The little taru fell his hands and knees heaving for breath,
the dusty floors of Castle Oztroja were no place for a taru
White Mage by himself. The little taru wasn't sure how long
he could keep this fight up. This whole task before him was
a death sentence , he knew, but he had no other choice.
After taking care of matter in Delkfutt's several weeks
ago the little taru had began to harbor suspicion of Jeuno's
Archduke. One by one his friends had been sent on special
missions for Jeuno , and one by one they dissappeared. The
little taru suspected that it was much the same reason as
he had been sent on this one by orders of the Archduke. It
seemed that anyone who suspected anything foul was being
taken care of.
The little taru pounded a bloody fist into the ground.
So many friends gone. The little taru was completely alone.
Weeks ago , sitting on the beaches of Purgonogo Island the
Little taru had given thought to leaving this land.
Maybe I should've, he thought to himself before quickly
shaking his head.
"No, It can't be said that I ran away." He muttered
to himself , coughing and sending a spray of blood to the ground.
The little taru needed to get up. Slowly he pushed himself up leaning on the dusty castle wall. Around the corner he could see several shadows growing
larger.
They're coming again, he thought. The little taru reached down to pick up his Blessed Hammer only to find it shattered on the ground.
The little taru sighed. He was alone. This would be his last fight. With a weak smile the taru said,
"Today my story ends..."
The yagudos rounded the corner. They were at least 5 strong. Before the yags could notice the little taru, they felt the pain of divine magic rip through them all.
The little taru stumbled, further weakened from the Banishga II spell. The yagudo charged like vultures to a carcass. The leader of the Beastmen group sqawked a sickening laugh as he kicked the little taru backwards into the wall.
"Is that the best you've got, yagudo?" The little taru mocked, spitting up
blood.
Slowly the little taru climbed back to his feet, much to the amusement of the beastmen, then stumbled to his knees. He could fight no longer.
This is my story , he thought , this is my ending.
The yagudo drew it's blade high above it's head readying the killing blow. The little taru looked up and smiled.
"I'll see you all soon my friends..." he mumbled.
Suddenly the yagudo fell to its knees... a single arrow in its back. A lone mithran ranger came walking out of the shadows with a cocky grin on her face. The yagudos wasted no time and charged her only to be met by a flurry of fists as an Elvaan monk joined the mithran.
Slowly the pair walked to the side of the little taru while the remaining yagudo kept their distance assessing the situation.
"Solrain.... Aravan....," the little taru stuttered weakly as he tried to stumble to his feet again only to fall once more.
"Rest now little one," said the Elvaan monk, "We're here now."
"Can't let you hog all the fun," laughed the mithran ranger.
The yagudos had wasted no time in regrouping as even more rounded the corner to face the trio.
"T-there are too many, you should go...." The little taru begged.
"You've got a mission to complete, little one, and we're here to help whether you want it or not." The monk said calmly.
The pair began the fight against the beastmen, but it was clear they were outnumbered, and the little taru was too weak to help his friends.
Slowly the pair began to slow and weaken as the yagudo forces seemed to never end. The little taru kept trying to struggle to his feet to help his friends to no avail, when
he suddenly felt himself being touched by healing magic followed by refresh.
With his strength restored to him the little taru got to his feet and looked around. There at the corner stood a Mithran Redmage. When the little taru saw her she tipped her plumed hat and rounded back into the shadows.
"Mero..." The taru said as he nodded back.
Turning quickly back to his friends the little taru quickly joined the fray casting. The tides of the battle had turned even if only for a moment as the yagudos kept bounding in on them from the corridor.
Solrain noticed the little taru's smile as he joined the battle.
"Smiling in the face of insurmountable odds and impending doom are we?" Chortled the mithran.
The little taru laughed.
"This is my story. I am not alone. This is not the end,
but merely the beginning of a new page." The little taru said happily as the battle continued...
-End
I wrote this for my friends. The past few weeks have been hard IRL and I've wanted to throw in the towel on FFXI several times.
These wonderful people wouldn't let me, and went out of their way to let me know they were there for me. I can't thank you all enough. A few weeks ago I posted the story "The Little Taru" when I was thinking about throwing in the towel , and said I'd give it a few weeks to think about it before I made my decision. I think this "finale" sums up what I decided. ^.^
Thankies much you three , this little taru is forever in your debt. :D
*edited to include that all char names used by permission*
Edited, Fri Mar 11 23:15:52 2005 by Kitaru