Story

------------------------------------

Here, in this grand and distant world from earth, both humans and mythical creatures live in harmony and constant competition in order to prove which race is the most superior to them all.

 

Every 5 years, the worldwide government of Grandia hosts a planet-wide tournament to see who would emerge as "Endymion," or the king of the best, fighters in the realm.

 

Fighters would embark on a long 2-year journey in order to defeat the strongest fighters and win the tournament.

 

(Expect many plot-twists and surprises!)

 

Sign-Ups are still open!

-------------------------------------------

http://kh13.com/forum/topic/88866-world-of-grandia-ingens-locus-series-sign-ups-and-discussion/

 

Lets Get Started!

------------------------------------------

 

"Roarrrr!!!" The Basilisk screeched as it approached Nero and an old, helpless lady. He had seen this creature on his way to Ashford Castle as it attacked the lady. Being the gentlemen, he stepped in and fought the Basilisk off. The creature moved through the trees in an headstrong attempt of charging through them. Nero ran towards the beast, jumped upwards, and back-kicked the beast in the face, sending it flying through a tree. In fear and shock, the Basilisk quickly ran from Nero. He quickly rushed back to the old lady's side. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked her. "Ohh I could've handled it! These ole bones ain't givin' out yet!" The old lady replied as she walked ahead. "But you are strong boy. You should enter the Ingens Locus," The lady shouted. Nero blushed a little from the praise. "I'm actually on my way there to participate," Nero said catching up with her. "Really now? Well then. You should get a move on. It starts at noon," The old lady waved at him. Nero checked the sun. He would always check the time by the position of the sun. His eyes widened at the sight. "CRAP! It's almost noon!" Nero shouted. "Go on ahead. I can take care of myself," The old lady said. "Thanks!" Nero shouted, now on the road ahead of the old lady. He was almost late!

A small sliver of fangs could be seen from Ren's mouth as a smile creeped across her face. Everyone was running late. She got there first. Of course why wouldn't she be first? After all, she is one hell of a fox spirit. 

This would be a hard challenge for her...especially with her power just unleasing itself without her permission. That damn spirit. 

They would all show up....eventually. She didn't know exactly who would be by her side in the Locus....but hopefully some good people. 

-Ashford Castle-

 

Opening the doors of the castle, a man with two swords on his back, cat like eyes, white hair and wearing armor walked in, none other than Draksis, he looked around and noticed, not many people were around, only a girl, who he sensed something weird in her, just a hunch, but he felt she wasn't normal, 'Either I got here early or they're all late' he thought to himself as he walked around the room for a bit before leaning back against a wall, he kept an eye on the girl and the door, in case anyone else entered.

The door opened slowly, and in walked...what could have been mistaken for a ghost. Her skin was pale, like porcelain. Her red dress and stocking were dark, almost vibrant against her paleness. She walked quietly, almost silently, and headed for a small corner to sit in. On her back was folded something covered in runic script and symbols.

 

Testament was her name, and she was only here for the Locus. What these people wanted was not of her concern. Not really.

Ashford Castle

--------------------

 

The busy streets of Ashford town became busier as the Quinquennial Ingens Locus was soon to begin. Adventurers, fighters, and wizards of every kind, all over the globe, could be seen filling these streets, buying goods and just waiting for the king to announce the start of the huge tournament. After a few minutes, however, a huge hush swept over the crowd of people, as the king could now be seen on the balcony of his castle looming over the people. Energetically, the people hollered in joy and quickly quieted down. The Ingens Locus was soon to begin.

 

Nero Aionios

--------------------

Nero huffed and puffed, doubling over to his knees. He had been running the rest of the way and finally made it safely to the event. However, Ashford wasn't as noisy and busy as he thought it was. It was quiet - too quiet. Nevertheless, he quickly blended in with the crowd to see what was going on.

 

Ashford

--------------------

"Greetings fellow humans! I am Leo Lazura, King of Ashford! I have come to bid all of you good luck today!" King Leo spoke. There were magical projectors around the castle that could help him project his voice so that everyone could hear. "Like all the other years, I will go over the rules. Each registered person is given a magic crystal that is worth ten points. The overall goal is to take as many crystals as you can by defeating your opponent. There are "Valor Bosses" around the world and if you defeat one, you will gain a Valor crystal. These are crystals that are worth 50 points and can be divided among people (if one is in a group). The tournament is planet-wide. This means that the whole planet is a battleground for registered fighters. Those who accumulate up to 1000 crystals can compete in the Grandeur Battle of the Strongest, which is a tournament for those considered the best of the best," King Leo paused and nodded to several castle wizards. They nodded back and raised their wands, beginning to cast a spell. Suddenly, a necklace appeared around each person's neck attached with a crystal. "By now, you should all have a necklace attached with a crystal. This signifies that you all are registered for this tournament," King Leo announced. "Usually, we would register your names in an ordered system. However, we're doing things different this year. Each and every person is eligible to participate in this year's Ingens Locus, as the strongest cannot be picked if only the registered can compete," King Leo paused once again. "From here on out, I declare that this year's Ingens Locus has begun!" King Leo exited with those words. The crowd roared and broke out into a riot. It would make the most sense to fight a mass of people, all armed with crystals. However, Nero decided to attempt to leave. He actually wanted to start his adventure before losing or gaining a crystal. Nero jumped on a near-by rooftop, and ran to make his way outside.

-Ashford Castle interior-

 

Draksis could hear the commotion outside, not that hard to hear, specially not hard to hear the ensuing riot from the announcement, he simply motioned his hands in a upside down triangle with a small slash to the middle, as a protective shield of magic surrounded him, nigh invisible to the human eye, set to explode on the next hit it took, just in case the competitors in this room decided to attack him, he noticed the pendants spawning on each one of their necks, he quickly hid his bellow his armor. 

 

he kept silent to see what the others in the room would do.

Great, everyone got their crystals and bam. A riot.

There was only one way out of this. The hard way.

 

Ren's eyes glew red as her hair and dress started feathering out into darkness, forming into a large black demonic Fox.

She used her agility to leap to the exit, probably stepping on someone.

Oh well.

Vortludo popped into Ashford. He was strolling casually through the town. He could be a bit late, not a problem. As long as he was registered, then it would be fine. Of course, before he made it to the square, a crystal popped onto his neck. "Well then, guess it's started." He said to himself. As soon as he said it, an adventurer from the square rushed at him, having spotted him and thinking he was useless. "My friend, you are making a mistake." Vortludo warned, putting his hands up to try and discourage him. It did not seem to work. Oh well. He wasn't going to just throw away free points. The man dived towards him in a tackling motion. In a fluid swing, Vortludo drew his blade, knocking the man in the face with his elbow as he did so. The man fell to the ground. Vortludo quickly stabbed him through the spine. Paralysis. This man would never walk again. The noble's son grabbed the necklace from the adventurer's neck. "You should have known what you were getting yourself into when you decided to participate in a tournament like this. Good to know that you won't make such a mistake again." The noble's son said. He paused wondering what he should do next. Stay here and farm the town citizens for crystals? Leave and go for a Valor Boss? Perhaps stay here and scout out some actual competition? Well that last one actually sounded like fun. He watched the square to try and catch sight of anybody worth his time.

Daytime was not her friend...but in the throng of people, shadows abounded. Drawing from her back was a small, folded scythe, which she extended to full lenghth. She stepped sideways into a shadow, and appeared in one twenty feet away, swinging. The first strike decapitated two men, and she stepped back as people piled onto the necklaces. With room to manuver, she took down two more who were wary after a brief battle - they had no weapons and no experience. She merely knocked them out.

 

Two necklaces in hand, she used her Shadow Walk ability to escape the square. It left her breathing hard, and she fumbled for water. She used it a lot, getting from the square. Daytime had so little shadows to yse...

"Twenty points...nine hundred and eighty more...just nine hundred and eighty more...a...and I'll get my memories back.

-Ashford Castle-

 

Draksis smirked as the other contestants left, either to go for the townspeople or to go for a valor boss, he didn't rightly care much, as he would have to go through the crowd if he wanted to do anything, he quickly left the Ashford Castle, and into the main town square

 

-Ashford town square-

 

Draksis stepped off into the square, the shield still active around him, he walked forward, trying not to pick a fight, as he just wanted to get through, problem is, citizens from all around came at him, "Great" he muttered as a civilian rushed at him, trying to attack him with a wooden bat, only for him to be flung backwards as the shield exploded in his face on hit, Draksis didn't even budge at the hit, all he did was extend his arm to rip the man's crystal off him as he flew backwards, two more rushed him, as he unsheated his steel sword, and twirled it around him, "Can't you see I have swords?" he asked.

 

The two civilians rushed at him, one with a wooden stick and one with a knife, he blocked the one with the wooden stick, knocking it straigh out of his hands as he simply kicked his legs, knocking him down, as he stepped on the man's gut, the one with the knifed swung at him, as Draksis simply leaned to the right, avoiding it as he gave the man a strong backhand, sending the man into the ground, as he ripped off their crystals as well, all with a unamused face, he kept on fighting through the square, slowly making his way through, and getting quite a few crystals as a result.

 

 

(Something to hear)

 

Edited August 5, 201510 yr by Scrapmaster

Nero Aionios

---------------

 

"Down you go!" Nero shouted as he threw a man over the roof. He quickly slipped off the guy's crystal on his target's way down. Nero looked towards the square behind him. The once so beautiful Kingdom of Ashford was being reduced to destruction as the riot continued. Was this how things usually were in this tournament? Nero shook his head from these thoughts. He needed to focus. In the distance, he saw a weird looking fox prancing around towards him and the exit. She must've been thinking the same thing as he.

"Hey you!" A high pitched voice sounded closely behind Nero. Nero looked back to block an incoming kick to his face. The mysterious fighter flipped over Nero's arm and took a fighting stance. "You're pretty good," The high pitch voice said to Nero. Nero got a good look at the mysterious fighter. "A girl?" Nero asked. The girl smirked. "Huh. Never seen a girl fight before eh?" She asked sarcastically. Nero observed her style. "Tiger style huh?" Nero asked as he assumed the Leopard. "A martial artist as well huh?" The girl assumed. She then bowed at Nero. "I am Asia. Asia Lionheart," Asia said. Nero understood that it was custom for a martial artist to bow towards his/her opponent. However, he did not follow that. "Nero," Nero replied, still assuming his stance. 

Ren lifted her paw, she stepped on someone. Bad.

"Sorry..." she muttered, casting herself into a shadow and obtaining the necklace from the man she crushed.

She quickly formed back, finally managing to escape the heavily crowded area.

Her strength recovered, Testament turned to face the crowd. A group of them were pressed in under an awning, destroying a cafe. Perfect.

 

Testament slid into the shadows and "walked" into the throng. Scythe spinning, she killed three of the unarmed combatants before they realized she was there, the melted away. They all stopped, until she struck. Another down, maybe...ten left. Too many. Surprise...gone.

"Goodbye."

 

She had already recovered the crystals. It had slowed her down, but forty points were nothing. And now, she was gone.

 

Out of the square, she calmly walked away from the riots, wondering which way she should go.

Three down...Four down...Five down, numbers were starting to pile up, as were the crystals Draksis was getting a hold off, fighting through the square proved troublesome, while these people lacked experience and fighting skills, they made up for sheer numbers, and there was quite a few people coming at Draksis now, noting his presence and the way he was taking care of whoever came at him, they tried to gang up on him.

 

Draksis had finished killing three people who came at him at the same time, in a quick succession and a flurry of slashes, but by the time he managed to pick up their crystals, a mob came at him, at least 8 people rushed at him, making him use his quen shield spell in its active form, holding a protective bubble around him, protecting him from the strikes of the mob, their hits bouncing back as it hit the shield, but the more they hit, the harder it became to hold up the shield.

 

"Last thing I want is to get piled upon", he said as a flashback triggered in his mind, as he remembered one of the basic witcher signs, Aard, as he touched the groun and began drawing on it with his hand, a magical trail followed his fingers as he made a triangle with a slash in the middle, unlike quen it wasn't upside down, it glew blue, as he quickly punched the ground, as a large kinetic blast was generated around him, knocking the mob back from him, knocking a few unconciouss, others hurt from the fall or having other people landing on them, Draksis arose from his spot, as he wiped the dust off his clothes as he went to pick up some crystals, while some of the ones knocked back pickedu p what they could from the unconciouss bodies and ran away, Draksis, kept walking through the square, fightign what he could, with a new skill in hand.

Nero & Asia

------------------

Powerful blows were traded between Asia and Nero, creating a slight change in wind direction. The two jumped back a few steps from each other. "I will take your crystal!" Asia shouted charging forward at Nero. Nero quickly side-stepped Asia's attack, and returned it with a kick of his own, sending her into the air a little. Asia quickly recovered and launched herself downwards with a claw aimed at Nero. Nero jumped backwards, avoiding the attack. Parts of the roof went flying as Asia pulled her hand out of the hole in the roof she created. This would be a tough fight. 

 

Ren Hakkae

------------------

"One, two, three..." Ren counted as she sliced each person one by one and catching their necklaces on the blade of her sword. She was beginning to get bored of this whole tournament thing. "Ninety already huh?" Ren said stuffing them in her pocket. This was getting too easy. She stopped in front of Draksis. It was almost as the commotion of people attacking others, were leaving them alone. Almost, like.. a standoff! However, Ren began to walk past Draksis to fight other people.

 

Aegis Masamune

------------------

"Hahaha! Yes! Burn!" Aegis shouted as several people fell victim to a black will-o-wisp that was cast from Aegis' spell book. "This is too easy! Come on! Give me more of a challenge!" Aegis shouted.

Edited August 7, 201510 yr by XxUtopiaxX

Many many people. Many many. Vortludo considered which of these he wanted to make his next victim. He began walking into the square. Two more inexperienced civilians rushed at him. It took nothing more than two swipes of his blade to take them down. He grabbed the crystals from their necks and pocketed them himself. He looked up to see a man with a spell book(Aegis). "Hark, good sir! Could you share with me a tale of tragedy! I know you have one considering the tacky face tattoo you have? What was it? Alcohol? Happens to the best of us my friend. Plenty of good liquor and suddenly, a pattern permanently on your forehead doesn't sound like such a bad idea." Vortludo gestured towards the burned corpses. "But there is no need to take out your self-loathing for such a foolish mistake on these people! Come closer, I'll help you out. It is a simple procedure, I've done it quite often. Of course, it requires the removal of your head as well, but I don't think you'd be needing that anyway." The duelist continued, taunting and mocking the mage before him. He had brandished his blade towards the man, and give him a winning smile. 

-Draksis-

 

"Nice sword." Draksis couldn't help but comment on the girl's weapon as he looked at her, as he glanced around seeing as somehow, the people were staying clear of them, he had his steel sword in his hand, this girl was human, or looked human, so steel would work if she tried to attack him, Draksis remained unmoved as she walked past him, which made him smirk "You plan on using that sword on these people, or use it on someone worth fighting?" he asked her, his back facing her, as he motioned his hand using quen, as the small shield formed around him, in case the girl wanted to attack, he stood still, waiting for her response.

Aegis Masamune

--------------------

 

Aegis stared the man down in disgust (haha get it ). He looked strong, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. "I would like to save someone of your caliber for another time. However, I these guys are nothing more than rag dolls," Aegis paused stepping up to Vortludo and getting in his face. "Don't disappoint me," Aegis taunted back.

 

Ren Hakkae

--------------

 

Ren smirked. "You are right. Perhaps I should take the life of a hardened mercenary such as yourself as well," Ren replied. She had done her research on Draksis - well, mercenaries in general. Without a second thought, Ren swung her sword at the shield. Her swing created a razor wind that added to the damage, breaking the shield if Draksis doesn't move back in time. 

-Draksis-

 

"Try as you might" He said as he sidestepped the razor wind, leaving his shield undamaged, "Im not an easy kill" he said as he ran at her at incredible speeds, one that barely any human could reach, as he began to swing his sword in a flurry of rapid slashes at her, spinning around for momentum,speed and force every few swings, with impressive stamina, leaving possible counter attacks difficult, finishing the attack with a downward slash and a quick cast of aard to send a kinetic blast at her, "And im far more than a merc".

Edited August 6, 201510 yr by Scrapmaster

Testament slid into the fight again, slashing even more people around the outer fringe. She struck the weak and those nearest to shadow, easily getting ten more crystals before taking a break. Her scythe spun idly, she looked up. Wondering if the night would come soon, she "walked" to a rooftop and looked down, quietly observing the waning riot. So many dead...what a massacre.

 

She looked over to the castle...and slid into the shadows, before appearing on the balcony of the king.

"Hmph. Wonder if the King has a crystal..." worth at least a look.

Raptor Blackhawk

----------------------

 

"You should know that attacking the king is an act of treason - well not that you could win anyway," A voice spoke right next to Testament. Raptor Blackhawk made his presence known, however, he had been sitting at the edge of the balcony and sensed Testament from a long ways away. "Anyways. I'd suggest you leave if you don't want to die," Raptor warned. With that, he had disappeared without a trace.

 

Ren Hakkae

---------------------

 

Ren traded Draksis, blow for blow. She hadn't thought that anyone in this square would equal her in skill. Ren smiled a little. "Looks like you're not just all talk," She said slyly. Ren parried Draksis' last strike, sending him a few feet backwards. "However, by the looks of your magic, you haven't been spending as much time with the sword as I have," Ren smirked, getting into another battle pose.

 

Nero & Asia

---------------------

 

Nero started slowing down his movements a little. He had calmed his mind and recovered from the ambush and started blocking and dodging Asia's moves. He sometimes would strike her back and sometimes throw her. "The problem with your style is that I've learned it already," Nero said as he sent a palm to Asia's face. Asia maneuvered out of the way, sending a kick to Nero's leg. Nero parried by raising his knee. They seemed about on even footing. However, Nero could tell that this battle would drag on if they were to fight for real.

 

Reckoning (Main event)

-------------------

Crash!! The ground gave way and the earth trembled violently, as an object landed from the sky. In the debris, one could see his blurred shadow. One would be confused to recognize who he was. However, one could never mistake his glowing, impaling, yellow eyes. "Leave. All of you." The voice said so quietly, yet the words rang through everyone's ears. Blackhawk stuck his sword out of the earth he stabbed it in and swung it slowly towards a crowd of people. Suddenly, a razor wind swept up the people in a livid and powerful vacuum of wind, blowing them and other houses away. "It's Blackhawk!" One shouted. Nero could hear screams of fear as the crowd who were fighting in the riot running for their lives. "Blackhawk. I've heard that name before," Nero stopped to think. Nero's eyes widened as he quickly remembered the name. Raptor Blackhawk is a legendary, renown swordsman who was titled as the greatest swordsman in the world two years ago. He has held his title since as there were no swordsmen who could defeat him. 

- Draksis-

 

Having been knocked back, Draksis wasn't knocked off his feet or lost balance, he simply resumed into his fighting stance, "Depends how old you are, Im quite old" He explained, before he could attack, the ground shook as he watched the ensuing chaos, "Who." he said dry-ly and with a blank tone, sword still in hand, and shield still active, as he hadn't exactly taken a direct hit yet, he resumed to look back at Ren, "So, what do you want to do? run along or keep fighting amidst this? a fight would be more exciting in these circumstances..." he said tighting the grip on his sword as he resumed his fighting stance.

Edited August 7, 201510 yr by Scrapmaster