Intro - Undine (FFD)

(Undine)

Alright, let's see how this goes...

[I'm not sure how exactly to start out. Am I supposed to have a backstory? Do I start in Cornelia, or Pravoka? And where exactly do I go from there? Do I start with 400G a la the actual game? Do the characters have crystals that they carry? If so, do we get to select the element of the crystal, and does anything special happen when it is lit? I did read the earlier posts, I'm just not entirely clear as to how to proceed. I guess I'll just start out with character and background, and go from there once I figure out more specifically what to do. Feel free to edit out any part of the character history that is incompatible with this scenario, if I go a bit too far with artistic license.]

Banished
Fresh out of the Mysidian Academy, Undine has always had an affinity for magic. A wide area of interests and indecisive nature led her to study Red Magery (which perfectly complemented her side interest in fencing). As her studies went on, she became somewhat bothered by the notion of being a Jack (Jill?) of all trades and Master of none, so she read through several arcane texts that she found in the library to look for ways to expand her skills. She was quite interested to find that Red Mages in the past had made claims of having greatly enhanced their powers with several unique abilities (she found accounts by White and Black Mages in their own fields, but didn't pursue those avenues for obvious reasons). Among these she found theoretical models for the quickening of spellcasting, as well as a legendary "Double Cast" technique.

None of these had ever been mentioned by the faculty, and when asked they denied that any of these skills had ever been actually developed, ascribing them to myths and crackpots. But after managing to reduce her spell casting time by a barely perceptible 1.7% by crudely applying the methods she found in the tomes, she decided that her teachers didn't know what they were talking about and set her mind on secretly perfecting the ability to cast two spells at once. Her attempt to do so ended in spectacular failure that simultaneously expended all of her spell charges. It wouldn't have been all that remarkable had she not been practicing near the Black Mage Research Laboratory. Long story short, once everyone was pulled out of the rubble and everything got sorted out, she was expelled from the Academy. The head mages sealed her magic, cast a level reduction spell on her, confiscated her equipment, and teleported her away.

When she came to, she found herself outside the walls of Pravoka with no gold to her name. Back to Level 1, no magic, no equipment. But she'd show those stuck up professors! She'd level back up from scratch, and regain all of her lost spells and then some. Not only that, but she would search the world for the lost secrets of the art of Red Magic, and in so doing surpass her small-minded former instructors. Or, failing that, she would at least have herself an adventure trying!

The Arena
(FSA)

Undine entered Pravoka proper penniless and pensive. She was cognizant of this town's reputation for criminal behavior, and she was increasingly aware of the countless eyes watching her make her way down the main avenue. She needed some start-up money for equipment and basic spells, and she needed it quick. She was no merchant, not terribly accustomed to sea travel, and unwilling to resort to illegal activities which left few options in this region. "I'm a mage... an accomplished mage... or at least I was," her tone grew rueful and she paused. "Maybe I can swing a couple battles in the arena."

Minutes later, Undine was being scorned by the arena maitre'd. "We don't take kindly to females here, little lady. This is a dangerous place filled with powerful men and deadly beasts. Leave now before you get hurt." Undine sneered and signed up for the first survivor series without dignifying his words with a response. This was a 6-round survivor series where the reward and the foe increased in difficulty each round. With the rewards based on fan attendance, Undine grew more confident that this was the right decision.

She entered the arena a short time later… no armor, no weaponry, no spells. She was nervous to say the least -- she was no martial artist and her fists ached at the possibility of an armored foe. Fortunately, a lone imp emerged from the opposing doorway.

Battle 1
[Battle begins. Autobattling since you have no choice but to attack]

Undine: 1-Hit 1-Damage against IMP

IMP: 1-Hit 4-Damage against Undine

Undine: 1-Hit 1-Damage against IMP

IMP: 1-Hit 4-Damage against Undine

Undine: 1-Hit 1-Damage against IMP

IMP: 1-Hit 7-Damage against Undine

Undine: Misses against IMP

IMP: 1-Hit 4-Damage against Undine

Undine: 1-Hit 1-Damage against IMP

IMP: Misses against Undine

Undine: 1-Hit 1-Damage against IMP

IMP: 1-Hit 6-Damage against Undine

Undine: 1-Hit 1-Damage against IMP. Terminated.

Victory: Party members gain 12 experience and 6 gold

With bruises interspersed about her person, Undine breathed a labored sigh of relief. Fortunately, white mages fully healed and recharged between each round of this contest else she would need to cede now. On the good side, she received her choice of any L1 spell a red mage can equip.

After she fully healed, her next opponent would be a GrImp.

(Undine)

Undine was left with a choice to make, the best option not so clear as she would have liked. Her natural inclination would be to first reclaim her CURE spell, but with no weapons or armor, that GrImp would tear her to shreds, CURE or no CURE. She narrowed her choices down to two: FIRE and FOG. Her experience had shown her that there wasn't much point in Red Mages wasting spell slots on tier 1 elemental magic, but until she got a weapon, it was the only real way she could do damage. On the other hand, FOG would provide more enduring use, and just might help her survive against the GrImp. If she could get off two castings of it, it would be like wearing Chainmail and reduce her damage taken to 1 per turn. Of course, she had to figure that, if the GrImp attack before her each turn, she would probably lose an average of 8HP in the first round and 4 in the second, dropping her down to 18HP. If she was extremely unlucky, she could go as low as 6. Her STR was too low to do more than 1 Damage to a GrImp, so that would mean at least 18 rounds total.

As she was weighing her options, her thoughts wandered toward an irritation at her situation. A mere day or two before, she could have easily fried anything this pathetic little arena could throw at her, including that snooty maitre'd. But now, she was reduced to barely being a match for a lousy Imp. She didn't spend all that time at the Academy for this! She sighed, then thought, "Well, at least I still have all the knowledge and experience I gained while I was there, even if they took my EXP. That's something, I guess."

She then made her decision: she would take the FIRE spell. At this point, she needed some way of doing damage, and it seemed the safer of her two feasible options. She could always drop it later for something else. Besides, she wasn't looking forward to the prospect of slugging out 18+ rounds against a GrImp O.o

She prepared herself for the next fight. This was like to go simply; one shot of FIRE ought to take it out. In the event that she was very unlucky and it somehow survived, she would just use another FIRE spell on it, considering her charges would be restored before the next round.

Battle 2
The arena matre'd scowled at her first victory and grumbled something inaudibly as he watched her memorize the FIRE spell. She had no time for reproach. The next battle was beginning.

GrIMP approaches. Battle begins!

Undine: Casts Fire on GrIMP for 27. Terminated. Undine blows on her hand as the coils of fire die away.

Victory: Party members gain 36 experience and 18 gold

Undine is now L2! 24HP, Str, Int, Vit, Luk, L1 and L2 spell charge

That was a lot easier than the first round. ‘I can win this tournament,’ she thought to herself. As she waited in the recovery room, she now received her choice of a Scimitar or a suit of Chainmail.

Her next opponent would be one of Bikke's first mates, a kyzoku looking to test his mettle. [Please choose your reward and enter your command]

(Undine)

Ah, how wonderful it felt to have the first fragment of her former power come back upon reaching L2! A choice between a Scimitar and a suit of Chainmail... Undine liked the prospect of having a weapon again; she didn't feel comfortable relying entirely on magic to fight, and fisticuffs wasn't working out for her so far. Still, she'd gotten a look at that Kyzoku she was going up against next. She was confident that she could fry him with 3 FIRE spells at her disposal, but less confident she could withstand the pounding he was like to give her in the process. For the time being, these were unique circumstances; FIRE would give her a reliable and effective damage output and be recharged after each opponent, unlike most situations. Defense would serve her much better in the fights ahead than an inferior attacking option. Chainmail was the clear answer.

When she put on the Chainmail, she found it was heavier than most armor she had worn in the past. Still, being a Red Mage, this was within her capability to bear. She felt a bit more sluggish, and probably couldn't dodge quite as easily, but with her newfound defense she wouldn't really have to. That Pirate looked strong, but his gear didn't look flame-retardant >:-)

Battle 3
Undine: Casts Fire on KYZOKU for 12. Undine grimaces at the virtual misfire.

KYZOKU: 1-Hit 3-Damage against Undine. The chain mail was doing its duty.

Undine: Casts Fire on KYZOKU for 19

KYZOKU: 1-Hit 2-Damage against Undine

[Autobattling]

KYZOKU: 1-Hit 10-Damage against Undine

Undine: Casts Fire on KYZOKU for 27. Terminated.

Victory: Party members gain 120 experience and 120 gold

Undine nodded in satisfaction, though not totally pleased at her performance with the fire spell. She followed her customary route to the recovery room to regenerate body and mind. She was informed her next battle would be against an OGRE and was given the option between a scimitar and a L1 spell of her choosing. This next battle would be her first big challenge, and this was only round 4!

(Undine)

For a moment Undine felt like a sub-par Black Mage; so far she'd just been blasting enemies with Fire, and possibly not as well as a Black Mage could have. But she stopped and smiled, because then again, Black Mages couldn't wear Chainmail.

And neither could they use Scimitars, the only realistic chance she had of doing enough damage to the Ogre before it did enough damage to knock her out. Fire was her best option, but there was only a small chance three castings would be enough (and if they were anything like her previous ones, she would place herself in a rather precarious situation). Besides, the Scimitar was worth more than a L1 spell anyway, so it was the better value.

Getting ready, her strategy was simple: FIRE, FIRE, FIRE, and Slash from then on.

Battle 4
OGRE: 1-Hit 6-Damage against Undine

Undine: Casts Fire on OGRE for 11

OGRE: 1-Hit 15-Damage against Undine

Undine: Casts Fire on OGRE for 27

OGRE: Misses against Undine

Undine: Casts Fire on OGRE for 26

[Undine 33/54. This seemed a good breaking point with Undine's spell charges exhausted. I will assume you want to continue with your initial plan to slice'n'dice going forward unless stated otherwise.]

OGRE: Misses against Undine

Undine: 1-Hit 8-Damage against OGRE

Undine: 1-Hit 5-Damage against OGRE

OGRE: 1-Hit 18-Damage against Undine

OGRE: 1-Hit 7-Damage against Undine

Undine: 1-Hit 15-Damage against OGRE

Undine: 1-Hit 9-Damage against OGRE. Terminated as the OGRE raised his weapon for the killing blow.

Victory: Party members gain 390 experience and 195 gold

Undine is now L4 (2 levels)! 24HP, 2Str, 2Agi, 2Int, 2Vit, 2Luk (flawless stat rolls), L1 and L2 spell charge

Our heroine laboriously made her way to the healing room with a shiver. She had spent her full mind and body on this fight and barely escaped. The experience would indubitably do her well once the White Mages were through with her. As is customary, she was informed her next battle would be against an GrOGRE and was given the option between 300g and a L2 spell of her choosing. The next battle was the semi-finals for this tournament, and she knew it could easily be her Waterloo.

(Undine)

Undine tried to relax as she felt the energy starting to flow back into her, courtesy of the White Mages. As her aches and fatigue subsided, she started a tactical analysis of her next round. She felt the effects of gaining two levels at once, two levels that each increased all of her parameters. Such sudden increase in power was rather uncommon, though she was quite glad of it and knew she would need it against the upcoming GrOgre. Though nastier than normal Ogres, she still felt she could take it, considering the options she now had before her. 300G or a L2 spell? Looking at her circumstances, the answer was obvious...

Battle 5
GrOGRE: Misses against Undine

Undine: Casts INVS on herself

GrOGRE: 1-Hit 28-Damage against Undine

Undine: Casts INVS on herself

GrOGRE: 1-Hit 13-Damage against Undine

Undine: Casts Fire on GrOGRE for 26

GrOGRE: Misses against Undine

Undine: Casts Fire on GrOGRE for 29

[Undine 37/78. Using spell charges as a good stopping point once again. Will Undine's evasion outlast GrOGRE's damage capabilities? Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion!]

GrOGRE: 1-Hit 25-Damage against Undine

Undine: Casts Fire on GrOGRE for 35

GrOGRE: Misses against Undine

Undine: Casts Fire on GrOGRE for 12

Undine: 1-Hit 16-Damage against GrOGRE

GrOGRE: Misses against Undine

Undine: 1-Hit 3-Damage against GrOGRE

GrOGRE: Misses against Undine

[Undine 12/78. I just had to stop here with both opponents hovering around the same HP level. I'd say odds are in slight favor of the GrOGRE but not by much.]

Undine: Misses against GrOGRE

GrOGRE: Misses against Undine

Undine: 1-Hit 8-Damage against GrOGRE

GrOGRE: Misses against Undine

Undine: Misses against GrOGRE

GrOGRE: 1-Hit 15-Damage against Undine. Defeated.

With two critical misses in the final exchanges, Undine rolled away from another of the ogre's strikes just a moment too late. The club connected through the partial invisibility and sent Undine tumbling on the arena floor. She wasn't knocked out so much as her body gave way to the physical and mental exhaustion of the fights. In her de-leveled, deteriorated state, she could no longer endure such hardships... yet.

She hurried the white mages through their routine and avoided the maitre'd on her way out. She had some basic equipment and spells at her disposal now, but she knew this was just the beginning.

'''[Introductory quest completed. If it makes you feel any better, the next battle would have been ridiculous.] '''

Continued in Call Me Meriweather (FFD)