surfingpichu

"Chaos?" Ramza echoed. He didn't like the sound of that. After so much time spent fighting demons, he knew full well what the reprocussions of those types of creatures being present could be. The slaughter at Riovanes Castle was only a small taste of what demons like the Lucavi were capable of if left unchecked. If there were demons here, they had to be stopped. "We must hurry then." he nodded, touching a hand to the hilt of his blade, "What is this.. chaos anyway? A demon?" he shivered. He'd had quite enough of demons and gods. --------------------------------------------------- Vormav frowned, staring at the phantasmal image before him. This goddess was a strange one, foreign to his eyes. "What kind of false God is that?" Vormav growled, "St. Ajora does not permit the worship of false idols." he drew his blade, a frown crossing his face. It was starting to make sense now. Ajora had called him to cut down phrophets of these false gods with his Holy blade. It was his calling to deliver divine justice unto this world, and bring it into Ajora's holy light. "I understand." Vormav nodded, "These infernal creatures will bow before the might of my blade."

Vormav relaxed just a bit as the man with the spear and the strange key weapon retreated. Still he didn't dare take his hand off his blade. He knegoddess well that this could be a world of demons, And he dared no underestimate the powers of anyone he met. The hooded man before him especially made him wary. There was a dark air about him. Something seemed to be off, something not right, Something infernal. He was a bit caught off guard as the man spoke. He seemed to speak as a normal man. Vormav paused. He'd asked him his name. In his head for a moment the name 'Hashmalum' echoed in his head. He blinked a few times to clear his mind. "Vormav" he finally spoke aloud. His voice sounded hoarse, as if he hadn't used it in some time, "I am afraid i am a stranger to this world. Which goddess is it that you speak of?" --------------------- Ramza gaped. Already there was trouble. He hesitated. He needed to know what had become of Ivalice, but yet he knew a cry for help couldn't go unheeded by a member of the Beoulve family. The final member of the Beoulve family, Ramza remembered with a twinge of guilt. "I'll come with you. "He nodded, "if we must fight, I will lend my blade."

At this point, Ramza found that he almost had no choice in light of things. He still knew nothing of the fate of his allies, nothing of his sister, only that now there was a higher being once more calling him to act. Long ago he might have taken it as an act of god, back when he was more foolish. More naive. Now, however, he stared up at the Goddess named Cosmos, hesitant and wary. It took him only seconds to realize that Cosmos was nothing like Altima. There was nothing of the hate, the malice,the indignance that had nearly destroyed Ivalice, but still he couldn't help but be cautious. "Wait! Lady Cosmos!" Ramza rushed forward, unable to hold his silence any longer, "Please, I must know, why have we been called here? I am but a squire from the land of Ivalice. For years I have walked through the Airship graveyard beneath Muronde, seeking a way back to the world of the living. I know not what I've been chosen here to fight for, but please, you must tell me. What has become of Ivalice?" There was an urgancy that Ramza had barely expected to feel as he poured out his worries. He hadn't meant to slow down their campaign, but the entire day had been a blur. Nothing seemed right, and Alma was still lost. ------------------------------------------------ Power... more power... The horrifying cries of dying gods filled Vormav's head as he stagged through what appeared to be two rather well armored men, one armed with a spear and the other a... key. Vormav frowned, blinking to clear his eyes. A key as a weapon? How strange... and highly impractical at that. What strange land had he been cursed to wander. Cautiously he drew towards the figures, keeping his hand on his blade. He knew not what strange demons he might encounter in this strange world, but he knew that whatever he met would taste the wrath of his blade if there was a need. Stony faced and silent, he moved to approach.

The quality varies. They've fallen into a trend of publishing a lot of articles that are either "The top [insert number here] CRAZIEST ____________ you never knew were _____________" topics that are kind of just common knowledge done up in as sensationalist a manner as possible. But it's infotainment. It can be fun to read from time to time.

When I saw the topic title I immediately thought of this. (Language warning sorreh!)

Ramza gave a little shout, shaking pieces of cornbread from his hair. He certainly hadn't been expecting to see young wizards falling from the sky. Two of them in fact. He sighed, this was a strange place indeed. He looked the older wizard over first. He was dressed outlandishly, wearing a strange pattern on his robes, and bearing no sign of Ivalician make. He shook his head. "I've never seen him before in my life." he admitted, " Though I wish he would stop shouting. It's bound to draw..." he looked around before lowing his voice a touch "Unwanted attention." He shook himself, "Ask what you will. In fact, I have a few queries I'd like to make myself." ----------------------------------------------- The first thing Vormav felt upon awakening was a gripping pain that pierced his chest. He blinked, groggy, disoriented. Where am I..? Thoughts poured through his head, How in the world did I get here.... and for that matter, what IS here? He looked around. He was atop a mountain, in the middle of what appeared to be a howling storm with no sight of civilization for miles and no memory of how he'd ended up there. In fact, he had no memory of the past few months. "Good Lord..." he whispered, righting himself slowly. It hurt to move, but he was not a man to be deterred by pain, "What happened here..." The last thing he remembered was meeting with a legion of his fellow shrine knights in an attempt to uncover the mysteries behind a set of artifacts known as the Zodiac stones. Each of the stones was imbued with a powerful holy magic, but it was impossible to harness. Even the most experienced magus were perplexed and puzzled by the strange stones. He remembered that as he touched the stone a voice spoke to him, asking him what his wish was. The answer of course had come to him in seconds. To further proclaim the glory of God and do the bidding of Saint Ajora. And that was it. That was all he could remember. "Izlude... Miludia.." he mumbled the names of his two children as he walked along the path. He dearly hoped that they were still alright. He needed to return to them, surely they had worried for his safety, "Worry not, my son.. my daughter... soon I will return."

Ramza shifted a bit, a touch put off by the man's bluntness. After all if what he feared was true there was a chance he would never see any of the people he'd fought for again. "Pardon my asking again but, I fear knowing the year is quite important to me" he looked down, "While I am not entirely sure of my circumstances I believe I may have spent a good deal of time... well... " he didn't want to say dead lest the man believe him a specter or a ghoul"unconscious. My sister and my companions were with me last I knew. I want to ensure that I haven't been gone for... for so very long. "

Ramza paled a bit, stepping back. In spite of his experience in the trials of war he was still quite uncomfortable around blades and the like. In fact the battles he'd fought and lost comrades in had only heightened his utter hate for battle. "Eaagh.." Ramza let a short cry of surprise escape his lips as he stumbled back, "I don't wish to fight you, sir" he said, composing himself after a moment, "I... ah.. I'm afraid I know not of this Baron, but if you count yourself lost, then I am just as lost as you are. " As he looked the man over a strange thought entered his mind. A harrowing thought. The man's armor resembled neither the order of the Hokuten nor the Nanten. He bore a crest not of Ivalice nor Riovanes nor Valeria. Could it be perhaps that he had become displaced in space or perhaps... "You... wouldn't happen to know what year it is, do you? "

http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/The_5e81d9_417915.png Alternate interpretation

The final sound Ramza heard as the world faded into darkness was a whine like scream that split through his body like a knife. That of course wasn't to say that Ramza was at all unfamailiar with pain. After all, one could hardly serve the knights of the Hokuten without coming across a good deal of it, be it the bite of a knight''s blade, the chill of a mage's spell or, the most recent, the utterly overwhelming agony of divine wrath. But the sound- the sound of God dying- was a sound no mortal man was ever meant to hear. A sound Ramza never would have expected to hear. In the end it was all up to the fates. He had never meant to challenge God, or the church, or even his brothers. When it came down to it, all he'd really wanted was his sister and his best friend back. He was young. He held none of the ambition that the rest of the cruel, misguided world seemed to hold, and when at last the fighting was done, when at last he could lower his sword and look upon what he had wrought there was only one thought that passed through his mind. My god, what have I done? When he looked back at his men, he could see the very same thought echoed back to him. There was no relief, no rejoycing, just utter and complete horror as they watched Altima writhe and fall. No one spoke a word, for there wasn't enough time to speak. The last action Ramza made was to grab his sister's hand and hold her close. He didn't know his reasoning behind it. He knew the gesture would mean nothing because in the next second the Airship graveyard was torn asunder, an earth shattering crash filling the air, and then silence. Dead silence. That silence lasted a long time. For a very long time, Ramza heard and saw nothing, nothing but the final moments of his life played over and over in an infinite loop and that question My god. My god what have I done? repeated ad nausium in an endless chorus of madness. For a very very long time, there was no Alma. There was no Altima and there was no Ramza. When Ramza awoke it was akin to being startled out of a deep sleep. A cry escaped his throat and he threw his hands out, flailing like a startled Malboro. It took him a second to realize that he was safe, not being attacked or accused of heresy or threatened with execution or beatings or Agrias's cooking. It also took him a moment to realize that wherever it was he'd awoken was entirely unfamiliar to him. "Awake, warrior of light" A voice spoke to him. He raised a hand to his head. It occured to him that he'd heard it before, but he wasn't certain of where. A few minutes passed and when Ramza failed to answer the voice spoke again. "Rise warrior of light. You have been called to take part in a sacred quest." Ramza stood with a start. He wasn't familiar with the idea of hearing voices and he wasn't about to start. "Alma?" he cupped a hand to his mouth and began calling for his sister. It was getting late, and he was certain it would be a long way back to Igros from wherever he was, "Alma? Are you..." In mid cry he noticed a figure standing by a small pond, clad in rather heavy armor, most likely that of a lancer. He was staring into a pond intently, as if watching for something. "Ah! Hail!" Ramza raised a hand, walking towards the man. With any luck he wouldn't recognize Ramza as the heretic that accidentally killed a saint and no one would be the wiser, "I was, ah, wondering if you could tell me how far we are from Igros. I've been separated from my men and I'm afraid I'm quite lost." ((will have stuff for Vormav later. I think I've given you enough of a text wall as it stands))

Quest for Camelot

I have a mighty need for this show. Closest thing we may ever see to a Pokemon Special adaptation. I'll take what I can get.

I think its because of the open shirt.

Unpopular opinions? Well, I think My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a really weak and contrived show. And yes this is after watching most of the first season. It's fine for kids I guess, but I can't see where people get off saying that it has great characters or amazing storylines or all that. To me most of the characters were pretty one dimensional, the stories were trite and kind of bland, and most of the time I couldn't really figure out why most of the characters liked each other to begin with. <=/ I also didn't like the Hunger Games. Strong female lead or not, I've never been so bored by an action sequence in my entire life.