A Raid of Evil: A Chrono Trigger Story (standard:fantasy, 9590 words)
Author: Ender	Added: Sep 02 2002	Views/Reads: 3345/2279	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A young girl, named Verenus, from the town of Truce meets a young boy from the forest of Gaurdia. A few years later the couple is married, but something terrible happens to the young boy. What will Verenus do? Her and some hopeful friends make a journey,

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


"I see" Lucca said back placing her hand on her chin...thinking. "You
know, in the back of the castle there are transcripts of everyone ever 
born in Guardia. Anything your mom might have written down would be 
located there. Perhaps the answer to your question can be found down 
thither..." 

Crono, Marle and Lucca all stood up from the table and walked back into
the Castle Storage room as the noon sun beamed down through the ceiling 
windows over head. 

------- 

CHRONO PASTS: A RAID OF EVIL By Ender 

[- PART ONE -] 

ERE CRONO'S FELLOWSHIP 

CHAPTER I 

A MEETING OF TWO -September, 977 AD, Truce Village- 

elcome to Truce Village. A young girl, her name is Verenus, is shopping
in Leene Square for her mother, looking for some apples. The sun is 
shining like a bright candle lit in the darkness of the night. Verenus, 
a twelve-year-old girl born in Medina, walked around looking for an 
apple stand. It was early morning and Verenus noticed that many of the 
stand owners were still setting up their shops; a sword stand, a beer 
stand, and a shoe stand were some of the ones she recognized. The Town 
Square was large, consisting of two main sections- food and items. In 
the lower section fireworks were shot off every night and on parades 
displaying the colors of the Crest to show the peoples love for King 
Gaurdia III. At last Verenus found a small fruit stand in the lower 
section, right corner of the square. The old woman running the stand 
seemed very nice, a smile across her face just to see a customer was 
interested, no matter what age they might be. Her blue and yellow cloak 
flapped like the Medina flag in the warm fall breeze. The woman pointed 
to all the fruit she was selling- oranges, and apples. Verenus directed 
her hand towards the apples. "I see you would like an apple. These 
apples were grown on my farm. I put my life in my fruit, how many would 
you like?" the old woman asked. "My mother is feeling sick and I am 
shopping for her. Do you know my mother, her name is Adria?" replied 
Verenus in a soft, innocent voice. The old woman replied, "Adria. Of 
coarse I know her. Why didn't you say something before? And you must be 
her daughter, Verenus. You know what, I'm going to give you a deal. 
These special apples will make your mother feel much better". The woman 
stepped back from the stand and grabbed some apples to place in the 
bucket. Five red apples Verenus walked away with, waving to the small 
old woman, five less coins out of her pocket. A young boy trekked 
across the square, passing by Verenus staring at her. He ran into a man 
passing by. The man seemed to be in a bad mood and yelled at the boy, 
calling him a fool. The boy to stared at Verenus, not taking his eyes 
off her. Verenus to stared back. She noticed his eyes immediately, how 
distinctive they appeared to be. His blue eyes are glowing like those 
of a cat in the sun, she thought to herself, wondering what he was 
thinking. Moments later a surge of people crowded by a nearby stand, 
the man running the stand was yelling out "I have a cure for 
everything. Hiccups- no problem, red pox (chicken pox)- easy, if you 
are sick at all I can help YOU! For only ten gold coins my medicine and 
I can save your life". The people ran by the old woman's fruit stand 
causing confusion among the man's non-believers. Verenus watched as 
more people passed in front of her and the young boy. After all the 
dust had settled she looked around for the boy. He had seemingly 
disappeared, washed away with the crowd. She decided to leave from Town 
Square back home in the outskirts of Medina. 

It was already 8:00 AM in Truce Village; the sun was still shining in
the sky yet the wind was beginning to blow hard across the dusty 
prairie from the outside of the village where Verenus lived with her 
mother and father. "I am home mother. I have the apples you wanted," 
she said as she entered the doorway of the small home that she lived. 
Her mother, Adria, is a tall, skinny woman in her mid twenties with a 
sickness called Little Bumps (small pox). Verenus looked very much like 
her mother. They both had dark green hair with deep brown eyes and 
Verenus was tall and skinny like Adria. Her father, Julius, was large 
and overweight. He had dark blonde hair with shallow green eyes. He sat 
on a chair all day and was also out of a job. Although a few weeks ago 
he owned a shop in Leene Square, but because he couldn't pay off the 
debt he owed the Chancellor, his stand was taken way. His beard grew 
longer everyday he never worked, and because he never worked Adria was 
relied on to pay all the taxes placed upon them. "Hello daughter", 
replied Juilus in his deep voice, still sitting on his large chair, 
"Your mother is still sick in her room. I want you to take those apples 
to her and make her eat them". Verenus did as she was told and took the 
apples in her small cloth bag up the stairs to the second room in the 
house where Adria slept quietly. "Mother", spoke Verenus in her 
softness voice, "I have the apples you wanted earlier. Please eat them 
mother, they will make you feel better". Adria slowly sat up from her 
tiny bed. "Thank you, Vern", replied her mother, her voice still very 
sick, "Now please leave my bedside so I can rest in peace". Verenus 
left the room and walked down the stairs, listening to her mother's 
hard cough as she went. 

The sun rose up from the dark Earth in a bright fashion unlike no other,
illuminating the morning sky like the blazing fire of candles in the 
church at night. Verenus left the home very early just like the day 
before but this time to meet someone outside. The knock, knock, knock 
of the large wooden door was heard at 6:00 AM. Verenus was the only one 
awake, for she had planned to go back to Leene Square and find the boy 
she had seen just yesterday. But it seemed the boy had come to see her. 
He was dressed in a black and white cloak, a small dark turquoise hood 
over his head, and brown sandals covering his cold feet. His eyes 
staring at Verenus when she opened the door. She was the first one to 
say anything, "Hello" she said in a casual voice, trying to sound as 
normal as possible. The boy stood outside the doorway in the cold 
weather of the early mourning. "Would you like to come inside?" The boy 
simple nodded his head and stepped inside the house. "Thank you", he 
said bowing his head and taking his hat off at the same time, "My name 
is...William. I live across prairie, in Guardia Forest". "Guardia 
Forest?" answered Verenus in a very surprised tongue, "How do you live 
in a forest"? William seemed to not remember how he lived in a forest 
either. He simple said he lived in a log cabin where the King couldn't 
tax him or his family and they could all live in peace, growing their 
own food to eat. Verenus was astounded that someone could do such a 
thing and thought to herself, I wonder if we could do that and then 
mother wouldn't have to work anymore. "William, why don't we go to the 
early mourning festival of King Guardia III? I heard there is going to 
be lots of free food and games to play," said Verenus to William. The 
truth was she wanted to get him out of the house so he would never have 
to see her sick mother or fat father. William figured it would be fun 
and decided to go along with her. He replied back to her "OK why not. 
It should be great fun" in an actually excited voice. 

*** 

After leaving the house it only took William and Verenus five or six
minutes to get to the festival in Leene Square. It was being held for 
the King and his apprentices, the knights, and the chancellor. Large 
balloons could be seen in the distance, firecrackers heard from far 
away. Verenus and William strolled into Leene Square watching as 
everyone prepared for the show to begin. Already many people had 
started to sit down on the long wooden benches waiting with their 
children. A man in knight's armor stepped onto the stage in the lower 
section of Leene Square in front of the inpatient crowd. He lifted his 
mouth protector allowing himself to entertain the people as the show 
was being set up. "Welcome! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, 
children of all ages, the Guardia Castle is proud to bring to you its 
jester champions of the world!" yelled the man in the knight's suit. He 
waved to the curtains and three court jesters came out, all dressed 
differently. The first one started juggling five-colored balls- the 
small crowd grew bigger as each jester did something more interesting 
and fun then the last. The very last one appeared to be a magician and 
he was dressed in all black. He had a wand and was waving it towards 
one of the other jesters as he softly spoke unusual words not known by 
most. Dark clouds appeared in a round circle above the magician as he 
continued to speak magic phrases. Soon lightning struck the wand and 
was magnified to the size of the jester out of the other end pointing 
at one of the clowns. Immediately the colorful jester disappeared just 
as fast as it had juggled the balls. The crowd went wild with 
excitement as the magician bowed to the people. The knight came out 
again to a cheer of boos, for the crowd had figured out that the man in 
the knight's suit was not really a knight. He said to himself, Why did 
I have to get his job, why? "And now lets get ready for the biggest 
festival of the year" said the fake knight "King Guardia the 3rd's 
annual Leene Square soiree!" Verenus and William took a seat on the 
bench and watched as the King himself came out on the stage and waved 
to the crowd to start the show. It was a play, the Kings favorite play, 
called a "passion play". Basically it was a play about Jesus being 
reborn from the cross where he died. King Guardia loved the type of 
play and watched it almost every week. The large purple curtain was 
taken down as the King walked off and took a seat in his headship, next 
to his Queen. The crowd quieted as the actors appeared on the 
proscenium. One actor (playing Jesus) was strapped to a wooden cross, 
another dressed in a black hood stood next to the cross, and many more 
children and adults in the background watching as their beloved savior 
was being killed. In truth most were cheering and yelling for the death 
of Jesus, but the King believed they should honor their Christ. "You 
may kill me at the cross, but you shall not kill my spirit as it stays 
with my people" said Jesus Christ. The large dark man pulled a knife 
out of his pocket and sliced Jesus' wrists and the people all watched 
as Christ died there. The crowd watching the play in Leene's Square 
booed to the death and threw food and other items at the actor 
portraying the killer. The curtains closed as workers changed the set. 
Meanwhile the people of the stadium stood and got the free drinks and 
food from nearby stands. The drink was very bitter, sour wine, while 
the food was dry bread. William fetched Verenus and himself bread and 
wine for a small breakfast. He took his seat just in time for the next 
part of the play. The curtains opened in a small village with many 
people all around. A man walking by screamed out the name of Jesus 
Christ to show his love for him- only to have guards rush out and take 
him away to the Castle dungeon. At that moment a boy walked out on the 
stage holding a small sign and showing it to the audience- "Four days 
later" it said. Once again we were in the town, this time near the 
castle. A man appeared out of the shadows, the same man that had been 
arrested by the guards. He was wearing a white silk robe and his hair 
had grown longer- this man was Jesus Christ. The audience cheered. "I 
have come back alive to show you all that I am God's son. I can help 
everyone of you, God forgives all" spoke Jesus to the people of the 
town. The people waved and also cheered for their savior. Immediately 
castle guards came down the dirt path and tied to grab and kill Jesus, 
but failed, for Jesus could not be captured or killed again- he was a 
spirit. The crowd clapped and showed their love of the play as it ended 
with much success and pleasure. 

Verenus and William walked around the square very pleased with the
performance of the actors and the play all together. William purchased 
his new friend a drink of fine wine at a local stand. "Thank you so 
much William" Verenus said, "I absolutely love that play and this drink 
is excellent".  A huge explosion was heard in front of the two. Verenus 
ran up to the upper level of Leene's Square to find an amazing sight. 
William followed close behind. When he arrived he too was shocked. The 
magician from the play was standing in the middle of a circle casting 
spells everywhere. The small crowd watched as he made lightning strike 
in broad daylight, snow appear on the ground, and levitate himself in 
midair. "I wonder who that is?" asked William to Verenus, "He seems a 
little suspicious. I have never seen a magician do something as great 
as what he has just shown". "Your right. I've never known who he is or 
what he looks like" answered Verenus, acting surprised. The magician 
levitated higher and higher in the air soon disappearing in the bright 
clouds of the sky. The crowd broke up and walked away to do other 
things. Verenus and William stood in the same positions. "Well I must 
be going now" Verenus spoke, looking up towards the sunny sky. "We 
shall meet again young Verenus" replied William, bowing once again. She 
walked away back down to the lower level and watched little kids and 
their parents play at the carnival. Animals were everywhere, goats, 
pigs, cows, and even donkeys stood in the middle of the square. Verenus 
headed back to her house to greet her mother and father to the 
mourning. After arriving home, Adria had already left for the castle, 
where she worked as a maid in the King's Kitchen. Vern's father slept 
in the bedroom alone. She thought to herself, if I go to the castle I 
could explore while mother works or I could help her get the work done 
and then go home for lunch. She the chose number two. Verenus walked 
out of her home and to the castle. Unfortunately she would have to go 
through Guardia Forest to get there. Taking a small dagger along with 
her, Verenus left the house heading to the forest hoping some 
excitement could be found on the way. 

CHAPTER II 

KNIGHTHOOD AND WOMANHOOD -Guardia Castle- 

William, the newly turned fifteen-year-old boy, was headed to the
knight's headquarters in the lower section of Guardia Castle. After a 
few minutes of walking down the long stairway, he arrived. "Greetings 
my master" spoke William the Squire to his master, Knight Gregory II. 
"Why hello there Willie" replied Gregory, a large built man with rosy 
red cheeks and a belly the size of a witches cauldron- it could hold 
just as much too. His arms were like the tree branches of the oak trees 
in the forest, thought William to himself when he first put eyes on his 
master. He has been a squire to Gregory for three years now and he will 
soon be a knight if he keeps up his aggrandized pace. Ever since he was 
a small child William wanted to be a knight. Knights are the most 
respected and honorable people in the entire kingdom, and I could 
become the greatest knight in all the land, he imagined. Knights must 
have excellent swordsmanship, riding ability, and reverence towards 
everyone. That William had. 

Verenus, at fourteen years of age, has just received her first job at
Guardia Castle as a servant. She, like her mother, has started her job 
at an old age. Most girls became maids at five or six years after 
birth, but Verenus has been trying to take care of her very sick 
mother, who was forced to quit her job due to the sickness. "Your first 
job is to clean the knights quarters" said Madam Marcella, the Head 
Maid of the castle, "I trust you can do that alone. Now be off with 
thee". Verenus trotted off towards the dungeon where the knights could 
be found. I can't believe I got this job, the knights quarters...I hope 
William is in there, she thought to herself as the large door 
approached at the bottom of the cold, stone stairs. She opened the 
gigantic door and slowly stepped inside. The air smelled of meats and 
rotten fish yet it was warm and cozy, a fire burned in a fireplace in 
the center of the large room. Men were everywhere, some stood up, 
others sat down, and others drank and ate. Verenus spotted William 
chatting with another young squire near the fire. She walked over 
toward them and sat down next to the other boy. "Welcome", said the 
other squire, "You must be the new maid her to clean our room. Good 
luck" said the young boy. She looked at William and said her greetings. 
"Well, you best be cleaning the room now. I don't want you to get in 
trouble on your first job" replied William to Verenus. She stood up and 
waved goodbye to the two squires and went over to a nearby closet with 
brooms and rags located inside. She opened the small door and 
everything fell out of the cabinet. The men must have tried to put some 
of their stuff in this tiny closet and moved it out making a mess 
inside, Verenus thought. She picked everything up and grabbed the 
broom, which was made of hay, straw and a wooden pole and began 
sweeping. 

*** Five hours later... 

"I'm finally done" Verenus said to William as they both sat down on a
stone bench outside the knights quarters in the courtyard. A beautiful 
fountain spewed clean, clear water up from a shaped stone rock creating 
a sense of freshness and simplicity among two best friends. The water 
splashed up from the fountain like a large whale spewing water from its 
spout; the noise was natural and pure. "Great job, Vern" William said 
in his normal tired voice. The knight's room was left very clean and 
tighty when Verenus left- William was pleased.  But after a long days 
work he was exhausted. Sir Gregory made him fight three other squires, 
run two miles around the forest, and chop down a tree for firewood. 
"Thank you young knight. My day is over, are you done as well?" Verenus 
voiced in her also tired tongue. "Yes thank goodness. I didn't know if 
I was going to make today, fortunately I did. It's getting quite dark 
and sunset is coming soon, we shall leave now. Good night Verenus, I 
will see you at dawn". The two stood up and walked away from the 
courtyard, back towards their own homes for some rest and comfort- the 
next day will be even harder for the both of them. 

William rose up from his small bed, only to find his master, Sir Gregory
II standing over him. His giant belly leaning over his belt in front of 
William. In his deep, loud voice the large knight said, " "Wake up now, 
Willie". Can't you see the light has already reached the castle walls? 
Let us begin the day". William got out of his bed and found an apple on 
the desk near him, in the corner of the room. "I got that for ya 
Willie. Strength is found in what eat, and apples are always strong". 
William grabbed the apple and began sucking his teeth into the juicy 
red apple. "Thank you, sir" replied William with a full mouth. As he 
ate he remembered the orchard his grandmother owns and how he used to 
eat her apples, freshly picked from the trees, growing up near the 
forest. "I put my life in my apples" she used to say, "That's why there 
so delicious". I wonder how grandmother is doing nowadays, thought 
William still eating his apple. I haven't seen her in so long, and 
apples are out of season, what does she do now? Well when I become a 
knight I will always take care of her and my parents. And visit them 
everyday. 

Sir Gregory was waiting outside the knights quarters. William came out
all dressed up in his usual squire clothing- a brown tight garment over 
his arms and body, a small cloth hood over his head, sandals on his 
feet, and tight green pants homemade by his mother out of soft, warm 
fabric. The attire of William did not impress the knight. "OK now. 
First I want ya to gather twenty-five oranges from the tree in the 
forest so we can feed the knights of the round, yes Willie its are turn 
today".  "Yes, sir". He ran off towards the woods where the entrance an 
orange tree stood, forsaken by the people of Medina. Exiting the castle 
William was directly in back of the forest- he followed the clear, 
dusty path through the forest heading to the village. Huge oak trees 
were everywhere, noticed William, taking his time to look around. The 
largest of the trees was ahead, in front of him. The people called the 
tree, "Castle Tax" because its located right near where the King's 
throne room was seen through a window twenty feet up. A small blue bird 
could be heard from atop one of the trees many branches. William heard 
the bird and continued to follow the path, trying not to be distracted. 


Nearing the end of the path William saw three round bushes in a
triangular form at the edge of a tree. He heard a noise from one of the 
bushes, and saw it wave as if in the wind. A small fox popped out of 
the bush. It was a red fox, with red eyes and an evil stare. Growling, 
its teeth showing like thorns ready to cut. William tried to calm the 
animal down, but it was no use the fox attacked him with full force. 
"Get off, get off you stupid fox! AHH! Back, get back I say" William 
screamed at the fox as it jumped on top of him and tried to bite his 
neck. Suddenly William remembered the knife he strapped near his belt. 
He snatched it and stabbed the fox, but not before it got a piece of 
him- biting William's hand, cutting one of his fingers badly. The fox 
fell to the ground and ran off in the woods. William stood up, covering 
his hand with a torn off part of his shirt. He approached the orange 
tree at the end of the forest. William ran up towards it and picked off 
as many oranges as he could carry. Laying them down he counted 
twenty-one. Four more will need to fit in my pocket, thought William, 
then I can head back to the castle and be done with breakfast. 

"Great job Willie. You did it in under a half of an hour" said Sir
Gregory in the knights quarters as all the knights gathered around the 
table for a late mourning breakfast. "All we need now is some fresh 
wine and bread," said one of the knights. "We have it right here," said 
another, "I prepared it while Willie was gone".  After breakfast, 
William went outside to learn a new thing about jousting by his master. 
Everyday Gregory taught something new to William, often about jousting 
or fighting. "Today I'm going to teach ya how to dodge the pole without 
falling off your horse. First you have to use one hand to hold on to 
the horses harnesses. The other hand you use to hold your joust. Now 
when some is aiming for ye head you should do what?" Gregory asked. 
"Drop the joust and lean to the opposite side" replied William. 
"Correct! Great job. Now I must go back to see the King. He has ordered 
a meeting with me, so I'm off. You can just practice what I've been 
showin' ya." Sir Gregory trotted off to see the King. William thought 
to himself about what to do. Should I go see Verenus? he wondered. Or 
practice what to do with a joust? William decided to practice and have 
some fun. 

Sir Gregory arrived at the castle a few moments later to be greeted by
the King. "Why hello there Gregory" the King said softly. "I need to 
talk to you. It is very important..." 

"Yes your highness" replied the knight. They both sat down at a large
square table. Above it was a banner with the King's Crest upon it. 
"Gregory... we are about to have a war. A war with the Mystics. I can't 
stop it from coming. You see a new leader has arisen to take the 
Mystics to the top of the ladder. His name is Ozzie XII and he is even 
more powerful then his previous fathers. We must set up an army to go 
and destroy them. I trust you can set one up within one year, am I 
right?" 

"Of coarse your highness" Gregory said. I can't do that! Not even
William is ready yet. "Will you grant knighthood to one of my squires?" 
"Why of coarse I will. As long as he is ready. Bring him to me 
immediately." The King replied soothingly. Seconds later the large 
Crest Banner came falling down over the King and Sir Gregory, the 
candles all went out and loud disturbing noise could be heard in the 
castle. "What is going on?" yelled the King. Gregory ripped the banner 
from their heads and watched in complete horror as the Mystics 
surrounded them. Ozzie directly in front of King Guardia. "Well, well, 
well. Look what we have here, boys. A King and his lead Knight. Ha ha 
ha ha!" Ozzie XII said spitting as he spoke. "But don't worry we won't 
hurt YOU King". 

The Mystics grabbed Sir Gregory and pulled him into the darkness they
had created in the now cold castle. "NOOOOO!" screamed the King. A dark 
cloud surrounded Ozzie as they disappeared into the shadows and the 
burnt candles suddenly cam back on. "I can't believe it. What shall I 
do now?" King Guardia said. "They attack us already. I dearly hope 
William is ready...to lead an army." 

Verenus heard the news faster then anyone else had. That was because she
was William's boyfriend. But nonetheless she heard it first and was 
shocked. "How can such a young boy lead an army?" she said to one of 
the other maids. Her name was Valentine. "All the years I have been 
here I have never seen such a boy run a colony of soldiers." Valentine 
spoke.  Verenus was actually really happy for William. She was excited 
he was going to get the experience of being a leader and learn how to 
be a fierce warrior. 

William himself was also in complete disarray. Why had I been chosen? he
thought. Couldn't one of the older soldiers run the army? Why me?  The 
King said he picked William because he was the smartest out of all the 
men there and he knew exactly what do. He said it was blood instinct. 

CHAPTER III 

SAVAGED MATRIMONY -Truce Village- 

The first battle was approaching. William knew it everyone knew it. The
Mystics were coming faster and faster from the mountains, weapons in 
hand, a leader in front. Ozzie XII was planning to destroy the city of 
Truce first, then attack the castle while its people were hurt.  
William knew it himself. He, along with two others- Frog X, and a young 
boy named Tajada had climbed the hilltop and listened in on the Mystics 
draft to kill everyone. 

The battle came sooner then anyone would have expected. The Mystics
charged in the village, burning everything in sight. Quickly William 
ran his army after them, bow-and-arrows in hand, swords, and horses 
galloping.  Ozzie retreated himself and left the rest of his bogies to 
die. Only a few survived, William couldn't have hoped for more in his 
very first battle against the Mystics. 

*** Two days later... 

"William. I've been thinking" Verenus said in the castle corridors of
the maids room. "Yes. What would that be?" William replied. He was only 
in the maid's room to talk to Verenus, so he was. "I think we should 
get married. And maybe have a child". "You know what? I think your 
right" William said back staring right into her beautiful brown eyes. 

Verenus decided to set up the wedding. It will be great, she thought to
herself. The cake would be chocolate with white topping- William's 
favorite.  The guest list was totaled to sixty-one people, including 
all the parents and family. While William was preparing for a war with 
the Mystics, Verenus was preparing for her wedding. A week later, 
everything was ready. It was all set up and in place. She had her dress 
and Willie had his suit. It was perfect, she thought. 

The day of the wedding was extremely hectic. Verenus waited in her room
to be called out be her best maid, Valentine. William was standing out 
in Leene Square, all dressed up and awaiting for his soon-to-be bride. 
'Dum, Dum, da Dum...Dum, Dum, da Dum', the music played and William 
watched as his lovely girl came down the aisle. Verenus was excited. 
Even her mother and father had showed up to see.  Everyone was in awe 
at the amazing dress she wore. It was all white with a long gown and 
glowing sparkles all over. Two small boys held the gown up from the 
ground. After what seemed like hours Verenus was finally up at the 
podium with William. The wedding was outside and so the 2:00 O'clock 
sun shown down on the people in they're seats. Flowers had been placed 
all around, and the priest walked up to the stand and started the 
wedding. ...Blah, blah, blah, blah-blah, blah..."William, do you take 
this lovely Verenus as your beloved wife"? "I do". "And Verenus do you 
take this handsome William as your beloved husband"? "I do". "Anyone 
who has any objections please speak now, or forever hold your peace" 
said the priest. "I...I object. Where am I? No. Wait, okay. I'm okay, 
okay?" Julius, Verenus' father, spoke out. "Father! Sit down, please, 
Father!" Verenus yelled back at him. "You may now kiss the bride" the 
Priest continued. Verenus and William placed a ring on each other's 
fingers and started kissing, dramatically. "Yay!" the crowd cheered in 
unison. Suddenly everyone grabbed his or her things, said goodbye and 
left for home to do more important stuff. Like water the plants, and 
bake the bread. "Thanks for coming" Verenus told each person that 
walked by. Together they got three presents. "Looks like some people 
forgot to buy us stuff" William noticed, looking around the tables that 
had been set up earlier. "Oh well, Verenus replied. One thing she was 
quick to see was that the Priest was still standing near the pedestal. 
He, like that of deception, kept a hood above his head and a cape on 
his back, as if to shroud what he really was inside. A scythe at his 
side, he stood like a statue over looking the ocean view that could be 
seen in the distance of Truce. This man neither Verenus nor William had 
ever seen before, but he seemed utterly disturbing. "Excuse...I don't 
think your our priest. Who...who are you?" Verenus spoke suddenly at 
the man, still looking into the waves of water. "Hello..." she tried 
again, but still no answer. Finally a few seconds later he said 
something. It was a whisper, but William still heard it. ""I am from 
the past and the future. I know who you are, but you have no trace of 
which I am. A boy, that of benignity, will mount to his epithet to 
claim his possession as a hero. By use of his sword he will destroy the 
evil that was brought apon him, and nothing but I can stop him. The boy 
will be your son and he-" 

"We have no son!" yelled William at the man, interrupting. "We just got
married you nitwit!" "A fool I am not. YOU will have a son and he WILL 
save the world. I am here to stop that! My name is Magus, just remember 
that- for your journey of terror is about to begin...and it starts with 
you!"  He pointed a finger at William. With that Magus took his scythe 
and swung it across William's neck, hacking it completely off, killing 
the Castle Hero, right after his first victory in war. A devastating 
laugh ran through Verenus' blood as he walked away in a black portal 
and disappeared.  'Ha, ha, ha, muh ha, ha, ha!' 

*** 

For three days she did not eat. Hardly drank anything at all, only
water. During that time, she lost her job at the castle as a maid and 
probably lost ten pounds. After being married only two hours, she was 
already a widow. Her husband was dead and she had no job, her mother 
was as sick as ever and her father was getting fatter by the day and 
still had no money. What am I going to do? she said to herself 
everyday. My husband- gone, my job- vamoose. I have lost everything!  
After much thought she decided to leave her home. Find out what she 
really meant in life, and do what she had to do. She told her other and 
father. "Hey! You can't leave us! This home was meant for you. I am 
here for you." Julius tried to say. Verenus ignored his complaints and 
spoke only with her sick mother, Adria. "Mother, I am leaving you my 
only gold I have left. I stored it under my bed for two whole years, 
just in case an emergency arose. So here you go mother. I am off 
tomorrow morning". She gave Adria 250 gold coins (about $2,100). "Thank 
you" her mother said softly. "I love you so much. And I hope you 
succeed at whatever you choose to do". 

The next day, Verenus left her home on a journey. Along the way she met
some unfortunate business. The worst thing that could happen just did. 
"Why hello there young lady. And whets your name?" asked one of the Los 
Cowboys. "It doesn't matter" she replied back boldly.  "It does to me!" 
he called back swinging his huge arm at her face, pelting it as hard as 
he could. Verenus fell to the ground and quickly stood back up. "My 
husband was in the army" she screamed at the man. "I can take you!" The 
large man grabbed her and threw her down onto the dirty ground. Once 
again she go up, this time more slowly. "I...I...I will get you...you 
mean...sonofabit**!" 

"Ha" said the man. "That's a good one. No one will ever be able to beat
me up, especially a girl. Ha, ha, ha, ha!" 

"She may not be able to destroyeth ye. But, thy caneth." It was Frog XII
(Frog the Twelfth). "I shall killeth thy and thy's weaketh men". Frog 
pulled the ancient MasaMune from his belt and stabbed the man with it 
in the gut. The cowboy screamed in pain and fell to the ground. The 
other men ran away scared of the frog. 

"Thank you" Verenus told Frog XII. "I owe you one." 

"Youeth owe thy more then oneth." Frog replied. His voice was very odd,
and he talked funny. Have you ever seen a five-foot tall frog? I don't 
think so. "Thy wants to joineth ye's party. Thy shall helpeth youeth on 
your journey". 

"Um...okay. Whatever you say Froggie" said Verenus walking forward to
the bridge. "I don't really care who follows me as long as its not 
creeps like those. Thanks again". 

Frog decided not to say anymore and just followed her across the long
bridge. Frog quickly remembered his great-great-great-great grandfather 
telling him about this bridge. How they had all fought the Mystics and 
won. That was when Magus was controlling everything, him and Ozzie.  
Verenus was walking pretty fast and the end of the bridge was nearing. 
Frog heard a voice yelling behind them. It sounded very familiar. 

"Wait! Wait for me you guys. Please slow down. Wait!" the voice was
calling. Verenus turned around and saw who it was. Frog too remembered 
who it was. "Tajada". 

"What are you doing hereth Tajada?" asked Frog XII. They were good
friends after William taught both of them how to use a sword, so he 
knew why he was following. "Thy just trying to copy me aren't you? 
Wanna be just like me, huh? Well, that's okay with me. I know I have a 
lot of fans and everything-" 

"I want to help Verenus" Tajada interrupted proudly. "I know she just
lost her husband. I feel so bad for you Vern. What can I do to help 
you? Anything, just name it." Frog was angry by the way that he was 
acting. Verenus ignored both of them and kept walking across the 
bridge. After getting safely back on land, she surveyed her perspective 
of the land. 

"Listen! We have to get going. I want to find the man that killed my
husband. His name is Magus that's all I know. Can any of you tell me 
about him, where he lives or something?" Verenus called out to the Frog 
and young boy. They both frowned, but suddenly Frog remembered 
something his father had told him. 

"I knoweth something!" Frog XII yelled. "Thy father toldeth me that the
great Magus lived in 600 AD. Back wheneth the Mystics were trying to 
killeth all thy humans. You see he turned thy great-great-great-great 
grandfather into a frog. Glenn was his nameth, but after he challenged 
Magus, he was transformed into a frogeth. Thy shall not under estimate 
Magus...wait, he's dead. Its 981 AD. He can't haveth lived for 500 
years." 

"502 years to be exact. I believe he was born in 579, my
great-great-great-great grandfather told me. He was alive during that 
time" Tajada snickered. Verenus stared at him and he quickly stopped 
being foolish. 

"Well I saw him come through a black gate. Maybe he went through the
gate like a time machine and came to this time to stop me from having 
my child. He said my son saved the world in the future and he wanted to 
stop that from happening, by...by killing my husband" Verenus pondered. 
She looked up into the dark sky. Realizing what time it was she walked 
over to a nearby town, Porre. Frog and Tajada followed. "We will stay 
the night here," she said. I have no money though. Frog? Tajada?" 

Frog had no pockets and therefore had no money also. Verenus stared at
Tajada. He was loaded with gold they quickly found out. The night was 
spent at an inn in Porre. Verenus couldn't stop thinking about the 
statue of Magus outside her window. Why is that there? she thought to 
herself, trying to go to sleep. "Good nighteth, everyone" Frog said 
before falling asleep. "Your welcome for alleth the help thy gaveth 
you". 

The next morning the sun shone brightly through the stain-glass windows
of the hotel room they stayed in. We must be off to day, Frog thought. 
If we don't something terrible might strike again. Magus...we shall get 
you. They ate breakfast, and quickly left the town. Verenus was headed 
to Melchior's house, just up and across the lake from Porre. A boat 
will get us there, she thought. Magus your mine! 

CHAPTER IV 

CHASING THE MAGI -Melchior's Hut- 

Verenus found a small rowing boat to the side of a dock. She noticed it
was missing one paddle and so they couldn't use. Frog looked at the 
boat and got an idea. "You two can get in the boat and I will swim on 
the outside, peddling us to the shore" he said. They both did as he 
said and Frog started swimming to Melchior's house. Tajada noticed how 
windy it was outside, early in the morning. This caused the waves to 
get bigger every gush of air, making it even harder for Frog XII to 
push the small boat. Soon they reached the piece of land that Melchior 
lived. Verenus got out of the boat along with Tajada and Frog jumped 
out of the water and started walking towards the small hut. 

They knocked on the door. Knock, knock, knock... a voice was heard in
the background. It belonged to Melchior. "Hello? Who is it?" he said 
slowly opening the wooden door.  "It is me, Verenus. You know from the 
castle. I used to work there as a maid. Guardia Castle...?...ring any 
bells?" she replied not being very patient.  "Yes, yes, hold your 
horses I'll be right there" replied a voice. Moment's later Melchior 
opened the door and welcomed the three young wanderers inside his 
humble home. He motioned them to sit down at a nearby couch he had 
against a wall close a warm fireplace, glowing with heat. "Now, what 
can I do for you three? Would you like some fresh tea perhaps?" 
Melchior asked them sitting down himself. "Oh, no thank you. That's not 
why were here. You see..." and Verenus explained the whole story to 
Melchior, "And that's how we ended up here. We need to know how Magus 
came back from 600 AD to this time. I don't see it possible".  Melchior 
stood up from his seated position and started pacing. "There is this 
thing" he explained, "It's called a time portal. And using the 
space-time continuum you can move back and forth between time eras. 
Magus obviously used a portal and traveled through it to get to you. 
And if it's as you have told me then the son that you would have had 
will not be born. I'm sure something very important that will happen in 
the near future that will allow Magus to rule the world or something. 
Of coarse it's just a hunch". 

At this point Verenus stood up. "What can we do? There must be something
we can do to stop Magus and get my vengeance for William". Melchior 
replied, "As a matter of fact I can do something for you today. But 
first let me explain one thing to you. A long time ago I lived in a 
great castle with two other fellow time geniuses. Together we came up 
with something that would allow us to travel back in time to study the 
early traces of our ancestors to reveal the formula to eternal life. 
This idea was of coarse not our idea; it was a cruel Queen that only 
cared about herself. We were all forced into doing it through 
incredible magical powers held by her. After we came up with the idea 
for the time portal we decided to test it out and go back in time. I 
myself was the one sent. I stepped through the gate and found myself in 
a jungle surrounded by huge dinosaur-like creatures. After coming back 
through the gate I described it to the Queen and my colleagues. The 
evil Queen took the idea for her own and used it against our will, you 
see because the gate was still fragile and still needed small repairs, 
yet she did not listen and banished all of us forever from the kingdom. 
Unfortunately her son was named Janus. He grew up like a normal 
prince-worthy boy with an older sister named Schala. Janus loved his 
sister so much that he would do anything for her. Anyway after Schala 
went away on an important trip to save her people Janus was angered 
that his mother didn't allow him to go with his sister, telling him 
that she was making a foolish mistake. From that point on Janus was 
forever evil. Now he has attacked you. He changed his name after 
leaving the kingdom. He is now known as Magus".  Melchior was pleased 
with his description and walked off into the kitchen to pour himself 
some more tea. While he was gone Verenus, Tajada, and Frog gathering in 
a small circle had a group discussion. 

"Listen you guys we have to get Melchior to show us how to use that gate
thing. Then we can go get Magus and stop him from taking over the world 
and maybe we can save William" said Verenus speaking softly. "Thy be 
correct, we shall all needeth to useth the portal. Thy must tryeth to 
speaketh to Sir Melchior" Frog replied back. Tajada stood quietly 
thinking to himself. "I've got it! I know exactly how to get him to 
tell us how to use the gates," he finally said. Moment's later Melchior 
came back over and sat down in a chair. He seldom spoke while drinking 
his tea, so all was silent for the time being. After a short interim of 
speaking Tajada broke the muteness. "Melchior we need to know how to 
use the gate thing". Slurp, slurp, slurp. "Tea is the greatest 
invention ever" he responded loudly, "So you need to know how to use 
the portals? Well let me tell you something: I don't ever want to use 
that again. Ever, okay?" Verenus cried back, "You won't need to use it, 
only us, and just for a short while. Just until we can find Magus. 
That's all". 

Melchior stood up again and thought about the idea, placing his teacup
on a small wooden table next to the chair in the corner of the room. 
Outside the window the sun was setting down from the hilltops of the 
mountains like a heavy rock sinking to the bottom of the ocean. He 
continued to stare at the ground and think about what to do next. At 
last he spoke. "I shall let you use the gate. But only you. If anyone 
else goes with you, then all of you will be lost in space. At this 
point the portals can only hold three people, so don't even try more. 
Now, the sun bending towards the ground and little light can be seen. I 
will explain to you everything you need to know about the gates in the 
morning. Please, get some rest. I will be up thinking all night, so I 
don't want to be bothered by silliness. Good night." 

*** Early next morning... 

Frog was the first one up. He couldn't sleep most of the night because
of the bright moon that shone in the stars. He walked up the short 
staircase leading to the upper part of the house. There he found 
Melchior standing over a table working on some sort of invention, or 
time portal. He decided not to disturb him and went back downstairs and 
woke up his friends. Verenus got up off the ground and ran upstairs 
immediately. "Melchior", she said. "We need to get an early start. Are 
you ready for us to begin our space-time journey to find Magus"? 
Melchior looked up from his table stared at Verenus. "It's ready," he 
said. He grabbed a small crystal necklace with a bright shining blue 
stone hanging from the lace and handed it to the young girl. "All you 
have to do is put it around your neck and speak the time you wish to 
travel into the stone. A gate will open up and you just step into it 
along with your two friends, and only two friends, and off you'll be. 
But remember this: do not lose this necklace. If you do, or if it gets 
destroyed then you can never return to this time period. So be very 
careful: do not forget my counsel." Melchior spoke softly. "We won't" 
Tajada replied. Verenus placed the necklace around her neck and said 
goodbye to Melchior. Frog XII thanked their host and left the house 
with Tajada. Soon they were on their way to Magus. 

Verenus knew that she couldn't just open a gate a go through and simple
catch Magus that easily. She knew that they had to go where Magus would 
have lived if he were in their time period. So Frog led the way towards 
Heckrah Cave, just north of Melchior's Hut, followed by Verenus and 
Tajada, who was closely keeping watch for dangerous creatures with his 
deadly sword. Finally they reached the spot where Magus' castle would 
be in 981 AD. Here Verenus decided to use the necklace's stone. She 
pulled it out of her collared shirt and pressed her thumb to the 
brightly shining stone. "Year 600" she said closing her eyes and 
rubbing the stone. The sky turned dark blue and clouds lined the 
heavens like an army entering battle.  Suddenly a large blue portal 
opened up in front of the fellowship. It shone bright colors of blue, 
black and purple swirling around in the gate. Verenus was the first one 
to step inside and travel through time. Tajada excitable ran off into 
the portal screaming, "YEAH!" Frog was last to step through. He found a 
note on the ground before he went through. He pushed it slowly into his 
pocket and leaped into the gate. 

*** 

Verenus found herself in front of an enormous citadel with large stone
statues clinging to the black rock walls. Evil facades shone over their 
dark menacing faces with bright yellow eyes overlooking the castle, 
much like Magus himself had done to William.  Moment's later Tajada 
popped out of the gate. Followed by Frog. Then the portal closed and 
disappeared back into space. "Aha. Magus's Castle. We are here at last; 
now let us receive our revenge," cried Verenus raising her hand in the 
air grasping her small knife. "Behold Magus, your demise is nearing" 
Tajada yelled out also waving his sword in the air. Frog looked up at 
the castle and cried out, "Vengeance is ever so fresh. Thy shall 
destroyeth thou". 

The MasaMune was gleaming in the spicy breath of the stronghold. Frog
could hear whispering voices advancing from his brand. "What has 
happened to Magus, Mune? I tell you he has definitely changed." "Of 
coarse he has. Obviously he's jealous of Crono for saving the world, 
Masa. What do you expect? He's probably going to kill our master and 
then take us to help him. Most definitely, were the strongest." I don't 
know, Mune. We better be careful from now on. Don't make any little 
mistakes like you have been. This Magus character seems like he knows 
what he's doing. I am not even sure if these friends of ours can take 
him on. I say we should summon 'you know who'. Perhaps he can help 
us..." they trailed off. 

The gigantic gates in front of the castle opened up as if allowing
entrance. An evil shadow appeared out of the darkness covered in black. 
It was Magus. "You think you can stop me, do you?" he spoke. His voice 
was deafening to human ears, even as a whisper as it so was. "I killed 
your husband. You think you can kill me? I wouldn't go there if I were 
you young ones. You see I helped save the world in the future. If you 
were somehow able to destroy me, the world would be gone by the time 
you were thirty. Without me your son wouldn't have saved the Earth. But 
that's okay now, for your son will never be born. I have killed his 
father and now you cannot have him. Ha, ha, ha! I have already won the 
battle. You can't do anything." His laugh was even worse then his 
voice. "I will get my revenge. My vengeance of William." Verenus cried 
back, "I will do it for William".  Tajada grabbed his sword and held it 
at his side. "And I shall help her" he yelled at Magus. "You can't do 
anything" Magus said again, "I could destroy all of you easily with 
just one blast from my finger. And what about you Froggy? I turned your 
papa into a frog and I can turn you into whatever I wish, can't I? Of 
coarse I can. Listen to me now: if you do not leave this instant I will 
kill all of you and I will be the one to save the world. Not anyone 
else, me. Only me. Leave me!" Verenus screamed out, "I will not leave 
without a fight". "Thy shall always fight" Frog XII yelled triumphantly 
raising the MasaMune once again.  "As you wish, friends" Magus spoke 
softly, his eyes looking at the ground. Suddenly he yelled out and 
pointed his hands into the air. The air became extremely cold and the 
dark clouds turned black striking dark lightning over the citadel. A 
huge raven circle rose into the air from Magus' hands. It beamed and 
shone brightly in the sky. Magus lowered his hands swiftly and the dark 
object smashed into the ground blowing away anything in it's path, 
including the fellowship of three. "Good bye for now" he said 
disappearing back into his castle, the gates closing behind him. 

---End Part One---


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