough to take the request.
Her older brother had wanted to be a knight, but the conflict with Archades had ended that: she remembered the way his white hair, a trademark of their family that she sorely lacked with her braided ebony hair, had been matted with dark crimson from a fatal sword blow. She merely fought because clan work provided income.
Something about the Queen's request--about the concern she had, her willingness to ask for assistance...brought to mind Kelz's dreams once more, and she volunteered without thinking.
Approaching the ruins and bypassing the magicks that guarded them, she had found herself within the impenetrable Fortress--Lamont appearing shortly after.
She had been thrilled when they found the way out. The floors were endless, the monsters never seemed to stay dead, her supplies had all but run out. And to top it all off...
"I had a dream. Of when that Judge took my spear."
Lamont frowned and stopped checking her wound, "...He also saved your life."
She could have snapped that the spear had been her brother's...that she handled it better than a sword. But, she knew she would have died otherwise.
"...What do you suppose he is?" she asked instead, "Some areas have Golems that act as Judges, but in Archades..."
"He's not an Archadian Judge. That much I know."
She frowned, "Could he be a defector, then?"
Silence.
Lamont and his damned secrets! Too many questions swirled around the Fortress, too many with no answers. Her report was going to be inconclusive...and it made her angry.
"I think the best thing to do is report what we've seen...possibly get help."
"From Dalmasca?"
Queen Ashe had asked for assistance in person...but Neesa doubted she'd see her again.
"Or Archades." Lamont was contemplating the matter.
"...How much clout do you have there?" she meant it as a joke but Lamont remained quiet on the subject.
There were a lot of secrets she had stumbled upon since agreeing to investigate those ruins on the Giza Plains. She suspected that she'd be uncovering more before the story was done.
Neesa couldn't tell if that idea annoyed her or excited her.
breyzyyin)Class: White Mage
Title: Fortress
Summary: My entry for the "Five Years After" fic challenge over at
ultima_arena. Set six years after FFXII and five years after FFXII: Revenant Wings. A mysterious building known only as the Fortress has appeared in Ivalice, and with its appearance fierce monsters and similar ruins have also shown up all over the world with no explanation. As the armies deal with the monsters, a Clan Centurio member and an unlikely companion are contemplating what they've seen and what to do next after escaping from inside the Fortress itself...Characters/Pairings: Larsa = Lamont (it is the alias he used when he was first introduced in FFXII to the party). Neesa is an original character, but I designed her to be an ancestor to Lady Neesa from Vagrant Story (a homage to another awesome Ivalice Alliance game! ♥). Ashe and Montblanc are both mentioned in the fic (as is Neesa's brother), and the mysterious Judge-like character from the Fortress concept art also makes an appearance.
Word count: 997
Rating/warnings: PG (maybe PG-13 at parts due to fight scene and character death descriptions).
Author's Note: The story was based off of what little information has been given on the possibly-cancelled-but-hasn't-been-officially-confirmed-to-be-cancelled-yet Fortress game. Since I kind of leave it so open-ended I'm almost tempted to write more chapters for it or something...but I'm not sure about that yet. XD
----Legal Disclaimer: I do not own any of the games or any of those games' characters that are featured in this fic. They are the rightful property of Square-Enix.----
She had landed the killing blow.
Blood fell down in hot, heavy droplets that splashed onto the ground and walls in a sickening mockery of an artist's canvas--red glinted off the metal of her spear all the way to its handle. She had stabbed as hard as she could: a piercing, raking blow through the eye and down the throat...
The wet sucking sounds of broken breath filled her ears...the thrashing of the body, of the fearsome teeth, were just as threatening as the dragon itself. With no thought but pain and despair, it was rolling and crashing.
Despite her exhaustion, she narrowly avoided the talons by hugging the wall and diving out of the way. The tail flew at her before she registered it, the impact causing her vision to go black, then blurry--her entire body limp from the force.
She was sailing through the air, having found the one expanse that opened to the outside. It was a miracle that she hadn't been crushed by the walls and writhing mass of muscle...but they'd been several stories up. A certain death for sure...
And then there was an abrupt stop to her freefall: a sharp yank that had her back hitting the building's side so forcefully that scrapes and bruises under her clothing was guaranteed. Spots sailed through her vision again, her lungs unable to pull in air from the shock.
Blood swimming to the top of her skull, she glanced up--the dark skin of her face turning purple with the effort.
A gauntleted hand gripped her ankle in a crushing vice--the helmeted face looking down at her impassively in the night sky and fire-glow from torches.
She gasped, jerking awake with a quick motion. Her feet became tangled in the cloak she'd been using as a blanket. The effect brought back the hazy memories of her dream--the sharp pain as she dangled for what had felt a lifetime.
"Neesa?"
A voice from across the small campfire...her companion's face came into focus, a concerned look in his gray eyes.
"...I'm fine, Lamont."
A gloved hand reached out to examine the nasty cut she'd gotten on her forehead earlier when one of the Fortress denizens had ambushed them.
"I have some Potions if you need them."
She smiled thinly. Ever since she had met Lamont, he seemed to have an inexhaustible amount of medicinal items.
He was young, only eighteen. Four years younger than herself. ...A chemist's assistant, she had decided.
Though she wondered if that was accurate. She could tell the name he'd given was false--his clothing and fencing moves seemed of the caliber used by nobility. She often wondered what he was hiding.
Aside from that, he never said anything false to her: half-truths or silences when he couldn't think of what to say. Neesa wasn't going to pry--he was a great help and proved himself through actions.
She was glad to have found him upon the first floor of the Fortress.
Why she had agreed to investigate was a mystery. There were plenty of other jobs at Clan Centurio: peace and diplomatic relations between the nations of Ivalice had returned following the war six years ago, as well as the incident with The Purvama of Lemurés a year later...but the work for the clan remained.
The Fortress had appeared suddenly near Nalbina: a towering citadel comprised of many different structures, all of which were protected by a strange barrier not even magicks or airships could break through. Smaller, similar ruins began showing up elsewhere. Fierce monsters in large hordes threatened the general populace around them.
It had been the Queen of Dalmasca herself who had approached Montblanc for clan assistance in investigating one of the smaller ruins on the Giza Plains. Neesa was the only one foolish enough to take the request.
Her older brother had wanted to be a knight, but the conflict with Archades had ended that: she remembered the way his white hair, a trademark of their family that she sorely lacked with her braided ebony hair, had been matted with dark crimson from a fatal sword blow. She merely fought because clan work provided income.
Something about the Queen's request--about the concern she had, her willingness to ask for assistance...brought to mind Kelz's dreams once more, and she volunteered without thinking.
Approaching the ruins and bypassing the magicks that guarded them, she had found herself within the impenetrable Fortress--Lamont appearing shortly after.
She had been thrilled when they found the way out. The floors were endless, the monsters never seemed to stay dead, her supplies had all but run out. And to top it all off...
"I had a dream. Of when that Judge took my spear."
Lamont frowned and stopped checking her wound, "...He also saved your life."
She could have snapped that the spear had been her brother's...that she handled it better than a sword. But, she knew she would have died otherwise.
"...What do you suppose he is?" she asked instead, "Some areas have Golems that act as Judges, but in Archades..."
"He's not an Archadian Judge. That much I know."
She frowned, "Could he be a defector, then?"
Silence.
Lamont and his damned secrets! Too many questions swirled around the Fortress, too many with no answers. Her report was going to be inconclusive...and it made her angry.
"I think the best thing to do is report what we've seen...possibly get help."
"From Dalmasca?"
Queen Ashe had asked for assistance in person...but Neesa doubted she'd see her again.
"Or Archades." Lamont was contemplating the matter.
"...How much clout do you have there?" she meant it as a joke but Lamont remained quiet on the subject.
There were a lot of secrets she had stumbled upon since agreeing to investigate those ruins on the Giza Plains. She suspected that she'd be uncovering more before the story was done.
Neesa couldn't tell if that idea annoyed her or excited her.
no subject
I'd also like to say thanks for pointing out this "Fortress" content, I'd never seen it before. Some of the images on wiki are really nice.
no subject
You're welcome. :) They kind of "revealed" Fortress rather quietly so I think it slipped under a lot of people's radars (especially since it is in "development limbo" currently) so I wanted to give a reference for the whole Fortress idea I was going with. XD I really loved the art and concept designs they've shown for it as they're quite pretty...hopefully we'll actually hear one way or another on it officially soon, as it does seem like it could be rather intriguing if they DO decide to still continue with it! *crosses fingers* :D
no subject
~DO IT. XD
~But, seriously, this fic was awesome! XD Lolz, I remember talking about it in the Chat when I was talking about the fics for the contests because I liked the concept and you cleverly didn't give away that it was yours...SNEAKY. Anyways, I loved that you used the concept from Fortress here...and it was extremely well-written too! I usually don't like OCs much, but you made Neesa very likable and I enjoyed her reactions to Larsa...and Larsa's character fits so well (especially considering how he acted as "Lamont" in the original FFXII!). Hehe, the added VS connection? Awesome attention to detail! Hey, if they never do Fortress...your fic will let me be happy in denial, hehe. Great job, sis! ♥
no subject
~...Well, you aren't actually supposed to say which fics you wrote so I kind of just didn't mention that. XD Haha, I was kind of nervous about putting an OC in the story but I figured since most sequels/spin-offs usually have at least one prominent new character in the roster it would sort of make sense if Fortress had one too. I'm glad I wrote her likable though! Larsa was fun to write as being more secretive than how he's seen by the end of FFXII, but I figured he'd be that way given the situation and such. Glad you liked that part too! Hehe, Lady Neesa is awesome so I kind of just wanted an excuse to connect her to another game even if it was rather loosely. XD Yay for being happy in denial! (I hope they do announce about Fortress one way or the other at some point...I'd be curious if they did release it, but even still a direct confirmation about it NOT getting completed might just be nice at this point too.) Thank you! :)
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