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Appendix 'A' AN: Why am I making an appendix? Who knows. Well, this is just a collection of misc. details from the Sorceress War, maybe filling in something you missed or whatever. Contents: -- Story Evolution -- Character Evolution -- Character Details and Name Meanings -- Weapons -- Magic Usage -- Previews to later books --Story Evolution So, how did this epic come about? Well, I had just kicked the crap out of Ultimecia, and was watching the whole ending cinema. After seeing Laguna and Raine's whole thing, my mind drifted back to the whole orphanage scene. I felt that Squaresoft (in all their glory) had neglected to fill in that part of the story. That got me started on the whole 'parents' idea. I was just barely a fanfic author then, very rough around the edges. I began to plot out the story, make drawings of all the characters, etc. What I first planned was a far cry of what I have done today. --First Draft: I knew from the start Raine, Julia, Caraway, and Edea were going to be in it. They were the adults from the game, thus, they would be in this novel. With influence from both the movies and other games, I got a very rough sketch on what I would do. I had also just bought and played Metal Gear: Solid, which gave me the whole 'special ops. unit' idea. Jesse Almasy then came in, loosely modeled after Liquid Snake. I was first going to have his unit side with Esthar, and do all sorts of evil mayhem, but it changed. It was back in 1999 after I first finished the game, so I don't quite remember how I changed it. I have a feeling it was due to other media influences (other games, movies, etc.) There were also a few other characters involved, such as Corin and Celeste** and even Laguna at one point. ** see: character evolution. (below) --Second Draft: Building on what was my first draft, I then stopped working on the Sorceress War for a good deal of time. I believe I picked it back up in 2001, after I had bought my PlayStation 2. I was influenced by a game called 'Summoner.' In this game, a man is born with a mark meaning he is a chosen warrior, and he is hunted by an empire for it. From this, I worked my mind, and created the Shaduna and Tyraduna. I immediately knew that Raine would fit the role of the Shaduna, but I didn't choose Julia for her role until later. I was initially going to make Virados the Tyraduna, yet for some reason I settled on Julia. I was going to have Raine hunting out the Tyraduna rather than Virados, because it was somewhat the reason Raine's hometown of Caran was destroyed. I was going to have Julia and Raine fight and act all dramatic, but settled on them being allies and friends. In the end, I made Julia the Tyraduna. In this draft, Julia and Edea were also sisters, since Edea strongly resembles Rinoa. I was going to have them originate from Timber, and then have them become estranged after the city was bombed by Esthar and their parents were killed. Julia would travel to Deling then, joining the army right off, and Edea would fall in later when the war began. I eventually dumped this idea, though it had lasted for a long while. I worked in the fact that Julia was Hyne's daughter, and brought the planet Gaia into the picture (influence from FF9, even though I loathe that game). Edea wouldn't fit into those plans, and so they became friends rather than sisters. Virados was actually named Kefrotha in this draft. He was tall, and had platinum hair with black streaks. He didn't have much of a past here, and was a combo of Sephiroth, Kefka and Kuja. He was also Ultimecia's son in this version. She tried to kill the FF8 cast in revenge of their parents. But, I settled on something better later. Hyne played no part in the story, and it was really Julia's mother who was the villain, and the senator who took over the Gaian government. This version of the Sorceress War was posted a long time ago, though I took it down after the seventh chapter. The overall story began to develop here, though it was still pretty linear with no twists or much action. --Final Draft: Ah, here is where everything came together, and once again from the influence of the media (I'm thinking I rely on that too much, huh?). Devil May Cry, which is one of the most fun games I've ever played, helped mold in the Shaduna and Tyraduna fighting skills. For anyone who has played that, you'll know what I mean. The trances that Julia and Raine go into are similar, but not exactly like, the devil trigger that is in that game. It enhances strength, speed, and allows the main guy to use magical or special attacks. From that, I made Julia quick and agile, strong in magic, yet unable to deal very powerful normal attacks. Raine would be slow, but exceedingly strong. Going through intense planning, I was able to finally plan out the entire plot. Though, I did rush through the latter half of the story, and thus, I sort of wrote it as it came to mind. I made up pasts for all the characters, and tied up all the loose ends. Everything came seamlessly together (except for the few details I got wrong, which I learned later). --Character Evolution The characters in the Sorceress War went through extreme changes and development before settling on what they are today. Each changed names and personalities, and changed with each draft. Raine Leonhart --- Raine probably went through the least amount of changes compared with the other characters. She was always the leader, and always the main character. Her personality was modeled after Squall's, yet she was a bit more sarcastic and friendly due to her growing up with Julia and Edea. Actually, the Raine you see in the story is basically the one that appeared in every one of my drafts. Not much else to be said on how she changed. Since Squaresoft actually created this one, I stuck to what personality she had in the game, along with her looks. Julia Heartilly --- Julia went through a few changes, but not a whole lot. For some reason, I made her the exact opposite of Rinoa -- brash, arrogant, and reckless. Though, when I first worked her into the story, she did mirror her daughter more. She was caring and willing to help anyone. I settled on Julia being both personalities. Her mask, or usual behavior to hide her inner feelings, was arrogant and violent, while inside she was extremely loyal and self-sacrificing. She was in the story from the beginning, along with the other Squaresoft parents. Once I began to work on the character pasts, she began Edea's sister. The two were born in Timber, and split ways when their parents were killed. However, when I worked in the 'evil Mysidians' I created a new world, Gaia. Julia ended up being born here, and I made her Hyne's daughter for reasons I can't really remember (I was going for the cliché thing I guess). In the end, I made her a 'dark Rinoa' so to speak. The natural happy personality of a Heartilly was destroyed and warped with the slaying of her mother and friends during Hyne's overthrow on Gaia (see appendix B). Those caring feelings were then masked by hostility and sarcasm. I also worked in a pyromaniac personality trait, just for fun. There'll be more on Wolf Pack's grenadier in later books, so watch for her there. Edea van Neil --- Edea is another of Square's, and was the only one of the four Square characters with a slight personality. Some have criticize that I totally screwed up her personality. Well, keep this in mind. No one is the same at 20 as they are at 40. Edea is younger here, and thus a bit more childish. As the series progresses, she'll fall into the FF8 personality, so don't worry. Edea first started out as a magic user, and she used no other weapon. Later, I gave her a chain gun to add extra strength. Basically, Edea stayed the same throughout the drafts of the story, only changing to fit her age. I made her Julia's rival because of the sorceress vs. Mysidian thing. Subconsciously, they get irritated due to the different forms of magic flowing through them. This will be more clearly explained in the Magic section. Inwardly the two like each other, but fighting just comes naturally to them. Zion Caraway --- The last of Square's, so I had something to model him after. By the game's time, I pictured Zion being so scarred and tormented due to Julia's death and the war that he had turned very serious. Before that, I saw him acting more like Rinoa. He was care-free and cheerful despite the fact a war was going on, and was always there to listen to people's problems. I didn't have much of a past for him until the final draft, where I haphazardly threw one together for character development. Before the final draft, I pictured him as a thief from Balamb. No home and no family, as they had been killed in the war. He lived off of other, stealing and shoplifting until he decided on enlisting in the army to make an actual living. With some switching around, Julia became the thief and Zion joined the army to get away from his borderline-abusive parents. His name spelling changed, but I always like the sound of Zion. Previously, it was spelt Zyon or Zeon, but I chose the traditional spelling instead. Celeste Trepe --- This was the first fictional character I created. I loosely modeled her after Quistis, though her personality was a little different. Celeste was, in the first drafts, a very precise and detail-aware spy. As you can tell from the story, I changed that. Celeste became a slob and a hacker, though she did know how to infiltrate an enemy stronghold fairly well. She became a laid back teenager, one who would prefer to stay at home and play video games all day rather than blast her way through an Estharian armada. Like most of the others, I threw together her past quickly in time for the final draft. Early on, her parents were friendly aristocrats in Dollet who took wonderful care of their children. Later, they were still aristocrats, yet they were very demanding and vengeful towards children who didn't become an over-achiever. Celeste was too laid back in school, so they later threatened to disown her and she ran away off of her profits from selling illegal software she created. In her early appearances, her name was Heather, and later Michele. Trying to make the names sound more fantasy-like, I settled on Celeste. That name came from Celes, who she's meant to resemble. Lancer --- Lancer was also in the very first draft with his wife, though he commanded another unit. Raine, Jesse and Lancer were commanders of three units that would eventually merge together in Black September. However, I realized that that plan would result in way too many characters, so I chose another role for the long haired warrior. I first made him a Blue Mage, knowing that somebody had to pass on that magic to Quistis. Later, I gave him a tortured past of being a mercenary after Esthar raided his hometown and killed his family. Lancer was one of the only original characters to have a past before I sat down to write the story. He was very, very cold in the second draft. I mean, frigid. He was worse than Squall in terms of being stoic. Celeste was the only one who could get him to open up, though it took a lot of effort. I changed that a little, to him being cold at first, then friendly once he got to know the team. Somehow, when I wrote him to be frigidly cold, he ended up not having much of a personality. His first name was Ryan, then just Lance, then finally Lancer. Lancer is the name of a Robotech character, though he is not, I repeat not, supposed to act like him. I just like the name. Anyone who has seen Robotech: The Sentinels knows what I'm talking about. Not supposed to act like him! Corin Dincht --- No changes. Always Corin, always acting like Zell. I thought the name fit him well, and acting like his son seemed to work. It was either Corin or Corvus, and the latter was just a little too weird. I gave him a large battle scar similar to Ward, just to add the fact that the Wolves are not invincible. Plus, scars look cool, and it fit his punk personality. Epsilon Kinneas --- Epsilon was the character who I couldn't settle a name on. He went through many name changes, including Jason and Seth. However, I settled on Epsilon because it sounded a bit more fantasy-like. I debated his looks, once he had hair that was similar to Andraia's, cut horizontally at the jaw. But, as that looked too feminine, I settled on giving him a crew cut. That would also be an aid for a sniper. No used getting hair in the way of the scope is it? He was a little more serious than Irvine at first, then I made them pretty similar. He was always a sniper, occasionally switching to a machine gun or pistol if needed. I debated on making him a third black mage, but I figured with Julia and Edea giving all the support in that area, Wolf Pack didn't need a third one. Andraia Navradski --- She didn't change much. She was always hyper and very cheerful just like Selphie. She always had fairly short brown hair and green eyes, and used the Nunchakus. I decided to make her a summoner, and to explain Selphie's limit break (and Andraia's, who has the same one but she hasn't used it yet) she became a descendant of a sorceress. Compared with Lilliana, her summons were pretty mediocre, but ended up helping in dire situations (Carbuncle, Diablos, etc..). Lilliana Frieda --- For a time, Zell's mother was not even a part of Wolf Pack. She used to be Excalibur's summoner and white mage, and didn't really play much of a role other than giving birth to everyone's favorite brawler. It wasn't until the final draft that I bumped her back into the Pack. She used a gun for a while, then I switched her over to the combat claws for more power and to model her slightly after Tifa. Sadly, I didn't have much time to give her much of a personality or past, which sometimes leaves her inferior to the others. I jumbled her story together quickly, making her from Timber, and nature loving. Other than that...not much is up with her. Dropped Characters: yes, the ones that did not make the Wolf Pack cut. Laguna Loire --- Yup, even this guy was in the Pack in the very first draft. I figured it would give time to build the relationship between him and Raine. He was Caraway's rival, spawned from his infatuation with Julia during the first parts. But, he didn't do much to motivate the story, and I realized that probably due to timings in the game, that it wouldn't work out. Okay, that was my nice excuse. In reality, I remembered I didn't like Laguna, so I promptly voted him off the sacred Wolf Pack island. Cid Kramer --- Hmm... what was I on when I thought of this foul idea? Yeah... Cid was actually in close ties to the Pack in the first drafts. He was Wolf Pack's tactic, in charge of giving them information via the radio. Never in battle, though if the worst situation came, he would use a battle axe. That's how he came to know Edea, and how their relationship spawned. No, that was a bad idea, so he was the second to be kicked out. Jun Alexandros --- Just to build the relationship between Jun and Epsilon, I had her in the Pack too. Though, her original name was Jun(e) Apone. I dropped off the 'e' at the end of her name in regards to a fighter in Tekken. But, as she didn't play much of a role, she was promptly kicked off as well. Well, sort of. I just switched her from the Pack to Excalibur. She was originally a rough-neck punk kind of like Corin or Julia, but made her more sophisticated in the end. Aaron Tilmitt --- Formerly Marcus Tilmitt of Wolf Pack. Moved to Excalibur once I realized my cast was already too large and that he didn't have much purpose. He once used a staff, though I switched him to a pair of handguns. So, I guess Excalibur was Wolf Pack's second string, so to speak? Oh well, they serve their purpose in Black September. Jesse Almasy --- Wolf Pack's former second-in-command. A rival to Raine, and eventually he turned traitor to Esthar, taking Excalibur with him. But, I dropped that 'evil Excalibur' idea, and thus, he was a good guy during the war, rather than the villain. Modeled after Liquid Snake a little (which spawned the traitor personality). --Character Details Your source on the characters, just in case you missed something, or the facts I chose not to add in this book. Raine Leonhart: Name meaning: Wise Leader Age: 19 Date of Birth: July 30, 4100 Hometown: Caran, Centra Height: 5'8" Hair: Brown Eyes: Blue Weapon of Choice: Katana/Sword Magic Skills: N/A Identifying Marks: Scar on rib area Raine is considered a natural-born soldier, and it was only fitting that she became commander of Wolf Pack, an elite Galbadian Special Forces unit. Her past however, has been far from as glorious as it is now. Her original home was destroyed when she was six, and her parents were murdered in front of her. She moved to Deling City with her uncle, yet he died of cancer shortly after. Her adoptive parents were very abusive, and fortunately they were arrested when she was thirteen. She moved into Julia Heartilly's house afterward, and joined the army with she and Edea once they turned 17. Raine learned to use the katana from her birth parents, and has continued learning all her life, making her one of the best swordswoman in all of Galbadia. There, she excelled at commanding, and was quickly placed in command of Wolf Pack. Today, she and her unit are known to be virtually the best in all Galbadia. However, despite her newfound respect and glory, she is still haunted by her troubled past. Julia Heartilly: Name meaning: Youthful Age: 19 Date of Birth: April 14, 4100 Hometown: Grand Kadesh, Gaia Height: 5'7.5" Hair: Dark Brown Eyes: Brown Weapon of Choice: Bladed Staff, Grenade Launcher Magic Skills: Powerful Black Magic (attack) Identifying Marks: Tattoo of a serpent on waist, large scar on back of thigh An ex-convict and ex-street racer (or so it is assumed) from Deling City. She's a lawless ex-hit woman with a pyromania problem, who's respect is very hard to earn. However, once she does respect someone, she is usually very loyal. She has a problem following orders, unless given by Raine, her long time friend. She's Wolf Pack's demolitions expert and a very skilled (yet reckless) driver, pilot and all around vehicle expert. Once you get passed her dangerous and deadly outside appearance, she can actually be quite sweet at heart. However, only a select few have seen that side of her. She comes from a rich background, her parents having been presidential aides to Vinzer Deling. She broke many a high school track record, being extremely agile and quick. Though she's led an interesting life, she has a bit of an amnesia problem. Not being able to remember anything before age six, her past is a bit of a mystery to her. She's been proven not to be a sorceress, yet still somehow she's been able to cast magic naturally. In reality, she is a Mysidian, able to use magic and have angelic wings. She is the daughter of Hyne and the Queen of Gaia, making her very powerful. Being, basically, the daughter of FF8's equivalent of Satan, she can be a bit angry or evil if she's upset. Edea van Neil: Name meaning: N/A (the closest is Edna, which means spirit renewed) Age: 20 Date of Birth: November 20, 4099 Hometown: Deling City, Galbadia Height: 5'8" Hair: Black Eyes: Gold Weapon of Choice: Chain Gun Magic Skills: Sorcery (both attack and healing) Identifying Marks: Napalm burn on left leg A sorceress since age 5, Edea has tried very hard to keep her powers a secret. After the murder of her sorceress mentor, Sasha, she has been fearful of her life. She is also from a rich background, and is a childhood friend of Julia and Raine. She is extremely loyal to her friends, yet constantly relies on them for protection from sorceress haters. Usually peace loving, she surprised her friends and family by joining the army with Raine and Julia, vowing to protect all innocent lives threatened by the Sorceress War. Inwardly, she wants to prove to the world that sorceresses, who were once heroes of the Centran Wars, can still be kind-hearted instead of evil. She is skilled in magic attacks, yet also excels at the chain gun. She is one of Wolf Pack's gunners, and a backup medic. She was once targeted by the entire base for harassment, due to them discovering her sorceress background. She suffers from depression and loneliness, yet those problems are easily forgotten through the aid of her friends. Zion Caraway: Name meaning: Heaven or A Sign Age: 20 Date of Birth: May 16, 4099 Hometown: Port of Balamb, Balamb Republic Height: 6'2" Hair: Black Eyes: Green Weapon of Choice: Gunarm Magic Skills: N/A Identifying Marks: Scar on thumb Zion was born in Balamb to a very demanding family. So demanding in fact, they bordered on abuse. He joined the army for the sole purpose of running away from them. Once in the army, however, he discovered he was actually quite good at being a soldier. He was quickly promoted to Sergeant. He was placed as a gunner in the eldest of the many Special Forces units, the Ravens. There, he first used a machine gun, yet became a veteran expert with the rare Gunarm weapon. When the Raven unit became too over-staffed, he was transferred to Wolf Pack after the loss of one of their soldiers. There, he finds them to be a laid-back unit, unlike the Ravens. He immediately befriends all of them, and fits in well. Despite a somewhat bad past, Zion is actually quite light-hearted. He shows much compassion and respect for his comrades, and even people he doesn't know. He is very insightful, able to guess things about people that most wouldn't be able to see. Thus, he takes an immediate liking towards Julia, due to her intense guarding of her true emotions. Celeste Trepe: Name meaning: From the Heavens Age: 20 Date of Birth: March 25, 4099 Hometown: Dollet, Galbadia Height: 5'8" Hair: Blonde Eyes: Blue Weapon of Choice: Whip, Magnum Revolver Magic Skills: N/A Identifying Marks: N/A Celeste is the elder daughter of a rich aristocrat in Dollet, on the east coast of Galbadia. She and her family have had arguments almost ever since her birth. The Trepe family expected all their children to be child prodigies. Celeste, though being extremely intelligent, simply enjoyed being alone more than going to her private school. Because of this, her grades dropped, and tensions increased. She spent most of her time avoiding her family, and became phenomenal in terms of electronic use. She was able to hack into anything, and create her own software programs. Once she gathered enough money from selling her software on the Dollet black market, she moved to Deling City and enlisted in the army as an electronics expert. Once in the army, she was promoted into the Special Forces due to her amazing technological achievements. There, she learned to master the whip along with the Magnum handgun. With her new combat skills, she was placed into Wolf Pack. She has a very caring and at times humorous personality. However, she has a terrible fear of heights. Lancer Name meaning: (Lance means spear. Could you guess?) Age: 20's (exact unknown) Date of Birth: ??? Hometown: ??? Height: 6'4" Hair: Blonde Eyes: Light Blue Weapon of Choice: Pole-Arm Magic Skills: Blue Magic Identifying Marks: Small burn on lower abs His real name is unknown, but his reputation is known through the many officers of the Galbadian army. He is an elite mercenary. He is expensive to hire, yet he is extremely skilled and always accomplishes a mission. He is hired by Galbadia to fill an empty slot in the Wolf Pack roster until a replacement can be found. He is very quiet at first, too far used to stern and serious units. Wolf Pack's intense friendship opens him up however, and he begins to fit in. His family was killed in a Estharian raid, and he has no memory of his life before that. He has Blue Magic skills, or magic learned from fallen enemies. He was taught to use his skills, and they come in handy in the most dire of situations. Celeste takes a liking to him, though her protective nature looks out for the solitary man. He opens up in then, becoming almost as friendly as Zion. Corin Dincht Name meaning: N/A for a male. (hehe, I found out later that this is actually a female name . Poor Corin.) Age: 20 Date of Birth: October 17, 4099 Hometown: Port of Balamb, Balamb Republic Height: 6' Hair: Blonde Eyes: Blue Weapon of Choice: Combat Gloves Magic Skills: N/A Identifying Marks: Large scar on left side of face Corin was born the second of two sons in Balamb. He grew up in a rather military atmosphere, his father having been a four star general for Galbadia. Once the Sorceress War began, his father became active again, and with his leaving, Corin decided it would be best to enlist. While his brother remained at home as a dock worker, Corin rapidly went up in rank. Soon, he was made a Special Forces soldier, and obtained the rank of Sergeant. He was also trained as a mechanic, refining some skills he picked up as a dock worker as a teen. With Corin and Celeste, no mechanical object is safe from being manipulated. Corin received a war injury not long after he joined Wolf Pack. His face was slashed by an Estharian soldier, proof of the enemy's strength, and in Corin's mind, his own failure. Despite his shortcoming in that battle, Corin still has a very upbeat and energetic attitude. He is always around if someone needs a helping hand. Lilliana Frieda: Name meaning: Lily, or Blossoming Flower Age: 19 Date of Birth: September 10, 4100 Hometown: Timber City, Timber Height: 5'6" Hair: Blonde Eyes: Blue Weapon of Choice: Combat Claws Magic Skills: Summoning/White Magic (healing) Identifying Marks: None Lilliana was born and raised in Timber in a working class family. She had trained as a martial artist ever since she could walk, her father being master of a dojo inside the city. She planned on enlisting into the Timber army once she turned 17, however that changed at the beginning of the Sorceress War. When Timber declared neutrality, not wanting to get into the war, she grew angry at her homeland. She defected to Deling City, and joined the Galbadian army instead. There, her stealth, strength, and magic quickly placed her into Special Forces, and into Wolf Pack. She is one of Wolf Pack's two summoners, possessing several in her arsenal. She is also a medic, healing whoever is in need. She has a great love of nature, due to her vacationing in the Timber wilds as a youth. In her free time, she is often seen hiking through the woods and plains, taking in as much nature as possible. Epsilon Kinneas: Name meaning: Epsilon is the Greek letter E. Age: 20 Date of Birth: January 29, 4100 Hometown: Dollet, Galbadia Height: 6'5" Hair: Reddish Brown Eyes: Green Weapon of Choice: Sniper Rifle, Shotgun Magic Skills: N/A Identifying Marks: N/A Epsilon is a country boy raised just outside of Dollet. He didn't spend much time in the city, but rather on a farm and ranch owned by his family. There, he learned life the harder way, though he still had a great deal of fun. His father taught him how to use a firearm at a young age, and he quickly proved to be better at it than anyone else in his family or any other relations. He became a sharpshooter, and by age 14 he was shooting better than most professionals. Once Galbadia went to war with Esthar, he enlisted, hoping his skills could be of some use. There, he became known as the best sniper in the Galbadian army. He was promoted, and soon found himself in Wolf Pack. Epsilon is a cheery guy, though he can be laid back and quiet if the situation isn't lighthearted. He is known as a great ladies-man, though his flirtatious manner usually doesn't lure any women toward him. Being Wolf Pack's elite sniper,he is often in the back of the battle, giving the others as much cover as possible. Andraia Navradski: Name meaning: Courageous Age: 18 Date of Birth: August 4, 4101 Hometown: Deling City, Galbadia Height: 5'5" Hair: Brown Eyes: Green Weapon of Choice: Nunchakus Magic Skills: Summoning/White Magic Identifying Marks: N/A Andraia is a natural born Galbadian, born and raised up in the capitol. She shares a great patriotism for her country, always involved in some sort of political project or even low level high school ones. Her parents were of a working class family, yet always found enough money to support her in every one of her many ambitions. She was the senior class president, and not to anyone's surprise, a cheerleader. However, the preppy personality was just one side of her. She also was skilled in basic martial arts, and excelled greatly at the nunchakus weapons. She could take down nearly any aggressor that she faced. She joined the army based on her childhood friends' decision, Aaron Tilmitt, after he joined at the start of the war. She, like Lilliana, is a summoner and white mage, thus the second main medic within the Pack. She has several summons in her arsenal, though most are weaker or different than Lilliana's. She is a very, very, cheerful person, possibly bordering on annoyance as well. She is always around when anyone needs any kind of help at all. Her limit break is slot, which is natural magic formed due to her being the great-granddaughter to a sorceress. --- Name meanings for the Excaliburs: Jesse: God Exists Aaron: Enlightened Jun: Esteemed People Icelina: N/A Alexius: Protector of Mankind ---Weapons --The Pack Raine: Katana, and later Ultima Blade Julia: Valkyrie Bladed Staff, C-40, Grenade Launcher, regular hand grenades Edea: Catalyst chain gun Zion: Gunarm XS-01, and later the Apocalypse Shockwave Laser Gunarm (ASLG) Corin: Death's Hand combat gloves, Shurikens Lilliana: Ultima Claws Epsilon: Sniper Rifles: PSG-1, Berretta, M-40 (depending on mission. PSG-1 in Book 1, Berretta in Book 2). Close range: Army grade shotgun. Andraia: Nunchakus, two handguns Lancer: Gungrir Spear Celeste: Blood Claw whip, Magnum revolver -- Excalibur Jesse: Hyperion gunblade Icelina: Orion gunblade (similar to the one Laguna uses in the dream world during the film scene) Alexius: Same as Epsilon, plus various explosives Aaron: Two handguns, dagger Jun: Same as Epsilon -- Villains Virados: Emerald Blade (toothed sword with elegant design, and a hand guard.) Satori: Two Sais (which are the three pronged daggers for those who don't know) -- Magic Usage In pre-game times, the Junction System did not exist. Thus, the only magic the people had were from Sorceresses, Mysidians, and descendants of Centran Summoners. Summoner white magic, and sorceress magic are similar, but Mysidians use a completely different system. Mysidians --- These were the first people to use magic, given to them at their creation by Hyne, and thus are the most powerful magic users. Mysidians were intended to be Hyne's warriors in his war against Heaven. However, they didn't want to destroy Shajuk or Tyran, and rebelled against Hyne. Mysidians can use any magic they want, excluding super-spells like Megiddo Flame and Terra Break. They can use magic anytime after age 5, and it get progressively stronger as they get older. Royal family members and nobility can use the most powerful spells. Mysidian magic is directly infused into their DNA, forming a triple helix. The third helix is a concentration of mana energy, making their magic the purest form of energy. The angel wings are a concentration of magic energy, a spell that will form a new bone structure starting at the shoulder blades. Stopping the spell will cause the wings to go away all together. Mysidians became legend after disappearing from Terra at the end of the War, and are often seen as demonic forces who haunt Centrans. Sorceresses --- Sorceresses were made for the single purpose of Mysidian hunting. Hyne made them his mages in the Centran Wars. A sorceress usually is dominant in one element such as Ice or Fire, and their spells will tend to follow that element. The sorceress formed a guild during the Centran Wars, and was quite powerful, consisting of at least one thousand sorceresses. Their magic was made to mirror a Mysidians, but ended up being slightly weaker. To give them an extra edge in battle, Hyne allowed them to pass on their powers after death, similar to a Shaduna or Tyraduna. Sorceress magic is fatal to a Mysidian, and thus will kill a Mysidian woman if she ends up inheriting the sorceress' magic. Sorceresses became feared and hunted after the Wars, and kept their powers secret. Powers are passed on either through births, or through the normal process of magic transfer during death. Summoners -- Summoners use healing magic, similar to a sorceresses. They can call the elemental guardians (Ifrit, Shiva, etc.) into battle at will. Usually a summoner has one guardian, yet in current times, at their decline in numbers, one summoner may have an excess of six summons. They pass on powers and summons genetically. Edea: Edea is a Sorceress of Ice. She can use any elemental magic she chooses, yet her ice magic is strongest. Rinoa: Rinoa is half-Mysidian due to Julia, and a sorceress due to Edea. If sorceress magic is fatal to a Mysidian, why is she alive? Well, she's half Mysidian. Her Centran side took on the sorceress magic, and when it met up with the Mysidian magic in her DNA, there was a reaction. The magic powers overloaded, sending the girl into a coma. Once the magic was able to balance out, she came back into consciousness, aided by her possession by Ultimecia. This theory of mine came out due to the fact that when Edea accepted Ultimecia's powers, she didn't pass out or go into a coma. Also, when you go to see Odine, he looks at Rinoa and says "Ah, so this is what happens...". I found that phrase odd, considering he's been around sorceresses for a while, so he should know how they pass on their powers. Maybe he found it interesting because Rinoa got powers that would have normally killed her, had it not been for Centran genes. --Previews to the Other Books Book 2, Black September (which, god damn it, was supposed to be Black December, but I made a typo and I'm leaving it stuck this way.): This is already out, so some of you have a pretty good idea on what it's going to be about. Raine is killed by Estharian soldiers about year after she gets to Winhill, leaving Julia in command of the Pack. Three years after Raine's murder, the Pack is called together for a very serious mission only few people know about. Reluctantly leaving their children into the care of their aunts and uncles, they set off for Galbadia to learn of their mission. Satori is back, and pissed. Planning to use rebelling Estharians and surviving Helios soldiers, she hopes to destroy the capitol cities of every western country in revenge for Helios' defeat and Esthar's usurp by Laguna. How? With a bunch of nukes. So, they send in Wolf Pack and Excalibur to disarm the nukes. However, everything soon goes wrong. Also, Julia's demonic side eventually progresses and matures in this book, and she'll have to choose to either side with evil or good by the end of the book. Book 3, Succession of Witches: This is FF8 with a twist. Told through the eyes of Edea, Rinoa, and Ultimecia, you'll see things that the game missed out on. It will tell the full story of Ultimecia, and the Fall of the Darknight Monarchy on Gaia, and how Hyne took control through seduction and murder. It will start out a few years before FF8, beginning with Julia's death. It will go deeper into the emotions of those three sorceress, giving the game a tad bit more depth. Book 4, The Prophecy: I'm not going to give too much away on this and the last book. Basically, it's set about 2 years after FF8, and Seifer and his posse are back again trying to seek redemption by becoming SeeDs. Well, after an incident in Odine's labs, and a mysterious power surge located in ancient Mysidia (Northern Centra), SeeD is called into help investigate. This book will be pretty large, though I'm not going to reveal the rest of the plot. It's a fantasy epic, not science fiction or a war novel like the first books. This book will clear up some issues and plot holes that will result from Black September. Book 5, The Rapture Wars: The end of the series. This one is set a generation after FF8, the main character being Squall and Rinoa's first born child. The rest of the offspring of the FF8 cast are in their as well, as supporting characters. The is the final battle, as the world faces ultimate destruction. Can one person believe in a prophecy and fulfill their destiny before it is too late? Or will they meet the same fate as their legendary ancestor? Yeah, all of them have action. All of them have romance, and hopefully by the last books, my romance writing won't be so corny! AN: Well, there ya go. A giant appendix for you. I was bored, and had writers block when it came to Black September. Possibly appendix B will be on the Centran Wars, since they play a big role, but aren't going to be discussed in depth very much. Maintained by: |
