[Zegota]

The old post got erased when the site was changed...lucky for me I saved it on my comp!

A Bard's Tale
A Final Fantasy XI Fanfiction

Chapter One: Searching for Reason

Lyde fiddled with the note in his pocket. He ran his hand along the thin edges of the dirty, rust colored paper, let his fingers caress the coarse document. The letter, from a relative Lyde hadn't seen in a long while, was written on an organic parchment found only one place in Vana'Diel: Windurst, home of the Taru Taru.

Lyde had received the letter a week ago. He remembered he had been practicing his mandolin when his brother, back from exercise or one of the barbaric sports that Lyde hated so much, entered the room and through a small, sealed envelope onto the table.

"Praise the Crystals, you got some mail, little brother!"

He remembered opening it, regarding the note the same way he did now, ugly, yet strangely attractive. He slid his finger under the seal, slipped the paper from the envelope, and read it.

-To Lyde, my dear nephew. I am in dire trouble. The darkness is visible even here. Most refuse to see it, and some have even been taken over by it. I cannot reveal my location, for fear that this letter might be intercepted. All I can tell you is to ask your father, he will know. In any case, I must see you as soon as possible. Please, come here, and help me fight against the shadow that has secretly taken over so much of our beautiful Vana'Diel.
-Sincerely, your uncle Vesitian.


Lyde hadn't heard from Vesitian since he moved away from Bastok, and even before then, Lyde and his uncle hadn't been close by any means. Vesitian's reason for summoning him perplexed the young bard a great deal, and the extreme shortness and urgency of the note confused him even more, but his father insisted that Lyde help out his uncle, as his uncle has apparently been there for him in the past. After talking with merchants in the city, and tracing the note back to Windurst, Lyde packed his few valuables and set out to the Bastok docks, to the spot where he stood now. The wind blew his shaggy blond hair into his eyes. He brushed it out and sighed. The next transport ship wasn't due for at least another hour. Lyde closed his eyes, unhooked his mandolin from his side, and began to play.

[Zegota]

Chapter Two: The Mix-up

Time passed quickly for Lyde when his mind was occupied, and this was certainly one of those times. Cargo ships came and went, with the crew usually making enough noise to wake the dead, but Lyde continued playing, even though none of the passers by could hear him.


The sun continued to move across the sky and dusk enveloped the harbor. It was nearly nighttime when the passenger ship, the first and only passenger ship scheduled to stop that day, finally arrived. It was immediately filled to the brim with boxes upon boxes of some sort of fruit.

Lyde stood and ran over to the captain. "E...Excuse me, does this ship travel to Windurst?"

The captain nodded, still loading crates onto the ship. "Sure does."

"Well, I...I scheduled passage on this ship two days ago, and I..."

"Sorry," replied the captain. "Didn't 'ya hear? The passenger ship drivers had a strike yesterday. No passenger vessels are operating until the City Council lets them raise their prices."

Lyde grimaced. "I have to leave today! I'm late enough as it is! Is...there any way I could travel with you? I could easily fit in between some of these boxes, and I have plenty of money to..."

The captain raised his hand. "Sorry, son, If I go operating a passenger ship, lord knows the drivers of the travel ships would be on my back faster than goblins on a explorer. Sorry again, better luck next time." The captain turned from Lyde and finished loading his cargo.

Lyde had been waiting for the better part of a day, and in no more than five minutes his entire plan had been crushed. Lyde fell limp and plopped onto the ground. He placed his hands on his mandolin once again. He only got in one chord before a voice rang out in the distance.

"You need passage?"

It was a rough, deep voice, but Lyde could still tell it belonged to a woman. He sat up and looked to his left, then to his right, but he saw nothing but burly, laboring men.

"Over here," the voice said again. Lyde looked straight in front of him, to the river where the docks were, and sure enough a tall, dark haired woman was sitting in a small canoe. She was wearing flimsy, black armor and a small leather cap on her head. The cap hid her ears and forced her hair to cover most of her emerald eyes, but Lyde could still tell that the girl was exceedingly beautiful. A small ponytail peeked out of the back of her cap and hung relaxed under her head.

"So, do you need passage?"

Lyde blinked and noticed that, for a few seconds, he had forgotten to breathe. "I...I need to go to the Federation of Windurst. Why do you ask?"

"I happen to have space on my ship. You got money?"

"Indeed, but...what about the strike?"

The woman sneered. "Whatever. My name is Daoen. Are you going to get on?"

Lyde, surprised by Daoen's forwardness, slowly eased himself into the small, two-person craft that Daoen called a boat. It was completely wooden, and looked as if it would fall apart at any moment, but he has already wasted a day and there was no telling when the drivers' strike would end.

Lyde frowned. "This is your boat? How can we cross an ocean in a canoe?"

Daoen started rowing, taking an oar in each hand. The muscles in her arm bulged, and Lyde could tell that the girl was in top physical shape. "This isn't my ship moron. That's my ship." Daoenen turned and pointed to a massive galleon floating in the distance. The sails flapped in the wind, and Lyde could make out faint traces of a red marking on them.

Lyde looked back at Daoen. "I can assist with the rowing,? he said, reaching for a paddle. Daoen smacked his hand away.

"This is my boat, and I can paddle it faster with two oars then any number of men could with thirty of them."

Lyde backed away and sighed, staring into the sky and into the water as they passed under a bridge into the seemingly endless ocean.

"By the way," Daoen muttered. "Stop being so damn formal."

[Orko]

Nice story thus far! What will become of our protagonist? Why does our dark haired lady swear so much? Ya know, if you posted it once before it's still around... lurking in the archived forum section... heh. Anyway, keep up the good work!!

[Sirus]

Wow great story, you really have a talent for writing. Its better than some of the published books out there. Keep it up, I can't wait for more.

[UjikaWeapon]

Its good to see such talent within these boards, love the story, I want more!

[Marian]

Yeah, you should consider a career in writing if you are inspired enough. I hang out with three professional authors, and it's what's in your head that counts, though writing abilities help. But even people who can't write worth sh*t get published if their brain works. Nice fanfic, me want more!

[Squall]

Like i said before in the previous thread in the archives "makes me want to write one"...Maybe i will write one with larry the white Mage...Larry..screw Larry...Raoken the white Mage/Black mage on a journey to become more powerful with his abilities to help others...Boo Ya that sounds good...let me get crackin

[Orko]

Originally posted by Marian
Yeah, you should consider a career in writing if you are inspired enough. I hang out with three professional authors, and it's what's in your head that counts, though writing abilities help. But even people who can't write worth sh*t get published if their brain works. Nice fanfic, me want more!

Well sometimes it's hard for said people to get said works published. :sweat: Take Brian at www.nuklearpower.com ... he's had his book in the works for about 4 years but he couldn't get anyone to publish it for a long long time. I think he finally got a publisher, but it took him a while, and he pitched it to many a publisher.... at least he's finally gonna have his book done and in circulation.

[Zegota]

First of all, thanks for all the compliments guys! It really means a lot! Second of all, the second chapter proves that the first draft is never the final draft. I'm glad no one noticed that you can't really cross an ocean in a two-person boat with no supplies, but I changed it anyway. It kind of changes Daoen's character a little, but that's okay I suppose. Anyway, a new chapter should be coming soon! Thanks for the support!

[UjikaWeapon]

So, whats next for A Bard's Tale?

[Zegota]

Man, school is getting in the way. Finals this week...anyway, Chapter 3 is almost finished, I'm starting to work on them more now.

[Myst]

I liked it, a little cliche in parts, but thats unavoidable. Good job.

[Zegota]

I agree about the cliche part, actually...