OT--Pursuit (Tales of Symphonia)

Midnight · Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 2:27 pm Post subject: OT--Pursuit (Tales of Symphonia)

I again got a brainstorm about Tales of Symphonia, this time on the way to class one morning. The following is the result of that storm, and instead of being a wholly contained work, it shall be in a series of vignettes.

The format of this fic is inspired by the structure of The Diary of Anne Frank; it is going to focus on a single diary and several entries within that diary. The diary in question, if you will recall, belongs to Virginia Sage, the mother of Raine and Genis. In a sidequest, you encounter her and learn that she was forced to abandon her children because they were sought after by the Imperial Research Academy, and as you may recall, as half-elves, would have been bound to the academy for the rest of their existence. These are the tales, told through Virginia's diary entries, of their pursuit from the Imperial family and their influence, and culminating in Raine and Genis's path through the Gate into Sylvarant.

Special thanks to Sol, Spork, and Ryouko for looking into excerpts of this fic and giving me comments before the entire work was done. Guys, thanks so much. This is all for you guys.

Begin

The sun had just set, and the light of the moons cast the plains into a ghastly faint light. On one of the clearings lay a group of adventurers, resting for the night. A fire crackled merrily in the center of the group, casting a faint orange glow on the hale party of adventurers--human and half-elven alike. Over the fire lay a cast-iron pot, which held the remnants of a great meal, no doubt cooked by Genis and Regal in tandem. The majority of the party slept at this time, except for one half-elven woman. She sat cross-legged, facing the stars, her eyes closed and breathing slowly. Her minty blue hair fluttered in the wind as she sat motionless. After several minutes in such a stoic state, she opened her azure eyes and cast her gaze onto a small brown book that lay beside her. She lifted it off the grass tenderly, and began to read the contents. From afar, the sound of faint sobbing reached mostly sleeping ears, but one pair picked this up and began to walk slowly towards its source.

He set his red gloved hand on the woman's shoulder. "Professor Sage, what's the matter?" he inquired.

The woman turned her gaze to the boy who had set his hand on her shoulder. Her face turned toward the one known as Lloyd, the fearless and idealistic leader that had led them on their grand quest to find peace between the two worlds. "Nothing, Lloyd," she responded. "It's just..." she trailed off.

Lloyd could see the distraught look on his friend's face. He had known Professor Sage, or Raine as her close friends knew her as, for quite some time as his teacher throughout his schooling years. He admired her intelligence and her methods of teaching, though he would never appreciate her methods of discipline and reinforcement. Over the long journey that they had been on together, Lloyd grew a lot more respectful of his teacher's quirks, andthe feeling was mutual; she came to look to Lloyd and marveled at his evolution over the years--from that of a rash, incompetent boy to an idealistic hero whose ideals she clung to.

He looked Raine square in the eye, and began. "It's not nothing, Professor. If it were nothing, why are you holding back tears?"

Raine knew she was caught there. Even though Lloyd was never any good at anything intellectual, he had a strong sense of instinct and would trap even her at the most unexpected of times. It wasn't often that Lloyd said anything of much intellectual merit, but when he did, it usually was right to the point.

Raine stood up, and looked around the immediate area. Her brother, Genis was soundly asleep no more than a couple of yards away, and the rest of the group also asleep, arranged in a fairly neat circle around the fire. Crickets chirped and made their song heard, despite the rolling combination of Zelos's and Regal's snoring. She smiled, secure in the fact that no one else was awake, and sat down again. She knew she could trust Lloyd to be a good sounding board, but she wanted to make sure that no one else heard, not even Genis.

"Remember this?" asked Raine. She produced the brown book that she was holding in her left hand and showed it to Lloyd.

"Yeah, I remember that," replied Lloyd. "This is your mother's diary, right? The one that we got from the elder guy in Exire?"

"Yes, that's right," Raine replied softly. "Now that we have a little time to ourselves before we travel again, I'd thought I'd read some of the other entries to see what my mother was like. i can barely remember anything about her."

Lloyd nodded in response. "Yeah, I see what you mean. I don't know anything about my parents. I don't even have a picture of them. You're lucky that you have the diary. I'd give almost anything to have something like that." Raine chuckled at this thought and opened the book again. With Lloyd by her side, she began to read from the diary...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Diary of Virginia Sage

21 December

It was a fine day in the village of Heimdall. This village was the home to the majority of the elves that lived in Tethe'alla, and not many people knew where that exactly was. The word around the world stated that they lived in a secluded forest, surrounded by a moat of water that defined the Ymir Forest. No one but the Tethe'alla Imperial family and the bureaucracy that resided in Meltokio knew of the elven village. Heimdall had proven to be a rather tough nut to crack diplomatically--the elders of the village shunned humans and other outsiders, preferring to live on their own and without the possibility for trade or diplomatic relations. Despite many years of failed talks, treaties and other agreements, Heimdall remained firm in its stance. This, however, did not prevent agents from being deployed to the secluded village to investigate and try to force the elves' hand--and as long as they remained within the laws of the village, these outsiders were often welcomed.

Towards the edge of the village lay a small hut, flanked by the forest on one side and a large garden on the other. The hut was simple, yet cozy--its cobbled stone construction gave the place a picturesque look, and the way that plants grew around the hut made it seem all the more welcoming. The door of the cottage swung open, and out stepped a tall elven woman, breathing the crisp air as she looked to the garden. Her silver blue locks graced the top of her head, and her simple green robes stood out agains the dull gray of the wall behind her. She sighed gently, and patted the bulge on her belly. She could feel the being within kick gently at her touch.

The woman smiled at this, and looked toward the forest for her daughter. After quickly scanning the field she found a small child merrily heading towards the forest, carefully observing the flowers and other plants that dotted the field. Silver-blue hair fluttered as she skipped along--and her orange robe stood out against the golden field. Even though it was winter, Heimdall had be fortunate enough as to not have any snow as of yet, and the fields retained their colors from the summer and fall. Occasionally, the young girl would stop to pick some of the plants that she observed and placed them in her pocket.

"Raine! Get back here!" the woman shouted. "It's time for lunch!"

"Virginia, honey?" a voice sailed though the air as the woman shouted.

Virginia instantly recognized that voice and spun around to be greeted with the visage of a somewhat portly man. He was in his forties, and he was somewhat shorter than Virginia. His clothing was plain, colored rather lightly, but they bore the faint insignia of the Tethe'alla Imperial family.

"Kloitz!" Virginia exclaimed as the couple embraced. They remained together for several moments before they returned to the crisp reality they were in.

"Where's Raine?" he inquired.

Virginia beckoned to the field where Raine had been moments before. Raine was still there, this time hunched over a plant that grew at the edge of the boundary between the trees and the field. They could see her examine the plant carefully, tugging gently at its leaves and looking in wonder at the flowers.

"Raine's going to grow up to be quite a pharmacist, isn't she?" remarked Kloitz.

Virginia smiled and nodded, curling up closer to her husband's body. "Yeah, she began. Just look at her. So interested in nature. Even if she doesn't become a pharmacist, she'll be successful in whatever she decides to do."

Kloitz nodded. "You've got that right. She's gonna be a wonderful person when she grows up. Just like the little on one the way. Did you decide what to name him?" he inquired.

Virginia nodded. "He'll be Genis." Kloitz nodded in approval as he felt his wife's womb, hoping to get a playful kick out of the child within. They smiled and began to discuss several things when Raine returned to the porch.

"Mom! Dad!" she squealed with delight. She jumped into Kloitz's open arms as he picked her up and rubbed her hair playfully. The trio went inside the house and Virginia hurried over to the kitchen, where a pot bubbled with their meal, sending delicious aromas of beef and pork throughout the room. They all sat down at a small table nearby as Virginia brought over the steaming pot. They spent the next hour eating happily and chattering. Raine was especially talkative about the different samples of elven herbs that she had collected that day, which would aid in her mother's potions and salves. Virginia was a skilled master of Boltzmann's technique--which made her the foremost healer in the village. She could never supply enough tonics, salves, and homeopathic elixirs to the village of Heimdall, as her products were well known and ousted any competitor. Raine had taken after her, and her interest in botany helped to bolster her studies of Boltzmann's healing theories. Virginia knew that within a few years, her own daughter would surpass her in skill--and that filled her soul with pride.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the meal, Raine walked to her room to nap, while Kloitz and Virginia remained in the dining area, cleaning up after the meal. The smile already had disappeared from Kloitz's face; Virginia knew that he had a lot on his mind. She sat beside him.

"Honey, what's wrong?" asked Virginia. "What happened today?"

Kloitz sighed. "I was in the village center," he began, "when some of the Papal Knights came by." Virginia gasped at this image. "I managed to duck behind a few barrels before they saw me, but Xeno had come up to them and started to talk."

Virginia rolled her eyes. "Xeno? Again? That filthy little stool pigeon?" Xeno was known in the village as a half-elf who would stop at nothing to make a few gald. He didn't have many friends in the village, as he had sold nearly everyone's secrets to the highest bidder. He lived in the center of the town, patrolling the streets discreetly to dig up whatever information he found on his neighbors and fellow townspeople.

"Yep," Kloitz nodded. "Apparently, they were doing some investigations around here and, like always, he spilled the beans on everyone he knew about and got a fat sack of gald for it. He even sold out Leo! All he was doing was trying to get more information on the royals so he could be the next liaison from our village, but they took it as the seeds of revolt against the royals!"

Virginia nodded, but Kloitz had not finished. "That's not all I heard, though. I heard them talking about Raine."

Virginia gasped. "What did they say?"

"Apparently word got out about Raine's accomplishments in the Fooji Science Olympiad," he began as he beckoned towards an oversized plaque that lay on the rear wall. Raine had earned that one, beating out elves and humans twice her age. "Anyway, I overheard them and they want her for the Imperial Research Institute in Sybak."

Virginia gasped anew. "We are not giving Raine to them. I'll die before I let them take her. If they do take her, she'll just be locked up in a lab somewhere, forced to work on projects with things like Cruxis Crystals, and never allowed to leave or take credit for her work just because she's a half-elf!"

Kloitz nodded and took his wife's hands into his own. "Virginia, dear, I love you, but even that cannot change the human blood that is flowing through me. Heck, if I had told myself ten years ago that I was to marry an elven woman and have a family, I'd have laughed in my face. I had a great job as a Papal Knight. I wouldn't have given it up for anything. That is, until I met you. I don't care that our daughter is a half-elf. Unfortunately, the Pope thinks those kinds of people should be eradicated. I still can't believe the King let him do that."

The Pope of Tethe'alla was second only to the Imperial family and the Chosen of Mana. No one knew why, but he had an extreme loathing for half-elves. The laws that he had enacted were brutal to those who were not 'clean' in his eyes, and his most controversial law, one that stated that nay half-elf convicted of a crime was to be sentenced to death with no questions asked, turned quite a few heads in the community. There were half-elves that lived in the village, but no one had given any thought to that until the Papal Knights started entering and rounding up half-elves accused of crimes against the Church and King. Kloitz knew all too well that his daughter was going to be another victim very soon.

Unfortunately, he did not take into account that 'soon' in this case meant 'immediately.'

The sound of shattering glass pierced through the quiet of the cottage and shouting could be heard in the background. Along with the shouting came the clinking sounds that could not be mistaken for anything other than the Papal Knights' armor. A small band of Knights were on their way to the house, heedless of anyone in their way. Leading them was a short half-elf with spiky red hair. He had a smug look on his face as he treaded up the path to where the Sages resided. Behind the group, a small throng of people trailed the Knights, yelling at them to stop and leave the poor people be.

The sound of the glass startled both Kloitz and Virginia, and Raine scampered into the room. "What's going on, Mom?" she asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

Virginia looked aghast. "Stay in your room and hide!" she told the young girl. The girl did as she was told and ran to her room. She cleared her throat and tried to collect her thoughts as what she had feared the most threatened to become reality.

The throng stopped short of the Sage's front porch and a Knight stepped up. "Virginia Sage!" he declared. "Report here immediately!"

Virginia looked towards her husband with fear, and he nodded in response. They were going to try to take the diplomatic way out. Virginia cracked open the door and boldly stepped outside, her husband at her side. She walked up to the Knights and stared into the lifeless visor that covered the lead knight's face. Only a cold, cobbled green surface stared back lifelessly.

"Why have you called me out here?" she asked. "Xeno, you bastard!" She turned towards the one that led them there. "You sold us out, didn't you?"

Xeno smiled wryly and chuckled. "My dear, I did not sell you out. I merely acted as a conduit of information. All I did was tell--they were the ones who acted on it." He chuckled malevolently as the lead knight spoke once more.

"Virginia Sage, you are hereby ordered by his Eminence the Pope of Tethe'alla and his Majesty King Tethe'alla the Seventh to surrender custody of a one Raine Sage to us. She has been requested by the Imperial Research Institute to join the ranks of the elite researchers and further the knowledge of this great land."

"You mean 'enslaved by the Research Academy and forced to make discoveries in exchange for her life'?" she spat back at the knight.

"That is what you may perceive it as, but you have no choice. Surrender custody of your daughter or we will be resort to taking her by force."

"You think I'm just going to hand my daughter over to the likes of you? Has anyone that you have demanded for gone over to you on their own free will? I'd rather die," she spoke indignantly.

The knight tilted his head, and stated simply "Fine by me. That can be arranged. He lifted his polearm over his head, in preparation for a strike. Virginia closed her eyes and braced for the impact to come.

That impact never came.

When Viriginia mustered the will to open her eyes again, she saw that a half-elven woman had stepped out in front of her, arms outstretched. She stood her ground staunchly, looking into the cold, lifeless visor of the lead knight.

"Who are you?" were the only words that Virginia could muster to her savior.

"That doesn't matter at this point," she began. "What matters is that you're going around and rounding up innocent half-elves for trivial crimes just because they are half-elves. We half-elves have just as much a right to live and be happy as humans and elves do! Doing this is intolerable, and if you want to take Raine, you'll have to take me on first."

The knight showed no signs of stopping, and raised his polearm a second time. However, he again was interrupted by the sound of a "Wait!" echoing from the crowd. Several half-elves stepped out of the group of civilians and joined the lone stranger in defending Virginia. "We are as one," they stated in unison, and they all took up positions in front of Virginia. As they did this, several other half-elves murmured in agreement and also stepped in front of the knights. Before long, a group of twenty or so half-elves had gathered to confront the Papal Knights.

The lead knight scoffed under his visor. "If you do not disperse," he began, "we will be forced to physically remove you. Now stand aside."

"Try us."

The group of half-elves charged at the Papal Knights. Though outnumbered nearly three-to-one, the Knights fought back, hacking at the attackers with their polearms. Some of the onlookers began to toss rocks and other small items at the Knights, while others preferred the more physical approach and jumped into the foray. Before long, the brawl had reached the other parts of the town, and involved many of the citizens of the small village. Virginia and Kloitz retreated to the safety of their house, and watched the mob stampede towards the village...

By the time the brawl had petered out, the sun had slipped low into the sky, casting long shadows on the entire town and throwing everything into a strange orange hue. The area around the Sages' home had been ravaged and bits of debris lay strewn about the ground. Rocks, pieces of cloth, vegetables, and other debris peppered the landscape. The police had rounded up dozens of half-elves and arrested them, charging them with involvement in the riot. At sporadic intervals lay elves, half-elves and humans alike, groaning in pain from the injuries that they had suffered. Virginia rushed out to treat the wounded, while Kloitz and Riane stood at the broken window, staring out into the field. There was an eerie quiet that pervaded the air, and this quiet lasted long into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Virginia was awakened by the sound of a sharp rapping at her door. She sleepily shuffled to the door and opened it only to find that a note had been nailed to it. She looked at the note curiously. It bore the insignia of the Elf Elder of Heimdall, and its message was brief and final.

"Due to the recent violent events that have occurred, the Elder of Heimdall issues the following decree, effective immediately: All half-elves are hereby banished from Heimdall and its surrounding areas in the Ymir Forest until further notice. We are implementing this as a defensive measure to ensure that the events that so rattled this peaceful village do not happen again.

If you have received this notice, you have twelve hours to vacate your premises and leave Heimdall. If you do not leave within the allotted time, you will be arrested and turned over to the Papal Knights, as this is a matter of Tethe'allan law, not ours."

Virginia looked at the note solemnly and let it slip to the ground. She stared out into the field, noting that snow had begun to fall during the night. Some of the flakes had drifted into her face, melting on contact with her tears. She looked solemnly around, and sighed. She called this area home for a long time now, and to be forcibly removed was such a shock and like a stake in her heart.

"Honey? What's going on?" asked Kloitz from within the house.

Virginia didn't bother to look back into the house. "Pack our bags," she said in a monotone voice, "and get Raine. We have to leave. I have a feeling that this is not the last time that we're going to be seeing the Papal Knights." She walked back into the house for the last time.
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tuxdev · Net Savior Joined: 27 Dec 2005 Posts: 139

A tale of th' highest caliber. Even though I don't know much about Tales o' Symphonia, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Methinks today a bad day ta post this, since it is Talk Like a Pirate day.
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Midnight · Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 3:39 pm Post subject:

It shan't matter. It is in plaintext English. I made sure of that. Once the filters are disabled, it should read as plain, traditional English.

That being said, I'm glad you enjoyed this work.

The fic is far from over--I plan at least three more entries before I wrap it up. But it shall be told as a sequence of vignettes.
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Today, these three players are after Big Bucks! But they'll have to avoid the Whammy, as they play the most exciting game of their lives! From Television City in Hollywood! It's time to 'Press Your Luck!'--Rod Roddy

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**Izumi** · Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 7:27 pm Post subject:

Some o' yer prose has actually lent itself quite well ta th' Piratism. XD

"Virginia Sage, ye be hereby ordered by his Eminence th' Pope o' Tethe'alla and his Majesty King Tethe'alla th' Seventh ta surrender custody o' a one Raine Sage ta us. She has been requested by th' Imperial Research Institute ta join th' ranks o' th' elite researchers and further th' knowledge o' this great land."
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**Sol** · Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 7:34 pm Post subject:

...wow, Izu is right. That really sounds authentic in pirate speak! XDD

But anyway...this is a really nice opening. The whole Virginia backstory is an interesting one, and I haven't seen it done too often. Can't wait to see the rest of it.
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Spork-Queen.EXE · Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:50 pm Post subject:

Ooh, finally got time to read it. XD omg I'm in the dedication! 8DDD *shot*

Anyway! I love it, Mid. I think you've got a great story on your hands, much like your last ToS fic. I reall love the whole backstory you've got going, it's very interesting. I can't wait for the rest of it! :D