Well here is the next little taru story. It may seem kind of down but it'll have a happy ending I promise!!! I wrote this while I sit here being unable to trust my comp in game since my video card is going out. I'm unable to do much in game before it crashes and it'll be a few weeks before I get my new card probably. So I'm missing out on all the missions and AF quests I could be helping on XD , but just like this story there is a brighter side , (I may actually finish Xenosaga Ep II lol ).
Also I've taken your suggestions and started an account on
http://www.opendiary.com under the author name Kitaru where the Little Taru's stories can be found as I write them.
Without further ado , The Little Taru : The Test. I hope you enjoy!!! ^.^
The little taru smiled happily as he drew in a deep breath of the fresh sea air in Bibiki Bay. His journies of late had only served to strengthen his faith in Vanadiel. He had met so many wonderful people along the way and had came far with old friends. Today the little taru wanted to return to that lonely beach on Purgonogo Island, not to contemplate fading away again , but to reaffirm his will to go on.
"The Manaclipper bound for Purgonogo Isle has arrived!!!" Shouted a nearby mithran.
"That's my cue!!!" The little taru said happily to himself as he jumped up from the docks and started making his way to the clipper.
Making it to the clipper just in time the little taru waved happily to the mithran at the docks. "Good Journey!!!" He shouted as the clipper pulled away.
Plopping down on the wing of the clipper the little taru contentedly pulled out his fishing rod and hung it over the side hoping that grilled Gugru would be on his menu that night on the beach. The sea was beautifully calm today, the sea gulls flying high overhead and the dolphins playfully swimming beside the clipper.
The mithran tour guide seeming a bit alarmed at the lack of tourists on the clipper came and sat next to the little taru.
"Tis a fine day to be fishing little one! This trip seems to find you quite content!" The mithran said with a smile.
The little taru smiled. "What's not to be content about? The day is perfect and the sea is beautiful! Even the dolphins seem to be smiling for us!!!"
"NOT ALL IS MEANT TO BE TO BE A JOY...." A voice said.
The little taru jumped to his feet startled , that wasn't the mithrans voice. "What's the matter little one?" The mithran asked. "You didn't hear that?" He replied. "I heard nothing little one, there is only us and the fine pilot of this vessel aboard." She stated as she got up and made her way back to the cabin , obviously shook up by the taru's strange behavior.
"IN LIFE ONE MUST LEARN TO ACCEPT SADNESS...
ONE MUST LEARN TO ACCEPT THOSE TIMES WHEN THEY ARE ALONE... AND HELPLESS..." The strange yet beautiful voice boomed.
"What in Altana's name is goin.." The little taru started, but was cut short.
"YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED MANY THINGS IN THIS LAND LITTLE TARU , BUT YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO FACE THE DARKER ROADS AHEAD FOR YOU. A SHADOW IS GROWING OVER THE LAND , AN EVIL THE LIKES OF WHICH VANADIEL HAS ONLY SEEN ONCE BEFORE. YOU'VE MADE STRONG ALLIES FOR THIS FIGHT , BUT THE SHADOW WILL TRY TO TEAR THOSE FRIENDS AWAY , WILL TRY TO MAKE ALL OF VANADIEL FEEL HOPELESS AND ALONE. IT WILL TRY TO TAKE VANADIEL'S VERY WILL TO FIGHT AWAY.
WHAT WILL YOU DO LITTLE TARU? IF THE SHADOW TAKES YOUR FRIENDS AWAY? IF THE SHADOW MAKES YOU FEEL HOPELESSLY ALONE? WILL YOU FADE....... OR WILL YOU FIGHT?"
Frantically looking around the little taru stood his ground. "I'll fight.... , but I won't lose my friends. I'll do everything in my power to keep them from falling under the Shadow's sway!!!"
"YOU STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND. ONLY BY SHOWING YOU THE ODDS YOU'RE AGAINST WILL YOU SEE. THEN YOU CAN MAKE YOUR DECISION TO FADE..... OR FIGHT. SOMETIMES THINGS ARE BEYOND EVEN THE STRONGEST WILLED, THE STRONGEST HEARTED PERSON'S CONTROL...." The voice continued.
"What do you mean???!!! I'll never truly be alone!!!" The little taru shouted angrily.
"YOU WILL KNOW THE MEANING... IT IS SPOKEN AND NOW IT IS DONE. WEATHER THIS TEST WELL LITTLE TARU. THE FATE OF YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS HANGS IN THE BALANCE...." The voice stated sadly.
The skies above the clipper suddenly became pitch black and the wind picked up. The calm sea suddenly sprang to life , rolling and churning in all directions. The little clipper began to toss violently. The little taru braced himself as best he could as the rain began to pour and thunder crashed in the distance.
" Whatever this fate is, I will not accept it!!!" The little taru shouted defiantly as the seas grew more violent. As the ship tossed more violently he struggled to hold on.
A scream cut through the loud storm. The little taru turned his head to see the mithran tourguide barely hanging onto the wing on the other side of the clipper.
"Hang on!!" He shouted as he struggled over to the other side, waves crashing violently into him. The captain had came out to try and help as well but took the full force of a wave and had been swept overboard.
Reaching the opposite side the little taru braced himself and reached for the mithran. "Take my hand!!!" He shouted over the storm. "NO!! You'll be swept overboard!!" The mithran yelled back defiantly.
"Take my hand you damned stubborn cat!!!" The little taru shouted. "I'm not going to let anyone else die!!!"
The mithran begrudgingly reached out and claspted the taru's hand. The little taru then drew his blessed hammer and shouted "Seraph Strike!!!" slamming the hammer into the wing of the clipper with a burst of light, giving himself something to hold onto.
"You're going to make it!!!" The little taru shouted with a smile and began to try to pull the mithran up.
Just as the mithran was almost back on deck a huge wave crashed into both her and the little taru sending them both off of the clipper's wing. Holding onto the hammer for dear life the taru grabbed the mithran's hand again.
The little taru frantically tried to think of how they were going to get back on deck when he felt his mitt slipping off of his hand.
"NOOOOOOO!" The little taru shouted. "I promised you I wouldn't let you die!!!!" He grasped as tightly as he could but his water soaked mitt kept sliding away til finally the mithran fell into the black churning sea. Struggling the little taru got back on deck and held to the hammer fast frantically trying to spot the mithran in the water to no avail.
Tears welled up in the little taru's eyes mixing with the with rain pounding against his face. He had done everything he could but he couldn't save her....
The storm raged for several more hours as the little taru held fast to his blessed hammer anchored into the wing of the clipper. Sometime that night the sea finally grew calm again and the skys cleared to reveal a moonlit night filled with stars
Weakly the little taru made his way to the center of the deck and collapsed onto his back looking up at the night sky , tears still trickling down his face. The clipper had been tossed far from home , there was no captain to navigate the ship, and despite his best efforts an innocent had died. The little taru was lost , alone , and no hope seemed to be in sight....
The little taru sighed. "I've failed , strange voice. I couldn't save them. This is a fate well deserved by this taru." He weakly said as exhaustion pulled him into sleep....
Somewhere far away beyond mortal reach, the voice that had spoken to the little taru sighed.
"This test isn't over little taru, and though I hate to put you through it , if I don't, the Shadow Lord will destroy you and your friends. Only when and if you understand will this test be over..." The voice quietly spoke to itself.
To be continued...
Edited, Sat Mar 26 03:57:42 2005 by Kitaru