Final Fantasy: Warriors of the Crystal

by shadowfalcon76

Prologus

Prologus

When the tribes first met under the banner of peace and understanding, Equestria as a concept had barely been a spark in anypony's eyes. They were grateful enough to have survived the blizzard, and having a land to call their own went beyond anypony’s wildest dreams. It seemed like a new age had dawned upon them, one that would change the course of Equine history forever. In a way, they were mostly correct...

-=*=-

The cave's light was very dim, supported only by various luminescent fungi here and there. This did not deter the individual that was making his way through it, however. Despite wearing fairly heavy plate barding that covered most of his body, it, nor his hooves, made much sound as he picked his way towards his goal. It was not long before he set eyes upon that which he came here for.

"So, there it is," he intoned in a deep, baritone voice. A voice that spoke of age, of experience, of power. As he stepped forward, the ambient light in the cave began the grow, not from the cave moss or mushrooms about, but from the single, solitary, and quite sizable, crystal that floated before the armor-clad pony. It cast a warm, inviting glow, a light borne from the fire of passion, of life, of the zeal one experiences from happiness shared with friends, family, lovers, and glory.

"The time has come for this light,” the horn on the pony's head began to emit a dark, cold glow, “to be extinguished."

He lifted his forehoof to point the tip of his greave, as black as night as the rest of his armor, at the crystal. For but a few scant moments it seemed as if time itself was halted within the cave, for he did not move even an inch, and the luminescence from both his horn and the crystal seemed to simply hang in the air. This did not last, however, as a moment more saw a point of pure darkness spring into existence midway between the unicorn and the crystal. This mote of energy seemed to draw in the light of the crystal, as much as it fed on the magic being focused into it from the pony, and soon after, this siphoning began to spread a crack on the surface of the crystal itself. Before long, the strain of the spell the unicorn cast overwhelmed the crystal, the mote having long since become a ball of cold, lightless void, and the crystal shattered into innumerable shards, most of which crumbled to dust as soon as they touched ground, and the fire within vanished into the ether.

"Soon," the unicorn mused, "all will know of the coming darkness, of the unbridled fury of everlasting chaos, and then they will know of His reign."

With that, the pony turned back to whence he came, and as he walked by, bit by bit, it seemed the cave became far more darker than it was before he made his presence known.

-=*=-

Azure Vessel had spent most of his youth hearing of the tales of old about unicorn mages of such power, they were christened as if gods, of pegasus fliers whose command of the sky was like unto an artist painting upon their canvas, a masterpiece, and of the earthborne warriors under whose hooves the very ground trembled in fear and whose paths few animals and monsters dared to cross. He had heard of the legendary exploits of such heroes as Commander Hurricane, Chancellor Puddinghead, and Princess Platinum, but the stories that truly had him captivated were the discoveries made by Star Swirl the Bearded. His research into the various mysteries of magic had made the past decade far easier for the three tribes together than they had ever had apart.

Azure was but a foal when his parents had picked up their lives and moved to a new land called Equestria. It had recently been found by the three leaders and their scouting bands. He did not remember much about his previous home, but there was not much to remember that was worthy of doing so from what his parents always told him. He always saw a grave look of sadness and pain in their eyes whenever they spoke of their homeland, so he became determined that the best way to see them happy, and in doing so ensure his own happiness, was to enjoy all that this new land, this Equestria, had to offer, and to study and learn about what new discoveries were being made here. As a unicorn, that also meant that Azure was always interested in what new advances in magic had to offer.

It was this drive to learn that caught the eye of one of Star Swirl the Bearded's pupils, Clover the Clever, as Azure Vessel practiced various basic spells he had heard about, one afternoon. It was on the outskirts of the newly and hastily built shanty town known as Cornelia that his family lived in, where Azure had something of an unfortunate magical accident that resulted in a large explosion. The various ponies nearby, which happened to include the visiting Clover from Everfree Castle, rushed to the scene, only to find an unconscious, off-white unicorn with a vibrant blue mane and tail laying on his side, surrounded by the blue remnant energy of a spell gone awry. Clover had been visiting the town on an official inspection and hadn't been expecting any sort of magical or medical emergency to happen, but when he saw this unicorn amidst this energy, he knew something odd was happening. As the other ponies rushed Azure Vessel to the town's white mage for healing, Clover took note of the wisps of cobalt drifting through the air, all of it emanating from the young unicorn. It reminded him of something Star Swirl mentioned about a line of magic he had stumbled upon, almost by accident, but hadn't had the chance to pursue further for study. Perhaps, Clover thought, this might be the time to get a few answers of his own.

Clover the Clever spent the next several days talking with the young Azure Vessel, inquiring about the nature of the explosion, what Azure was doing, or rather hoping to attempt doing, and who he studied unicorn magic under. Azure and his parents informed Clover that they could not afford a proper tutor, nor could they send Azure to a class to learn, as what little wealth they had was spent to get them here. Azure had simply began trying to cast spells he heard about from what the bards and dancers spoke and sang of whenever they came through town. As his parents knew only the most basic of unicorn spells, they taught him what they could, but it was scarcely more than simple telekinesis- that which all unicorns are taught.

Clover saw within Azure potential, the potential to become something more than simply another face in the crowd, the potential to reach new heights of arcane power, and the potential to possibly prove one of Star Swirl's theories, or even found a new branch of magic altogether. However, Clover knew such potential had to first be forged into actual skill. It was this resolve that he offered to tutor Azure Vessel himself, in exchange for Azure's help in his own magical research for Star Swirl as his apprentice. Azure, and his parents, were thrilled beyond measure. They knew this was his chance to make something of himself.

Being something of an accomplished scholar himself, Clover was confident that he could teach the young Azure a good deal of magic, either white or black, whichever way his talents leaned. He could be a respectable white mage, or a skilled black mage. Clover had studied under the great sage Star Swirl, and his grimoire held many of his mentor's spells and theories, so he was confident his tutelage would help Azure learn what his skill was, and hopefully earn him his cutie mark in the process.

After helping him with basic magic theory, Clover began teaching him basic, easily learned white and black spells, seeing which spells Azure took to, which he couldn't grasp, and which he disdained. While Azure took easily enough to the theories and knowledge of magic itself, he did not seem to be capable of moving much beyond simple cure and fire spells. One skill Azure did pick up easily enough, surprisingly, was swordplay.

Clover found this out after observing Azure one afternoon as he took a break from lessons, and took to watching the guards drill in the courtyard of Everfree Castle with their swords, lances, and various other weapons. After but a few moments, Azure had begun swinging a nearby wooden sword in crude arcs with his magic, roughly imitating the guards' movements, but there was a hint of skill in how he handled the weapon. As Clover watched, Azure seemed to get better and better at handling the weapon, and then that's when the blue wisps of magical energy began to appear again. Intrigued, Clover continued to observe, and soon after, a number of the guards also noticed the young unicorn colt swinging the wooden sword around as if he were a practiced swordsman, wisps of cerulean smoke and energy trailing after the blade. What caught Clover's attention the most, however, were Azure Vessel's eyes. No longer were they the sapphire blue they normally were, but instead they glowed a pale, sky-blue light, wholly obscuring his actual eyes, giving him an otherworldly appearance. It seemed he moved as if possessed of some spirit, but a moment later he laid the sword to rest and his eyes returned to normal. Azure then turned to Clover, a smile on his face, and the mark of a sword wrapped in blue smoke upon his flank.

Comments

[B4ssxCello]

I think you should change your title picture to Final Fantasy 2, That's what this one is based off of isnt it?