The First Trial

Wiping the blood away from his face, which actually just spread it more since his entire body was covered from head to toe in blood, Takahide glanced over at the teary-eyed girl shaking on the ground in fear. Takahide sheathed his swords and made his way over to the girl, who instantly began to crawl away and scream out in terror.

Takahide picked the girl, who seemed no older than ten, by her shirt and said "Calm down! I saved you from a life of slavery and you treat me like this? Oh...it's probably the blood, eh..." Takahide sighed as Takayoshi and Xymriss emerged from the trees.

"Go wash up. I'll take care of the child for now." Takayoshi took the girl from Takahide with a wry smile on his face as he shook his head in exasperation. Xymriss crossed his arms and looked at the quivering girl; her short blond hair with various braids wove and brushed behind her ears, along with her blue eyes was all the Dragon needed to know in order to tell her heritage.

"So, who and where're your parents? Highlanders are not usually so finely dressed here in Gridania..." The girl's head spun toward Xymriss, her eyes wide and dull of fear as she stammered "I-I d-d-don't know...w-we were separated when those b-bandits attacked us while on our way to Ul'dah..."

Xymriss flexed his jaw as he glanced at the fresh corpses and gave a long, drawn out sigh before motioning for Takayoshi to go back into the cave while he dealt with the mess outside. The girl clung to Takayoshi's shirt; as the holy presence he exuded calmed her to some degree, she naturally loosened up around the Auri Raen after a few minutes.

"S-Ser Knight! Is that scary man your b-brother...?" The girl asked Takayoshi with eyes filled with curiosity. Takayoshi laughed and nodded his head before leaning forward and saying "Yes, and he is very dear to me. He lets his emotions get the best of him and he goes all crazy without thinking, but he's a very nice man that cares for his friends deeply."

The girl smiled brightly and said "His swordsmanship was pretty too! Though I got scared and looked away after he cut the second man down, it was like I was watching a dancer weave their way through battle!" Takayoshi smiled and let out a small chuckle of his own before saying "Oh? I'm surprised you could keep up with his movements!"

The girl put her hands on her hips and smiled haughtily as she said "My dad is the Guildmaster of the Gladiator's Guild in Ul'dah, and he's been training me for yeeeaarrrs!" The two continued to converse as Takahide, hidden within the depths of the cave, sunk into a random wooden tub filled with warm water.

Despite his mind being jumbled and in a state of turmoil, the knots in his body began to unravel themselves as he sunk deeper and deeper into the comfortable water. Looking at his bloodied hands, Takahide mused to himself. "Looks like I only really remember how to kill after all...if only I could be like how Taka said I used to be..."

Takahide ruffled his hair and threw up his hands in exasperation as he muttered "I'm such a dumbass, trying to compare myself to someone that may or may not have existed..." Suddenly, Takahide lurched over the side of the tub and grabbed one of his bloodied swords and slammed the pummel into his forehead while shouting "What the hell are you doing? Get back into the game, man!!"

His shout was so loud in fact, that even Xymriss, who was quietly munching away outside, could hear it as clear as day. From within the cave, Takayoshi and the girl, who told Takayoshi that her name was Mylla, both looked at each other with confused looks on their faces before Takayoshi let out a sigh from his nose and said "I don't even want to know what he's going on about..."

---

Around an hour later, long after Xymriss had finished "cleaning", Takahide emerged from the back of the cave without so much as a sound. Mylla dashed behind Takayoshi and peeked out to look at the clean and still glistening Takahide with a mixture of fear and intrigue.

Takahide averted his gaze and scratched at his cheek as he muttered an apology. "I'm sorry that I made you go through that...massacre. I wasn't in the right state of mind, it's just I got really pissed when I heard what they were saying..."

There was a long pause and Mylla hid herself behind Takayoshi fully, leaving Takahide to slump down pathetically and mutter, "I need some alcohol...some reeeeeally strong alcohol..." Before he was able to shrug his shoulders and walk away, however, Mylla stuttered "T-Thank you...for s-saving me, Ser Knight..."

Takahide stopped in his tracks, his face unnaturally calm, before bursting out in laughter. Takahide wiped a tear from his eyes as he clenched his stomach and said "Knight!? Pffhaha!! She actually called me a knight, ahaha!" Mylla's face turned red from embarrassment as she walked out from behind Takayoshi and yelled, "I was being polite!"

Takahide stopped laughing and looked at the girl before saying, "Oh hey, I can actually see you now," which caused Mylla to dart back behind Takayoshi and glare at Takahide with angry eyes. Takahide sighed and looked to Xymriss, who was sitting on his chair made of stone.

Xymriss nodded his head and cleared his throat, gathering the attention of everyone in the cave, before speaking in a clear voice. "Today will mark the beginning of your First Trials. Taka, you'll be heading North toward a dungeon named "The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak" while Hide will be going to a dungeon named "Tam Tara Deepcroft". Understood? The girl will remain here in the meantime, and I expect you two to clear these dungeons within a week."

Takahide raised his hand and Xymriss let out a short sigh before asking, "What, Hide." Takahide grinned and said "I couldn't help but notice that you were calling me and Taka by our nicknames, not actual names...is there a reason for th-" Xymriss jumped to his feet and yelled, "IT'S TO MAKE IT EASIER DUMBASS!! WHY ELSE!?"

Takahide couldn't control himself and he burst out in a fit of laughter yet again, getting him literally kicked out of the cave by Xymriss. "I don't get a map!?" Takahide asked as he tumbled to the ground. "No! Go and find it by yourself!!"

Suddenly, a large wall of stone burst forth from the ground, covering the entrance to the cave and preventing Takahide and Takayoshi, who practically appeared from nowhere, from getting back inside. Takayoshi glanced at his brother and shook his head slightly before saying "Well, you're lucky I know how to get out of this forest and get to New Gridania."

Takahide furrowed his brows and he fell in step behind Takayoshi. "New Gridania? Is that the Capitol of Gridania?" Takayoshi nodded his head and said "Technically, yes. It doesn't have the highest population, but it's pretty packed. You'll know what I mean when we enter the city."

Though the occasional monster barred the two's path, they had no trouble at all while navigating out of the forest. "And then, though you'll most likely deny it, you pissed your pants on the spot! You, the fearless Hide, actually pissed himself when faced with the sight of a Goobbue!!"

Takahide brushed off his brother's rather embarrassing words before stopping in his tracks; the hair on his neck standing on edge. "Shh. There's something past the treeli-" A piercing scream erupted through the air and bone-chilling aura froze both of the brothers for a split second before they snapped out of their daze and burst through the trees; their weapons drawn and shining in the light of the setting sun.

A young woman, maybe about seventeen years old, was sitting on the ground with her eyes full of terror and fear; a large creature with a massive body, short, stubby legs, a large, circular head, and long thin arms that brushed against the ground with each step. with a slight dark aura pouring out from its body. Takayoshi frowned before sheathing his sword and pointing at the Goobbue and saying, "He's all yours," though Takahide was already behind the monster; his swords at the ready.

The monster, known as a Goobbue, raised its long arms above its head and sent them flying downwards, but a sudden pain in its back made it adjust its attack to hit the ground at its side instead of the girl in front of it. Takahide slashed the back of the monster's knees before dodging out of the way of the monster's arms.

The Goobbue came on fiercely, and with startlingly powerful blows that shook the earth around it. Takahide's swords deflected the attacks and he began to turn in full spins; his swords curving and twisting through the Goobbue's poor defenses. With adrenaline pumping through his veins, Takahide could see the Goobbue's attacks clearly, and he had a sudden epiphany as he watched the Goobbue's strikes.

Sheathing his swords, Takahide rushed forward and met the Goobbue's fist head-on with his own; the ground splitting and cracking beneath them from the blow's power. A loud crack came from the Goobbue's arm, but the beast just roared in anger and issued a flurry of blows, each one creating a sound akin to a whip hitting stone.

Another crack sounded from the Goobbue as Takahide's fist slammed into its side, and as his foot crushed the poor creature's knee. The Goobbue tried to take a step, but its leg gave out beneath it and it fell to the ground with a roar of denial.

Takahide stood over the Goobbue and noticed that the dark aura had vanished, and that it had seemingly died from the little wounds inflicted upon it. No creature this large should have died from a few shattered bones...

A shaky voice from behind snapped Takahide out from his thoughts. "T-Thank you for saving me...! I-I was just picking some flowers for my parent's graves when the Goobbue appeared next to me..." Takahide turned and examined the woman as he walked over to help her up.

The woman had long, silky black hair, tanned skin, blue-gray eyes, kind and beautiful features, as well as strangely rough hands that were more suited for a farmer or sellsword than a woman. Noticing Takahide's gaze, the woman blushed with embarrassment as she turned her head and said "I have to tend to the farm since my parents passed away..." with a small pout on her face.

Takahide let go of the woman's hand and rubbed the back of his head as he said "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I'm new here, so I-" A sudden shout interrupted Takahide. "Elina! Are you alright!? I heard a scream and...g-guards! Bandits!!" The woman, Elina, turned toward an old woman and waved her hands in a placating manner.

"No, Grandma, these people saved me from the Goobbue! They're not bandits!"

"N-Not bandits...?"

"No Grandma, they're not bandits..."

"O-Oh. I see. Well, ahem, let me show you to our little village. We like to call it, Bentbranch Meadow!" The old woman smiled and bade Takahide and Takayoshi to follow her as she disappeared into a marked path in the forest.

Looking at Takayoshi, Takahide shrugged and fell into line beside Elina, who immediately started to ask about how he had gotten so strong. Smiling like an idiot, Takahide began to tell her a tale that, if true, would have made Takahide out to be the strongest man in the world.

Shaking his head for what felt like the millionth time, Takayoshi tuned out his idiotic brother's rambling as he enjoyed the scenery of Gridania. "Just like old times...eh?"