[img]http://i.imgur.com/IPZzgEm.jpg[/img]

[centre][u]Final Fantasy VIII: Tempus Veneficarum[/u]

Many centuries ago, the world lay at the mercy of the great Sorceress Hyne, first and most powerful of all Sorceresses. For many lifetimes she ruled the world with an iron fist, extinguishing all resistance with might and magic. After countless failed revolts, the people of the world united under one banner to overthrow Hyne and in a great battle that saw the death of thousands, the great Sorceress finally fell. But her power lived on, passed down to a handful of young women, a blessing and a curse. From these few Sorceresses all others would follow and the gift of magic was passed on from generation to generation.

In the present day true magic is rare, yet anyone with the right training can wield its distaff cousin; paramagic. Born of science rather than mysticism, paramagic is used for everything from warfare to powering cars. It relies on sources of energy, sometimes electricity, fossil fuels or more esoteric sources. The world stands at a crossroads and war is on the horizon; the great Republic of Galbadia continues it's decades long expansion across the western continent, prompting its neighbours the Dollet Dukedom and Balamb to prepare for the worst.

Balamb has no security forces, no army. It's only line of defense lies with Garden, the world's premier military academy. Garden recruits its best and brightest graduates into its own elite mercenary organisation, SeeD, famous for its deadly efficiency and use of the Guardian Force in combat. The GF, part magical battery, part guardian angel, provide SeeD operatives with phenomenal combat power and longevity.

With the world on the brink of a new war and hints of a mysterious presence behind the scenes, a class of Balamb Garden students is preparing for their final test, the last hurdle to becoming a SeeD. Now is their chance to prove themselves worthy, to earn their place alongside the best warriors in the world.

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In a nutshell this RP takes place at the beginning of the original FFVIII game, with the characters preparing for their field test to become SeeDs. From there the story will branch out to follow the original plot very, very loosely. At times I or a co-GM may contact players by PM to facilitate certain plot points, but that's far enough into the future that we don't need to worry just yet. There are player 8 slots, including myself. Anyone above and beyond 8 will be put on a waiting list in case anyone drops.

[u]Rules[/u][/centre]

Oh how I love writing rules...
- While debate is always encouraged, GM's word is final. I won't be using this unless I absolutely have to though.
- It goes without saying, but no godmodding or controlling other people's characters without their express permission. Common courtesy boys and girls.
- No canon characters (even NPC characters will be OC) or expy characters. Please. This RP is about seeing the story from a different perspective. We don't need a Cyther or Kwiztiz.
- Romance is expected (Final Fantasy after all) and I'm not too fussed if it's yuri, yaoi or straight. Just keep it PG-13.
- If you are going to be away fro more than three days, tell us and we can work around it IC. Similarly, if you want to withdraw TELL US, don't just leave.
- This is a Casual/High-Casual RP, but I'm not expecting walls. Two to three paragraphs is a good average, if you can post more, great. If not, don't worry. So long as the content, spelling and grammar of your posts are up to scratch, I won't complain.
- Last but not least, enjoy yourselves! Don't be afraid to do crazy things! If I don't see at least one drunken T-Rexaur fight in this RP, I shall be deeply disappointed.

[hider=CS]
First things first; your characters are STUDENTS preparing for their final exam. They are not seasoned SeeDs, their GFs are not all powerful and they are not perfect. Over time, your characters will improve, just remember; this is only the beginning. Characters I deem to be too OP will have to be rewritten. Sorry.
Feel free to mess with the structure of the CS; so long as the info is there, it can look as pretty as you want.

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b] SeeD candidates can be between 15 and 19.
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b] Ideally a picture [i]and[/i] description, but either or.

[b]Nationality:[/b] There's a couple to choose from, but you'll really have to sell it to me if you want a character from Esthar.
[b]Trained At:[/b] Which Garden (Balamb, Galbadia or Trabia) did your character do their training at?
[b]Weapon/Combat Style:[/b] The fun bit; how does your character kill things?
[b]Limit Break:[/b] And what do they do once they've been smacked around a bit? Get creative on this one.

[b]Personality:[/b] Is your character a nutter? Anti-social? A kleptomaniac?
[b]Biography:[/b] A couple of paragraphs detailing their history, nothing too fancy.

[b]Additional information:[/b]

[b]GF:[/b] Name your Guardian Force
[b]Appearance:[/b] What does your GF look like? Description, picture, mix of the two; it's up to you.

[b]Elemental Affinity:[/b] Basic stuff, water, ice, fire etc. Or just None, if you want.
[b]Junctions:[/b] Don't bother going into depth here, just say roughly what the GF can do. Don't be too OP.
[b]Abilities:[/b] Things like Card, Mug, magic refining etc. Again, nothing too extreme.
[/hider]

[centre][b][u]Story So far[/u][/b][/centre]

[hider=Chapter 1. The Test]Against the backdrop of an invasion of the peaceful town of Dollet by the militaristic Galbadian Republic, six Balamb Garden students prepare for their field test to become members of SeeD, the world famous mercenary company. Led by their instructor Duncan, the group gears up and mount the airships that take them to Dollet.

As the airships approach the mission site, Duncan begins to explain the mission in depth; the students are to destroy an electrical substation just outside the city, then return to the LZ for extraction. However, Syrus notices a second substation near the first and argues that the group must split up to take them both down. As Duncan wrestles with the implications of this, the airships fly into the range of Galbadian anti-aircraft guns, forcing him to make a snap decision. He orders the group to follow Xerox's plan of using deactivated mechs to destroy the towers at the first substation while he takes down the second with explosives and puts Xerox in charge of the mission.

As Duncan splits off from the group, the Galbadians prepare to receive them. Elsewhere in Dollet, a young Galbadian officer named Ace Fiore leads his troops to an abandoned communications tower outside the city. His orders are to repair the tower and defend it, but his squad is less than suited to the task.

The students begin their attack, taking down the first soldiers to reach their drop zone with ease. Xerox and Charlotte begin to move into the rear of the substation, with Syrus, Eika, Riella and Kein attacking head on.

Ten minutes after the candidates began their attack, the main body of SeeD forces begin their landing at Lapin Beach, shattering the Galbadian's first line of defence. With the arrival of much-needed reinforcements, the Dollet army rallies to counter attack the Galbadian positions. The city rapidly descends into a warzone as the Galbadians are pushed back street by street, house by house.

Duncan finally finishes rigging the second substation for demolition, but runs afoul of Ace's troops sent to investigate reports of a SeeD and is captured. His pet bitebug Vinzer manages to escape and sets off to find the students and lead them to it's master. Meanwhile in the city centre, the main force has secured the area and one of their number, a young SeeD named Jericho, is redirected to support the candidates after news of Duncan's actions at the second substation filter back to Garden.

Eika somehow senses her Instructor's fate and goes off mission to rescue him; Syrus, Kein and Jericho are left with little choice but to follow. Meanwhile Xerox and Charlotte are approaching the rear entrance to the first substation when Rue's animal senses tingle. Realising what has happened to Duncan, Xerox asks Charlotte to go ahead and head to communications tower while he finishes the substation alone. Ace's men bring Duncan to the tower and the Lieutenant prepares to interrogate his prisoner. However before he starts, Ace finishes the repairs to the communications tower, activating the uplink. As the Galbadian prepares his tools to interrogate the SeeD, Eika arrives, followed shortly after by Syrus and Jericho.

While the fight rages atop the tower, Charlotte and Xerox split up. Xerox heads further into the substation and uses his skill as a mechanist to destroy it from within, completing the mission directive. Meanwhile as Charlotte approaches the tower, she remembers the tool given to her by Xerox and activates it; paired with another tool it functions as a teleporter, dragging Xerox through space toward her. A short distance away, Kein finally catches up and engages the remaining soldiers at the base of the tower.

The battle atop the tower finally comes to a head, with the SeeDs battered but seemingly victorious until Ace calls in a mighty airship in support. He and his last remaining subordinates jump aboard as the airship's main guns spin up.

The SeeDs and their students flee, powerless against such an opponent, but Jericho leaves a parting gift by freezing the tower controls into a useless lump. They eventually make their way back to where the airships dropped them off to find their rides have returned for them, called by Duncan's emergency flare. They board just in time and the team escape as the airships shift into aquatic forms and dive under the sea. Across the city SeeD begins to withdraw, leaving pockets of Dollet soldiers here and there. With the tower defunct and the Dollet Army re-entrenched within the city, the Galbadians have failed in their objective. It seems as though SeeD was victorious, but in response the enemy razes the city of Dollet to the ground, murdering countless innocents in the progress. The students can only watch in anguish as they are shuttled back to Balamb Garden, unable to stop the slaughter.[/hider]

[Hider=Chapter 2. The Ball]After a long trip back to Balamb Garden, the students split up to wind down after the mission. Syrus and Xerox, suffering from fatigue and serious injuries, are taken to the infirmary where Dr Kadowaki plies her trade. Meanwhile, Eika and Duncan head up to Corvo's office so the instructor can give his debrief as Charlotte and Jericho retire to their rooms.

Once the doctor is done tending to Syrus' wounds, he quietly leaves the infirmary. Convinced that the others have found out his secret, he gathers his belongings and attempts to leave Balamb, only to be waylaid at the entrance by a chipper young girl named Mei Song. His plan to quietly slip away from Garden foiled, Syrus escorts the stranger to the Head Instructor's office, only to find himself invited in for a private discussion with Corvo. He leaves with no illusions as to Garden's view of his attempt to leave and of Corvo's commitment to keeping the young man with the organisation.

The candidate are soon called together by the Headmaster in his office, where the five of them are inaugurated as members of SeeD, the next generation of Balamb's Gardens mercenary warriors. Meanwhile, Jericho finds himself caught up in an altercation with a pair of fellow SeeDs, unaware that the whole affairs is being watched by his friend Gracelyn Trinser, along with the Garden security team via CCTV. Despite the fights and awkward situations that many students find themselves in, Garden hosts the annual Graduation Ball that evening, with every SeeD and student in attendance. Syrus once against bumps into Mei on the dance floor and the two spend the evening chatting over a few drinks, as Gracelyn and Jericho do the same nearby. Duncan, somewhat depressed by news of his official dismissal and secret orders, is trying to drown his misery in alcohol when Xerox interrupts him. The night eventually ends quietly, as hundreds of drunk folk stagger back to their rooms to prepare for another day.
[/hider]

[hider=Chapter 3. Timber]Orders have come in for Duncan and his team of newly-commissioned SeeDs. With the addition of a few more experienced operatives, the team is dispatched to Timber via airship and intercontinental rail. Once they arrive, they set about settling into an underground safehouse within the city limits, preparing for the missions ahead. The city of Timber is under occupation by the Galbadian Army and the team has been ordered to kidnap a senior officer from a local military base. The mission is a success, but at terrible cost; three SeeDs lose their lives to take down the cybernetically enhanced Major Wiggs and many more are seriously injured. Duncan takes the time to interrogate the Major and with the information gathered from him, Garden and the Faction issue new orders; the team is to head to Deling City.
[/hider]

[hider=Chapter 4. The Capital]The SeeDs leave Timber by train and arrive at Deling City the night before the victory parade for the Battle of Dollet. They break up into smaller groups and make their way to the Lerwick Estate, the seat of the Faction's power in Deling City and home of Duncan's father, Field Marshal Constantine Lerwick. Joined by high-ranking members of the Faction and agents from the rogue Presidential Security Agency, the SeeDs begin to plan their most challenging mission yet; the assassination of President Vinzer Deling.

With a plan in place and the full support of the Faction, the team head out to do the deed. Amid a grand parade through the centre of Deling City, SeeD scatters out to fake a riot, giving them the chance they need to finish the President. Despite hints and rumours of another force at play, SeeD completes their mission and throws the city into disorder. As the team flees the scene to regroup at the Lerwick Estate, their erstwhile allies in the PSA turn on them as if by design. They marshal the confused and leaderless Galbadian Army to lay siege to the Estate, aiming to wipe out SeeD and the Faction in one fell swoop. Despite a valiant defence on their part, the team fall one by one, only to find that the PSA has other plans in store for them.[/hider]

[hider=Chapter 5. The Prison]When the team awakes, they find themselves trussed up in a dingy torture chamber in locations unknown, at the mercy of a psychopath named Mako. Despite physical and mental torture, the team refuse to give him any information and are sent back to their cells. Opportunity knocks when a squad of Galbadian soldiers comes to deliver them food; the soldiers treat SeeD with respect and fear, seemingly sympathetic to their plight. In a surprise turn of events, Sergeant Fresno, the leader of the squad, offers to help the team escape the prison in return for asylum in Balamb Garden. Despite being suspicious of the soldier's sincerity, Duncan accepts their offer and the team hatch a plan to disable the base long enough for them to escape. The tea splits in three, aiming for the main armoury and the team's weapons, the main generator powering the facility's anti-magic field and a storage room where their junction drives are being kept.

Shortly after the tea breaks out, two fellow SeeDs start their own jailbreak. Eika and Jake, leading a crack team of Galbadia Garden SeeDs, storm the prison from the outside to rescue the team. As they head into the base, the SeeDs within manage to take down their targets while freeing another, Minerva Grants, along the way. Jericho's team rendezvouses with those in the armoury in time to storm the main control room, meanwhile Agents Royce and Mako barricade themselves in one of the cells, hoping to avoid the whole affair.[/hider]