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<01/16/1972 – 11:30 | Blue Port Town, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
Soft winds carry the chirps from the trees to the air, breathing life into the young sunny day. Today is Sunday, and for any day in the near winter, Sprawn Valley is getting some rather warm weather down in the Gulop sector. Being that today is January 16, 1972, many would have expected the possibilities of snowfall in one of the regions, but Gulop's geographic location makes this less likely. Departing from her home town of Fronas, Jane begins her long planned journey. The path connecting Fronas and Blue Port Town must first be crossed in order for her to truly begin. Though the remaining trek is only a thirty minute walk, this is how everybody in Sprawn Valley must travel.
Based in a time period where automobiles have become popular, Sprawn Valley has long since denied building roads for cars to travel on. Therefore, everybody travels on foot, or by boat to cross the seas. A thirty minute walk however is not bad at all. Jane is currently at peace with this, walking from Fronas to Blue Port Town with her two trusty friends by her side. With so much to talk about, the trip is anything but boring.
"I'm still kind of in shock that this is all happening so fast!" Jane was addressing the people behind her with a most excited, yet soft spoken voice. Without turning her head completely, she acknowledged that they were still following her.
Taylor processed what Jane was saying slowly. Taking in all of the beautiful sights around her, she felt at peace again with the current situation. The two towns of Fronas and Blue Port are all built in the middle of low density forests. Because of this, nature is always surrounding everybody, especially right here. The path north from Fronas sort of narrows down a bit, but the path is also clear of any trees that would otherwise get in the way of walkers. The ground itself is different in texture from the spawn of dying grass or planted hay, but the sunlight's glare against the green lit tops of the branches made Taylor feel at home in ways nothing else could. Although, home for Taylor was back in her country, Kalamo. Kalamo is defiantly not well known for its forests, lush terrain, or even the daily dose of sunlight, all thanks to the urbanization there. Today was really nice out though, set with perfectly clear skies and the smell of fresh air. This gave Taylor plenty of reason to get well distracted from the conversation.
It was all the same anyway. Jane was constantly rubbing in to herself that she was finally an official Leray wielder. After working hard to graduate from the Dakota training facility back in Fronas, both Jane, Danny, and Taylor were now legally allowed to take part in Leray battles around the entire country. The law here requires one to have a Leray wielder's license in order to battle with other people, which can only be obtained by graduating from one of many Leray training facilities inside the country. The difference is, Jane has been trying so hard to train for a perfect mastery of her skills; she had been waiting for this moment forever. It explains her excitement well, but it was beginning to get repetitive. At least that's what Taylor thought of it. "You're at that again? Jane, I know it's a happy moment, but don't you think you should cool off? Just a little?"
Danny sighed at Taylor's remark, walking just behind them both. Danny was Taylor's best friend, apparent after growing up together in the country of Kalamo, but he and Taylor were both Jane's newest friends too. After all he went through, he knew Jane pretty well by now. Danny managed to graduate from Dakota too; he, Taylor, and Jane all have their Leray wielders license now. That is the very reason they were traveling to Blue Port Town in the first place. Now that it was time to begin the journey with Jane, it's like she cannot calm down. Though he was talking to Taylor now, Danny meant for Jane to hear what he had to say too. "Cool off? Yeah, like that'll ever happen. Jane's totally psyched about her next battle."
"You best believe I am!" Jane; only sixteen years old held her excitement beside her pride. She knew that her expressive mood was not very mature, but she couldn't help herself right now. Every time she thinks about battling someone, it gets her really excited. Jane loves the arts of Leray magic, especially the battles, but it's only today that she has the chance to evolve her dreams into reality. Jane thus continued marching forward. There was nobody on the path except for the three of them, but Jane knew that she would soon be in Blue Port Town again. "I know I said I was going to wait on battling until Monday, but I might just get carried away on purpose."
Typical Jane. Taylor was at least happy that Jane was acting this way, simply because, this is how Jane always is. She might not seem like your typical mature teenager, but Jane's constant excitement and energy is partially contagious. Taylor wasn't as excited as Jane was to try her first battle in Blue Port, but the idea sure wasn't going to be lame compared to past standards.
Taylor and Danny both decided a while back to tag along with Jane on her journey for several reasons. First off, Jane is native to this world, while Danny and Taylor are not. Only arriving here about four weeks ago, Danny and Taylor had to learn everything there was to know about Sprawn Valley and Leray magic the hard way, which is still an ongoing process. But after meeting this energetic Jane, she had accepted both of them as her best friends. After learning about Leray magic as well as the battles involved with it, how could they not get hooked on the very idea? Jane plans to travel all over Sprawn Valley and train by battling everybody to get stronger. This means that by following and helping Jane on her journey, Danny and Taylor would eventually end up in the Junon sector of Sprawn Valley, despite the likely slow pace.
This in turn was their plan. Danny wasn't exactly looking forward to getting anywhere near that airport, but it cannot be avoided forever. At least this way, he and Taylor can travel with a friend to their doomed destination, and because Jane is unlikely to rush her entire journey all the way over there, it will give him more time to develop a better plan to protect Taylor from the oncoming mess in the future.
But Jane has even bigger dreams than just getting stronger. She is aiming as high as one can possibly go; Jane's objective is to conquer the idea of Leray battling. Her plan is to get so powerful and good at Leray matches, that Jane will then be able to challenge the champion. Not one of them knew the man's name, but the champion of Leray wielding is supposedly the strongest man in all of Sprawn Valley, currently residing at the top of Eldora Tower like a king. They say that anyone who can beat the champion will prove themselves worthy of becoming a Leray master, and that is Jane's ultimate dream, to become a Leray master by any means necessary. It's a long and hardcore kind of system to follow, but it is supposed to be fun as well.
Of course, Jane also plans to turn her entire life style of Leray battling into a full career. That's easier said than done. In Leray matches, each challenger must set a reward spoil, a bet to make the winning title more interesting and motivate each player. People often use their credits as reward spoils to increase the amount of money they have, should they emerge victorious. That means that by battling and winning the battle after placing a bet of credits, the victor can become richer than they were before. It's much like gambling, but in order for one to turn Leray fighting into a career, their bets must be placed carefully. Their wins must also be much more frequent than their losses. Losing a battle over and over will bring one's credit count to a swift end.
So it sure was not going to be easy. Taylor knew it; Danny knew it, but it was rather questionable to see if Jane was aware of it. Danny noticed more than anybody else at times that when Jane is psyched up about something, she is also highly confident, perhaps overconfident to her dismay. Danny knew that it would not go well for Jane if she can't focus in a battle, and he has had plenty of examples to sprout this knowledge. The practices and challenges that all of them faced in the Dakota training academy were no easy tasks. "You know, you getting carried away isn't going to make it easy for you. You have to accept that you may not win the first few battles." Jane would probably take offense to that, but Danny couldn't tell himself it was false advice.
Jane could feel her entire body tense up quickly in anger. Danny does this all the time, always mocking her abilities or her capacity. He really just wants to show off and pretend he is better than her, even after all those times before when Jane proved her place in front of his. "Look Danny. I'm not going to lose my very first battle. It's important that I win at least once since it is my first time. But I wouldn't be surprised if you lost five in a row."
"What was that?!" Again, Danny was being mocked by Jane. All he was doing was cautioning her. He was quickly reminded how annoying Jane could be. She's such a brat!
Taylor sighed in defeat at those two. Jane and Danny fought a lot over little disagreements about which one was better than the other in relation to magical potential. Though it is true that Danny has never actually proven himself in front of Jane either. Still... Danny is fifteen years old, same as Taylor, and Jane is sixteen, yet the two of them don't even act their age half the time. Maybe they just have too much energy? Taylor knew it would be best to stop it before it gets any worse. She'll be damned before hearing this all the way to the next town. "Would you two give it a rest? We'll be in town soon enough. After that, battle with each other all you want."
Danny winced at the idea. "Me? Battle her?!" Danny never really thought about how that might turn out. What if Jane's first choice in who to battle ends up being himself? The things Jane was capable of just in training, it was already scary enough as a thought.
Jane smiled in confidence again. Taylor's idea rocks! But battling with Danny would have the slight aftertaste of being too easy. "What's the matter? You scared?"
"No I'm not scared!" Danny defended. "You want to battle me in Blue Port, I'll take you on no problem."
"Hmmm." Jane needed to think about it only for a moment. Making this sort of battle her very first could potentially ruin what it really feels like to have a battle against someone else. Danny wasn't a total rookie, but Jane still felt under-challenged by him. "Tell you what. In Blue Port, I'll find someone else to battle with first. After I win, I'll take you on for my second victory."
Danny suddenly felt much calmer. Jane somehow eased up in some way by pushing the priority of their battle from first to second. Perhaps she isn't really that interested after all. "Maybe I should battle somebody else first. What do you think, Taylor?"
Jane and Danny were now both looking at her for an answer. Taylor didn't think she would already be having her very first battle today. It would be too soon. While Jane plans to become a Leray master, all Taylor wants to do is become just moderately stronger over time. Even one battle this soon might be pushing it. After all, she and Jane initially agreed to host their first battles tomorrow. "If there are enough people willing to battle there, then I think Jane, Danny, and I can all battle at the same time against random people, get in all of that experience first. Then you two can go at it all day if you want." In truth, Taylor didn't care to see a battle between Danny and Jane. It would be too much talk and not enough walk. Actually, there would be enough action for one of them to get knocked out completely, but it would probably happen over the course of two hours. All Taylor wanted to do right now was plan a lunch break in town, and scope out where she would be sleeping for tonight.
"It sounds good to me," Jane accepted. "So let's get to Blue Port and situate ourselves there." Jane knew Danny was in agreement, though he never said anything back. The walk there was still a ways off, but the town was already slightly visible in the distance over the shallow hills. It was probably just under eight minutes away now. Jane couldn't wait!
Of course, all three of them had been to Blue Port Town before; it wasn't like this was new to either of them. Jane came to Blue Port all the time before she was an official Leray wielder. It was mostly to go shopping, take long walks, or check out the events going on there. Danny and Taylor were sort of residing in Fronas with Jane ever since they've arrived here by accident. While Fronas is only made to support a small residential population, it was also not a very rich place for the Dakota training facility or the Fronas medical facility. In fact, those were the only two places in Fronas other than just housing. It was rather insignificant to anyone traveling from the outside.
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On the other hand, Blue Port is different. Other than being bigger, richer, and more developed with a slightly higher population than Fronas, Blue Port is also the main attraction in the south-most section of the Gulop region, thanks to its well-maintained shops, and its location near Vanon Port. The last time Danny and Taylor were in Blue Port, it was their first time there. So they were much newer to the place than Jane was. Yet the actual place in question is no mystery to either three of them, and now it is closing in fast.
Danny however felt calmer than before. So much happened since the last time they arrived in Blue Port together, and through all of the insane calamities, Jane is finally getting back to normal. As annoying and dynamic as she can be, Jane's familiar behavior gave Danny an indescribably sense of nostalgia. This isn't so bad at all.
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Chapter Theme Shift: Feast of Lights ~ FFXIII-3 OST
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A set of mild echoes pierced through the area while the path widened into a vast open flat field. Blue Port was built in a spot surrounded by forests just like any other town usually was. Only this time, the place was livelier, and there were so many more structures everywhere. There had to be about 30 residential houses in plain sight, along with Blue Port's main attractions of the stores. Blue Port is well known for having three popular shops out in the open. One is the general store, a place that sells many different kinds of groceries and other useful items. Then there is the Leray store, specific in selling many items all related to Leray battles. And finally, the jewelry store. They sell expensive clothing too, but it's all relatively less significant to Jane and Danny at this point. Sentiment Pollox is the name of the official Leray shop set up in Blue Port. That is where everybody goes to refill or update their items to use in Leray battles.
Danny and Taylor had been here before, but it was still an impressive difference from Fronas to the sight of this town right here. The size was six times larger, and the surrounding forests around here became more dense than before. There had to be at least fifty people or more presently walking around, doing their own thing. Nobody was battling however. It mainly looked like everybody was running their errands for the day. Perhaps a few of the people could have been travelers from the nearby city to the west. The younger ones may have been students to the out-of-sight general school assigned to Blue Port. General schools don't train anyone with Leray magic, but rather provides the general education needed for kids to grow up properly. The south exit from Blue Port was the spot they were all standing at now. Going south from Blue Port takes one back to Fronas, which is landlocked in place where it is; it's the dead-end of the Gulop region.
From the east exit of town, the path leads to Vanon Port, the official entry and exit point for all sea bearing ships in the oceans outside. From the west exit in town, a similar path sidewinds right into the Arragon Forest, which is the forest to the west and southwest of Blue Port Town. Danny didn't know much about that though, only that going west from here will take one to Gross City. Blue Port also has a northern exit route, but it's a dead-end to some place called the Leray Arena. It sounds exciting, but it's currently underdeveloped by a few years... And that's about it. Going east or northeast just gets one lost in the woods, leading to the natural blockade of a mountain wall with the Hollifax Ocean on the other side.
To all three of them, this wasn't any new information. Even so, being back in Blue Port Town felt exciting, especially for Jane. Of course, that's what everybody else thought about it. Jane unfortunately was forced into reliving the faint memory of the incident that took place here a couple of weeks ago. To summarize, someone came out of the eastern forest, a man who was being chased around for carrying some dangerous item; that is what the man claimed at least. Before ever getting his name, Jane alone was trusted to hold on to the mysterious spell bomb he wanted to keep safe, giving it to her just before rushing back into the forest to throw off the scent of his pursuers. Instead of considering the matter intelligently, Jane decided to conduct a secret, illegal battle between herself and Taylor, just to use the spell bomb on herself.
Jane would have normally stored it inside of her supply sphere to hide it, but the spell bomb's orb was unable to be beamed inside it. Supply spheres are used to store items in a compressed interdimensional zone. One could potentially fit an entire room inside of a capsule the size of a person's fist, all thanks to integrating Leray magic and technology together. But in order to use a spell bomb, one must be in a real battle to begin with; that is how Jane was able to use the unknown spell bomb in the first place. It was during their first visit to Blue Port Town, and before any three of them had their wielder's license yet. Jane and Taylor never intended to actually fight each other, but starting an official battle is required to trigger certain effects on objects and items that belong to people, items and objects such as spell bombs. Unless triggered by the Siriean dome that surrounds two people after the effects of a battle are triggered, spell bombs and other items cannot be used. In contrast, there are such items like healing and restoration orbs that are blocked from being used once triggered by the same shield, meaning they only work outside of battles.
The most memorable thing that happened to Jane was being zapped by a mysterious light in the sky, specifically appearing as though from the moon. After using the spell bomb on herself, the magical powers were strong enough to change day into night, bring forth the full moon phase, and propagate some sort of magical attack energy down onto where Jane stood. Jane never remembered anything past the point where she tried to trigger the dangerous and mysterious spell bomb, but Danny and Taylor, as well as half the entire town of Blue Port saw the whole thing unfold. Jane was injured badly with mysterious side effects that, for a while, prevented her from using Leray magic after waking back up. Danny and Taylor first had to save Jane's life, drag her all the way back to the medical facility and get her treated for something that didn't even make any medical sense.
According to that same mysterious stranger, the spell bomb is supposed to be permanent, its effects never relenting. But what were those effects? Did the spell bomb ever work? What was its purpose? Who was that man? Why did he give a dangerous spell bomb orb to Jane like that? Why was he being chased for it? And why was Jane left sick days after being hit with the blast of moonlight? None of those questions have ever been answered. Even in the midst of training, Jane never really noticed anything different about herself regarding magic capacity and dispersion. Whatever it was all about, it seemed to be over with now, but being back here in Blue Port brought those memories back. Jane didn't actually remember, but Danny and Taylor did. Her friends told Jane all that went down in Blue Port that night, as well as what happened to her. Though it was over now, hopefully nobody here would recognize Jane for what happened then. It was really crazy, something that never happens even in Sprawn Valley.
Jane shook away those odd moments though, realizing once again that she and the team were now in Blue Port. This time, everything would be different. Jane only needed to find a candidate to battle with her, to which her real training can begin. The same went for Danny and Taylor, but there was something that needed to be taken care of first.
"Awesome!" Danny congratulated. He confronted Jane again about the current plan. "Look. I need to go to the Leray store first. I don't have enough credits to buy anything there right now, but I want to make sure what I do want is still there for me after my first win."
"Okay," Jane replied. That was the reasonable thing to do anyway. Jane already had plenty of credits to buy something, but she would not need to at the moment.
Taylor followed Danny as soon as he began to take off towards the store. "I need to take inventory too, so I'll be with Danny until I find a match for myself as well."
"And I'll take my time to find a good opponent," Jane claimed. After seeing her friends off towards the Leray store, Jane was left alone again. There were a lot of people in Blue Port today, but in truth, everybody was looking busy. Finding a person willing to battle wasn't going to be all that easy. Jane first proceeded deeper into town. By walking towards the central plaza, it would be easier to spot anyone ready for a good match.
Danny and Taylor were obviously going to be a while before catching up to Jane, especially since their business after taking the store's inventory would be to find a battle for themselves here anyway. Jane needed to find a good candidate, a person who has no problem giving it their all in a Leray match. Jane really did feel as if she could take on anybody and win. She began by searching around in the distance for anyone who was less than usual; someone who didn't look like they had anything to do.
Challenging one to a battle is pretty straight forward, even though there are rules to doing so. Because it is illegal for anybody to take part in a Leray battle without a Leray wielder license, both participants must have one. If both participants have an active license, than the one being offered the challenge is not supposed to decline for almost any reason. One actually faces a penalty for declining an official and legal Leray battle offer, something called a penalty strike. Every license card is somewhat digitalized, and can communicate partially with Leray magic through the veil, which runs some kind of invisible program for these situations. Thus, a Leray license card can automatically detect what reward spoils are established. It can also detect if the battle is officially qualified using a Siriean dome, and it can detect if someone has declined a fair battle. All licenses are only allowed to have a maximum of three penalty strikes. If one declines a battle three times in a row, their license is revoked temporarily, all depending on the conditions and reasons for declining. Though, accepting a battle three times in a row will remove one penalty strike. Winning or losing a match does not have any penalty at all, other than losing the bet offered in the reward spoils. And to prevent everybody from going broke, all Leray licenses that store credits on them cannot fall below the minimum of 0 credits, while the reward spoil system has a minimum bet limit of 250 credits should that currency be the medium. Any bet under this 250 credit limit will not result in a penalty strike regardless of refusals.
The rules get complicated only as far as remembering them go, but Jane knew all of them. The point is, the system makes it highly unlikely to be declined in a battle offer, no matter the circumstances. This of course can be a bad thing too, since it means that Jane is still susceptible to the same penalties should she ever decline a battle. But seeing as she is currently seeking one right now... Whoever Jane finds, they won't really have the luxury of saying no. Though it is always still polite to choose the opponent carefully and with care. Someone who isn't busy today running errands, who is just bored in town because they can't find a challenge... That is who Jane wants to battle.
People like that do not come and go as often, so it was challenging and time consuming for Jane to locate a person of interest. Most wielders actually choose to locate challengers on official routes more often than areas within towns. Precisely after twelve minutes of soul searching, Jane's eyes came across something interesting. Jane spotted someone, leaning up against the secondary storage structure. An adult male by the looks of it; a rather hairy feller too, but he was just standing there arms crossed and head down, almost asleep like he was waiting for something. By the looks of his muscle mass, the man probably had a good sense of physical strength too. But... His wardrobe sure didn't help him blend in to the populous of the town.
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Chapter Theme Shift: The Prohpecy ~ Tony Anderson (feat. Aubrey Prunty)
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Wearing a brown cowboy hat and denim coveralls, Jane thought that the man looked rather goofy for what he appealed to show off as. Then again, a battle is still a battle. Jane decided to go for it, already shifting her feet to walk in his direction. Jane knew exactly what to ask him, the same dialogue that everybody uses to ask one to a battle. "Are you a licensed Leray wielder?" Standard question to ask. It gives the person being asked the hint of battle, while at the same time ensuring that they are legally allowed to battle in the first place. Jane had no problem at all with walking up to a total stranger and asking them to an awesome duel.
What took no time at all to get to where Jane wanted to go turned into an exciting and thrilling moment for her already. Shortly after getting the stranger's attention by approaching him, Jane at least knew he wasn't actually asleep. Jane was also close enough already to talk to him without having to raise her voice too much. "Excuse me sir?" Jane made sure the man was focused on her. It's like he could already see her determination to win bursting inside of her. "My name is Jane, and if it's not any trouble, I'd like a battle!" Jane rose her volume level on purpose, unable to control her confidence.
The stranger who looked like a Texas Ranger lifted his head further, and twisted his hat in place to examine the young woman in front of him. "I am Jack." Jack's voice took Jane a little by surprise. It was much raspier than she was expecting it to be, indicating that Jack was much older than her. "I must ask if your offer stands as a final one. I do in fact have a Leray license, but I've mopped the floor with people older than you already. You might regret your decision to face me."
All right! Jane's expression shifted more towards pure confidence as she held her fist out as a sign of strength. "My offer is final. A battle with a rookie is a waste of my time anyway." Jane was already so psyched! A tough opponent this soon! Then again, some people can only talk the talk... But it was too late now. Jane had already asked Jack to a real Leray battle, right here and right now. He would have to accept, or face the penalty of a strike on his card. Jane felt her heart racing, her nerves tingling in excitement.
While lifting his face to reveal his identity to the girl, Jack kept his hat on since it went as part of his official dress sphere style. "Well... You sure do have some spirit, and courage to dare face me. I accept your challenge!" Jack's loud chant was intentional, designed to make Jane more excited, while bringing in the attention of a crowd as well. People battle all the time, but even for any other spectators, Leray battles are almost as fun to watch as they are to experience. Heads were already turning in their direction. "We'll battle near the west exit, and I'll start the bid at 200 credits."
Jane's spirits almost dropped right away. Two hundred credits? It was a rather low kind of bet for a good battle, below the official minimum limit even... But it was also Jane's first real battle anyway. So it's good enough. "You got yourself a deal." Normally, such a low bet would be illegal to use since it falls below the minimum bet line, but at the same time, the system makes use of that by allowing Jane or Jack to decline the same offer without any penalty strikes. By accepting, the bet is still 200 credits, and the battle is still official given two-sided consent.
"Follow me." Jack began heading near the west exit of town. It's redundant to just begin fighting in the middle of anywhere. Battling initially creates a Siriean dome, which surrounds the two challengers, and keeps people on the outside and out of the battle deterred area. The dome leaves plenty of room for the fight, but the design is made on purpose to prevent any stray magical attacks from causing any damage to any surrounding structures or people watching. While anybody in Sprawn Valley is still technically safe from being killed by Leray magic, inanimate objects are not protected from destruction most of the time.
Jane already knew this, assumed this to be the reason Jack wanted to relocate just a tiny distance away from here. Even if the people were okay with watching them battle, others would need to pass by. The spot they were in right now wasn't very good for that. So Jane agreed to follow Jack to a better spot with less objects and obstacles around them.
This is it, the first battle between Jane and Jack. Jane could not possibly be any more excited than right now. If she were, she would likely explode. Her heart rate was rising in sync as well as she prepared to get started. At first, it was slightly shocking for Jane to notice the absence of a Leray referee around here. Though one is not actually required for wild battles like this. Leray referees watch the battle from outside of the Siriean shield, making sure that nobody cheats in order to ensure victory. Jane wasn't a cheater, and she trusted that Jack was a clean fighter too.
After reaching the place and facing each other at about thirty meters apart, Jack hollered over to Jane the simple dialogue that is supposed to initiate the battle in the first place. "All right Jane. Don't go easy on me, and I won't go easy on you. The battle between me and you will now commence!"
"It's a deal!" Jane returned.