The Obsidian Tale
Episode 1
[Opening 1 music]
[Opening 1 music]
Writer's note: Usually, the opening picture below (also referred to as the 'opening theme' in a television series) would be placed here for every episode. A new one will appear every 13 episodes.
[Click here for a larger image resolution]
Writer's note: You will also see small text such as '[Music 1.1]' and '[End music]' later on which indicates you to go to the Extras tab above and play the designated music fit for the scene in the story. This is, of course, optional. There will be some moments when there is no music and that's normal. Please read the Extras tab to learn about why music is implemented in the episodes.
[Click here for a larger image resolution]
Writer's note: You will also see small text such as '[Music 1.1]' and '[End music]' later on which indicates you to go to the Extras tab above and play the designated music fit for the scene in the story. This is, of course, optional. There will be some moments when there is no music and that's normal. Please read the Extras tab to learn about why music is implemented in the episodes.
~ Prologue ~ [Music 1.1]
Thud!
The wooden floor emitted a vibration that set a young girl awry. She awoken
with hair strands peering away from her elongated bowlcut, frightened for her life like
the rumored ‘monster’ beneath her bed. This time, the monster was outside her
bedroom, the same epicenter from where the vibration began. This was only the
minor setback of a young girl who first witnessed the river of blood. The young
girl quietly got off her bed, still holding onto her favorite, light blue teddy
bear.
Right in front of her, after having opened her bedroom door, were two
civilians lying on the ground. The sea of red tethered with the checkers of
brown and creamy tiles. The child’s eyes widened as she took a step back. She
could hear soldiers walking in and out, probably stealing supplies, but she
didn’t understand the circumstances.
She was only nine years old.
In a panic, she quickly headed for
her closet. Her tight grip loosened and the teddy bear dropped, causing a creak
against the wood. The poor girl had no time to walk back for it. She could hear
one of the soldier’s groan, already on the way to the bedroom. The soldier
examined the room filled with a collection of dolls and pink ornaments hanging
from the ceiling while nothing else seemed to be noticeable, at least for him.
“There is nobody here.” A soldier
said with uncertainty as he began twiddling his thumbs.
“Very well,” the woman said in a
deep and confident voice. “I will rally the rest of the men and destroy this
unwanted building of theirs. We will destroy every last remnant of this land
even if it means eradicating the Obsidians!” [End music]
Four other soldiers in the household
saluted to her as they began readying their technology – guns and bombs. In the
closet, the young, nine year-old girl slowly pushed the drawers forward. She
could no longer hear anybody within the vicinity of her bedroom. To her, she
could not decipher a reason why they
have arrived today, but she knew she was going to die if she stayed. On her way
to the window, she heard a beeping noise that rang faster each second. In less than
that grieving moment, the house completely exploded.
~ 7 years later… ~
Writer's note: From here on, you will see world maps in between new areas that are visited and discovered throughout the series. Use it to your advantage whenever you are lost in direction.
Writer's note: From here on, you will see world maps in between new areas that are visited and discovered throughout the series. Use it to your advantage whenever you are lost in direction.
~ Village of Saradeli – central district - marketplace ~ [Music 1.2]
In an apple-and-pear stall, a woman
called out to a boy who had just taken a bite of a green apple. “Hey, demon
child, you gotta pay for that first!”
“Relax, lady! I’ve got it covered.
You also have to make sure these apples are sold fresh, so every customer
should get a free first bite as a sampler.”
“Excuse me?” The vendor was
infuriated by his suggestion.
This particular ‘demon child’ is
actually a late teenager almost growing into adulthood. Although being ‘ready’
for adulthood…? You could say otherwise. He wore a blue shirt with a golden
collar, colors that were the opposite of neon as if his garment was worn and
tattered after several years. Living in such an unsanitary community suggested
the villagers to wear colors that were not white or bright. His shorts were
kept upright with the help of suspenders, one of the most common trends in the
village. His resemblance was of a typical farmer.
He reached into his shorts but there
was nothing to pull out but old cotton dust that was fading away from the
material.
The woman in the stall, slightly
dissatisfied, began tapping her feet.
“Do you do this with every other
marketer?” She waited for him to reply, but he pretended to shuffle through his
pockets a bit longer. “Well? Are you going to pay up?”
“Y-You know, now that I think about
it, that green apple I just had is starting to make me feel a little queasy.”
“Oh? A stomach ache that fast, or maybe you’re just faking
it?” The woman glared at him.
The boy slowly took a step back. “My
stomach is different, okay?! You can’t judge me to be the same as everyone else.
That’s rude!” He ran off without paying the saleswoman.
The woman pouted. “Humph! Another
one running away, but this one had the most pathetic lie ever.” [End music]
A taller man, only one year above
the previous teenager, placed a few bronze coins onto the stall. “I will pay
for his apples. He tends to forget what he carries with him.”
In delight, the woman took the coins
as she gave him an extra red apple. “Oh Clyde, dear! You are such a noble child!”
Her voice suddenly shifted. “Unlike that wretched boy. It is great to see you
are still a Good Samaritan even in this troubling economy.”
Clyde flipped his front bangs to the
side of his face. His hair was combed and tied, but with an effort that might
have taken over two hours of his morning. His short, yellow ascot was tied
behind his collar and his brown sash hung by his hips for practices on fencing
with his rapier weapon.
“It is my pleasure, madam. I see it
as understandable that we must help each other at all costs. That is the
necessity for this village, and it is amazing that we are still pulling
through. Now if you will excuse me, I will be off,” he said, giving the
saleswoman a bow.
The woman blushed. “Oho, see you
again, sweetheart!”
~ Village of Saradeli – north district – housing sector ~
Writer's note: The image below is a new feature for those who would prefer to treat this story as a videogame. Use the 'levels' as a means of the story's progression. Levels may go up after a battle or off-screen whenever simpler battles are expected.
Writer's note: The image below is a new feature for those who would prefer to treat this story as a videogame. Use the 'levels' as a means of the story's progression. Levels may go up after a battle or off-screen whenever simpler battles are expected.
In this village, every house is
purely made of wood. Unlike most other cities, towns, and fellow villages, this
is the only place that grows poorer in the economic district by an exponential
level. However, the villagers here are forced to cooperate and stay friendly
with one another, so their ties are quite close. Luckily for this village,
there was plenty of water for them and they only had to worry about food
source.
“Mom, I’m home!” The teenage boy
yelled from the front door. “Hehe,” he snickered, proud of his recent escape.
A faint voice was heard from the rear
end of his home. “Oh goodness, dear! Can you help me with the garden?”
The boy gave an exaggerated sigh as he
pushed the back door open. “Mom…”
“Yes, Felix? Is Clyde with you by
any chance? He can help as well.”
Felix noticed that his mother’s face
was filled with dirt and sweat. He could see the whole garden still in need of organization.
Felix’s mother wore the same thing as her own son, mostly because they could
not afford different styles and colors of clothing. She gave a smile that made
Felix’s face warm up with grief, or maybe it was just the sun.
“No, he’s not back. And… I kinda screwed
up again.”
“What did you do this time? You know,
we have been having a lot of complaints about my child causing problems around
the village lately,” she said kindly as she continued onto her field work,
kneeling down and using a shovel to dig deeper into the soil. “Do you know who
I am talking about?”
Felix blushed as he laughed in
nervousness. “Heh… that would be me. Hey, listen. I don’t mean to change the subject
or anything, but I just wanted to ask you something.”
His mother paused without turning to
him. She must have known his expression by now if she did not have to turn
around. As if the same types of questions come up every day, she didn’t need to
ask how he was feeling.
“I was wondering: do you like living
here in this village, working on the fields your entire morning and afternoons?
I mean, once you’re done with the gardens, you spend your night cooking. That
means… you have no time for yourself.”
“Dear,” She stood up. “We have no
choice but to accept this lifestyle. At this point in time, it’s difficult to
adjust to higher standards such as a city or a town. Honestly though, I do love
it here in this village. The people ar-…” [Music 1.3]
“Mom, be honest!” Felix raised his
voice. “How can you like it here? We are working so hard and at the same time,
we are barely getting by with what we grow in our backyards. Doesn’t this hurt
you?”
Felix’s mom gave a glooming
expression but she tried to keep it to herself. “Felix, honey, is this about
yourself?”
Felix gasped. His mother spoke
again, “We are waiting for that day when your father comes ba-…”
“He’s not coming back! He has been
gone for years, and he didn’t even want to marry you.” He made sure to remind
his mother about how she never gotten a ring. “I know it’s hard to adjust to
higher ‘economic standards’, but if we can travel to some city and find a job
as soon as possible, we would only have to work in the mornings and half the
afternoon. We can afford to buy food on-the-go!”
“But our lovely memories stay within
this village. This is why I am waiting for your father to come home. He is
probably trying his best right now to bring up the lives of Saradeli. It’s not
easy working for the government – I understand this well, so this is why I am
waiting this long.”
Felix punched the wooden walls
beside him. “Waiting is just a waste of time! He’s not coming back!! Why can’t
you see this?” His teeth clenched like an angry hound, and he had nothing else
to say. He ran off to the front door as Felix’s mother could see him fade into
the distance.
“Oh Felix… sometimes you are so kind
and witty, but when you stand up for your opinions, you become quite…
strong-headed,” she said in pride of her son, but with shame that he cannot
assimilate to the economical standards of Saradeli. [End music]
~ Village of Saradeli – north district - riverbed ~
Nearby, in another portion of the
village, an uncommon event was taking place.
“Hurry, Lydia! We have to find
shelter before they find us!”
screamed one girl. There was another girl running with her at the edge of the
village. Despite how peaceful this village sounded in the hearts of
cooperation, these girls were outsiders who needed to find a place as soon as
possible. The girls finally saw an opening which was a path for horse
carriages. Two horses began to panic as their front hooves raised like wheels.
They whinnied louder than the village center.
Lydia, a girl who had her hands held
by her friend, was getting exhausted. Her bangs began to slide over her
forehead due to sweat. It was usually curled to the side, however. Her light
blue long-sleeve shirt and brown skirt were slightly bathed in dust from all
her running, followed by a new scar on her upper right leg.
“R-Rina, I can’t run much longer. I’m
getting exhausted!” Lydia partially collapsed, wheezing heavily.
Rina, on the other hand, was still
able to move. She rolled her eyes as if this was a normal occurrence. Her hands
were by her hips where the skirt split forward. Most of her outfit was red
because she loved how it loosely related to her own hair color. Besides the
ribbons tied on her upper arms, Rina treasured her backpack the most, promising
herself to never take it off.
Rina decided to complain, like
always - apparently. “Really, Lydia?! You get one bullet grazing your thigh and
this is the reason why you’re slowing down?”
“Why don’t you try getting shot on
the leg? It would hurt!”
“Yeah it’s too bad I’m not the one
getting chased down here,” Rina said with sarcasm while wiping a sweat drop
from her forehead.
In any case, Rina had to help Lydia hide
somewhere. Sweat covered the girls through exhaust as Lydia and Rina ran several
miles with barely any breaks in between. [Music 1.4] The two of them eventually reached
atop a hill beside a lone tree where they would not be seen by soldiers at such
an angle.
Lydia pointed at the masses of river
climate down below. The water poured into several watermills from each home
nearest the flow. The only other noises they could hear were civilians and
horses from the distance, and even the birds within the tree above them. After
some time, Lydia had to take out snack bars from Rina’s backpack as they were
getting hungry.
“Aren’t those rivers beautiful? It
almost looks like a marsh from up here because of all those river streams
connecting to one another!”
“Gosh, I really hope you’re saying
stupid stuff like that just so you can forget about your leg injury, because
otherwise, I don’t really care about those ugly streams. Who thought of building
a place here anyway?”
“Rina, be nice. They’re probably
trying their best to live on their own.”
“Oh yeah? The same goes with us! Why
can’t you use your weird orb thing to heal your leg?” She grabbed onto the
light blue orb that helped tie Lydia’s hair together.
Lydia stammered with the idea. “I…
I’m not good at healing yet. Mother would never teach me because it can cause a
lot of risks to my own body.”
Rina rolled her eyes, and then she became silent. [End music]
Writer's note: Another new feature is the 'optional scene' gimmick. Whenever you see a "View optional scene" tag in an episode (along with a blue title), that means there is an optional scene going on between the actual plot. These scenes do not affect the main series and is only for your enjoyment to see what kind of fillers these characters can come up with. Why don't you give the first one a shot?
Rina then changed the subject. “By the way, I’m still surprised that they have been after you for so long. You were needed for their project, right?”
Writer's note: Another new feature is the 'optional scene' gimmick. Whenever you see a "View optional scene" tag in an episode (along with a blue title), that means there is an optional scene going on between the actual plot. These scenes do not affect the main series and is only for your enjoyment to see what kind of fillers these characters can come up with. Why don't you give the first one a shot?
The Word Game
Rina then changed the subject. “By the way, I’m still surprised that they have been after you for so long. You were needed for their project, right?”
Lydia had her left leg bent upward
as she held it in fetal position against the tree. Her right leg, slowly
healing from the gunshot, rested flat on the floor. “Yes. Sadly, I don’t know
how long we have to run.”
Just then when Rina gave a pout, a
cynical, yet soft voice peered from behind the tree. “Dear me, I hope I am not
intruding.”
Rina quickly stood up while tightly
gripping onto her backpack straps. Lydia followed along but she held onto
Rina’s left arm.
Rina took a step back as she readied
her hands in a circular position. “Who the heck are you?”
“You totally stole my style,” Rina
claimed. She pointed at her hair and overalls which also had the same color
scheme of her own.
“You do not need to know my name,”
the scientist ignored her, “but I am a scientist researching one of the most
exotic natures of this world today. I do not want to cause any harm.”
Lydia let go of Rina’s arm as she
gave a sigh of relief. “Oh goodness, he is nice.”
Rina forced her own arm in front of
Lydia. “Wait.”
“Oh?” The scientist murmured. “I see
I am not trusted. At any rate,” he
chuckled from the pun of his own headband, “I want to explain why I am here in
front of you.”
He opened his arms outward to feel
the chilly breeze pass by him. “I want to do some research on that girl next to
you.”
“Gross,” Rina interrupted.
“Rina, please, let him finish,”
Lydia blushed in embarrassment.
The scientist chuckled. “I overheard
that soldiers wanted to take you back, interrogate you, and then maybe kill you.”
Rina rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we’ve
heard that story maaaany times. What’s your point?”
The scientist fixed his steel
bandana again as he took out a glass orb from his pocket. “You see… there is a
way to bypass this without having to kill that girl.”
Lydia smiled. “I’m Lydia, by the
way!”
Rina stood in front of Lydia as she
said in frustration, “Hey, don’t just give your name to anyone especially
creeps like him!”
“I will not cause any harm to that
girl, I promise,” He made the orb levitate in the air. “This is a new delicate
module that I have created.”
Lydia stared into the glass orb.
“And by delicate, what happens?”
“When the orb is filled, it becomes
harder to control.”
Rina laughed. “Hah, don’t mess with
me. I can just break it right now.”
The scientist suddenly made a grim
expression. “I am afraid that is not necessary,” he said.
The orb quickly formed into a
rainbow-like aura while making its way above Lydia’s head. Rina created a
spherical hand motion and orange light simmered from the pores of her palm.
Suddenly, a flame grew and Rina tossed it towards the scientist in an attempt
to stop him from controlling the orb. The scientist threw a knife at the
fireball and it exploded in midair. Rina had to stop casting a spell as she
jumped off to the side to avoid the next knife.
“Lydia, be careful!” she scowled. [Music 1.5]
Lydia closed her eyes as she let out
a yelp.
Rina knew better this time. She
created another fireball, almost ready to toss it at the scientist. Meanwhile,
the scientist made his way towards Lydia and the orb. Rina accidentally crushed
the orb while attempting to blast a fireball at the scientist, shattering the
rainbow aura into seven separate particles.
The scientist clenched his teeth.
“No!” he yelled. “Now that you separated its density, the particles will float
upward!” [End music]
Rina watched the colors of the
rainbow float above. “What do you mean by that?!”
The scientist explained once more,
“Each of those colors from the spectrum represent a separate personality trait
extracted from the mind of a human! I must retrieve it!” Before running away,
the scientist turned away, “I will have the other soldiers catch you. I
need to retrieve the shards before they float back down due to the zone lines of
atmospheric pressure. I have no time to play around!” Before Rina could
respond, the scientist rushed off.
“Ugh…” She sighed in disbelief.
“Personality traits in an orb? What kind of a stupid idea is that? Come on,
Lydia, it’s not safe around here.”
As Rina turned around due to the
silence of Lydia’s voice, she made an utter gasp. “Wh-What?! Lydia!”
Rina crouched down and noticed that
Lydia’s eyes were completely blank. It was strange. Lydia’s heart was pounding
at a normal pace and each of her pulses were beating casually as well. Her
blank eyes were wide open, but it was as if she fainted…
~ Village of Saradeli – east district ~
In the eastern portion of Saradeli,
there lie abandoned buildings that have not been vacant for years. You see, from
the past decade, villagers have left in order to find prosperity in bigger
cities. Most of the eastern district felt it was better to live in another land
where working on crop fields deemed nonexistent. In those cities, they could
order shipping of fruits and vegetables from villages such as Saradeli;
however, about twenty years ago, most of the villagers have been poisoned by
crops harvested from potato fields. At this point, no city swore to gain trade
relations with Saradeli. Even as today prospers, the outer world still believes
in the lack of Saradeli’s sanitation.
These abandoned lots do belong to somebody, at least
undocumented. Felix barged into an abandoned house, and then into its storage
room after temporarily running away from his own home. He examined the old war
trophies that were scattered all over the place. Gray helmets rested on wooden
crates, steel spears sat against the walls, and rusted armors were hung against
racks.
“I knew you would be here, Felix Wolfram.”
Clyde was already sitting on one of the wooden crates above Felix.
Felix held onto a helmet that was
misplaced from the floor. “Always have to come here before I do, don’t you?”
Clyde wrapped his semi-long hair
into a ponytail, and then he jumped down from the crates. “Of course. I heard
you ran off after not paying for the apples. I figured you would come here to
stay out of trouble.” He handed a bag of apples to Felix. “Here, this is for
you.”
“Are you sure? You paid for those,”
Felix fumbled with the helmet. “And by the way, I didn’t run here because I
couldn’t pay for those apples.”
Clyde laughed in a melodic tone. It
was nothing close to a barbaric laughter – it was noble. “Well, looks like I
was a little off there.”
The Angry Merchant
At that moment, they could hear a
creak open in the living room’s front door. Felix immediately crouched behind a
pillar that connected the two rooms. Clyde did the same. They could see Rina
dragging Lydia onto the nearest couch.
Felix accidentally dropped the bag
of apples. Thud! One red apple rolled
out of the bag and into the living room.
With quick reflexes, Rina placed her
hands into a circular position as she began casting another magic spell. The
Fireball flew right past the two boys and exploded parts of the war trophies.
“Who’s there?!” she shouted.
Felix shrieked. “W-Was that magic or
something?!”
Felix and Clyde both looked at each
other first, and they knew it was a better idea to surrender and raise their
arms for Rina. [Music 1.6]
Clyde bowed while still having his
arms up in the air. “My~ You are a fine lady. I am Clyde D’Alonzo, and this is Felix Wolf-…”
Rina had her hands ready again. “I
don’t care what your names are. Let me be alone with my friend.” [End music - interrupted]
Felix dropped his arms. “But this is
our place.” He then examined Lydia, lying flat on the couch. “Is she dead?”
Rina growled at the both of them. “Shut
up! She isn’t dead. She just… fainted. Anyway, you two should leave. And Mister
Suspenders, I don’t think your trashy appearance and pretty-boy here look fit to be in an abandoned place. It’s all
mine now.”
Felix turned to Clyde. “Which one of
us is trashy?”
Clyde shrugged. “Either way, she
complimented us and basically said that we look better than bums in abandoned
buildings.”
Rina stepped closer. She slowly
walked them towards the storage room until she noticed the destroyed war
trophies on the floor.
“Hey, those are…!” Rina stuttered.
Rina suddenly created and tossed a
fireball at the two teenagers. Clyde rolled away and he grabbed onto his rapier
from his sheath to retaliate. Felix simply rolled accidentally into the corner
of the room, crashing against the wall.
Felix cried. “We’re innocent, I tell
you. Stop blowing stuff up!”
Rina yawned. “I knew that the first
time when you already raised your hands.”
“Then why did you strike the second
time?!”
Clyde thought about that second
strike for a moment. “You made a quick glance at the objects behind us. Care to
tell us what your impulse was based upon?”
Rina took a step back. “Soldiers are
after us. Those weapons and armor… well, they’re the exact same-looking
material. I just figured maybe you guys were our enemies, but you two weaklings
seem harmless.”
Felix walked closer to the couch.
“And what about this gir-…”
“Don’t – step - closer,” Rina said
in a threatening voice. “Someone basically attacked my best friend and weird
stuff happened but I don’t need to get into detail for people like you.”
Lydia slowly sat up and Felix fell
to the ground, assuming she turned into a zombie. She said quietly, “…Huh?
Where am I?”
Rina jumped for joy. “Lydia, Lydia!
Thank goodness you’re awake!”
The girl pointed at herself, “Lydia?
Oh... right,” She didn’t give a smile. “What about you? What’s your name?”
Clyde squinted his eyes in
confusion. Felix almost chuckled after hearing that Rina’s ‘best friend’ just
asked her for her name. Meanwhile, Rina was frozen in dismay with her mouth
opened. She only returned a stare. Her heart began to ache and she started to
realize what had happened to Lydia.
“Her memory…”
[Ending 1 music]
~~~
On the next episode, we will dive further into the situation with Lydia and her memory. Not only did she lose her memory, but she lost the will to move her limbs! She has no self-control, and she keeps crying and punching people for no reason. We really need to get those shards, quickly! Tune in next week to find out how her friends will deal with this next.
~~~
![[Click here for a larger image resolution]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj9UkCvVPmf0aVrggDQWxrFsUXZf60amJHy8L31aq5aofkfT8CVIQf_XAh5t92-MIMbKw-ezEDTTVpAQrtZi2sXyneDk8KJHsrd6A7zy8mgOwXT2ygpb9oVOOPY3uLtf9fioYSw52OskHg/s1600/opening+1.4.png){kind=link}
0 comments:
Post a Comment