As the rain continued to pour into the stadium, the stands continued to fill. Soon, nearly every seat in the building was occupied- It seemed the entire city had come to see the opening cerimony, and likely others from other cities around Barius. Between the roar of the crowd, the roar of the rain, and the boom of the thunder, those unused to hearing the mixture of noises could soon find themselves with a rather bad headache. And, as if on cue with a bolt of lightning streaking across the sky, the crowd began to silence itself...
..As he appeared.
Flanked by his knights, he looked quite dignified and proud. His long royal blue coat billowed behind him in the wind just a bit, although he kept it buttoned higher up so that it could still serve it's purpose. Beneath that, he wore royal blue pants, matching his jacket, and armored combat boots. Those with better sight could also see just a bit of armor just under where his coat closed. Brushing some white hair out of his eyes, he looked over the crowd as they silenced. He began walking forward, twards a part of his private box that appeared to serve as a podium of sorts, as the rest of his Knights took their seats. As he stood tall, overlooking all his subjects...A slight cheer began. It soon grew, and Vaniyakna simply opened his arms, as if to accept his peoples praise and applaud. Soon enough, he began beconing them to become silent again, as he began his speech. His voice was cold and harsh, as if he knew that there were people listening that shouldn't.
"My people, I welcome you to the first Clzisytch Meet. Total we celebrate the completion of the new flagship of the Barian Armada, Clzisytch. This new ship shall allow us to usher in a new era of Barian history, when we may finally obtain what's been kept from us for so long: A new land to call our own. To our particpants- I wish you all luck, and remember- To the winner goes whatever his heart desires. My fellow countrymen- Let the games begin!"
Vaniyakna simply turned and walked twards his sheltered seat within his box as the people's cheering began anew. Kumiko had the choice of staying around for awhile and watching the few extra festivities the opening cerimony would yeild, or leaving with the main crowd. As for the participtants in the tournament, they where being ushered down to the field and were sectioned off to their brackets, and given their first opponents. Kelne was the first of the group to fight- He'd be in the Blitz Arena later on in the day, fighting with a man named Indy. Reako was next, against a man simply known as "The Executioner" in the Zone Desert arena. Jak was against someone going by the name of Wendy in Blizzardia at the same time Kyle was schedualed to take on a man named Cruz in Hailon. Finally, the last match of the group's for the day- Blaze Vs. Nezetta in Blizzardia, after Jak's match. However...Those who had looked for Nezetta in the stadium came up empty handed. It seems she had not come for one reason or another.
Those in need of transportation to their arena didn't have far to search- Small groups were gathering to take public transport, and nearby, a couple mages were offering to teleport those in need for a small fee- 200 Kurlens, roughly 100 Gil. Of course, for those wanting to travel and see the sights alone, there was a place or two to be found where one could easily rent out a chocobo.
------
Meanwhile, in the alley where Chancellor Smartz's dead body lay, a dark figure crouched, inspecting the wounds, while muttering to themselves.
"It will not be easy...However, I must try."
And with a sigh, the figure began channeling energy into themselves, working them into a spell for healing the most grevious of wounds- A reviving spell for the recently deceased.
-----
Inverse quickly found the liquor store he was looking for. Making the exchange with the clerk short and sweet, he quickly began heading southbound, out of the city and twards the marshy regions south of the City of Storms...And a rather notorious set of ruins.
(Edit: You'd think I'd remember to include everything, after taking a damned month to post.)
Edited by: Shinigori V2 at: 1/27/04 12:32 am