Shining Spirits: Chapter 1

The Plot

A man who witnessed his world's government kill his family, suddenly is now ruler of the planet as part of his growing empire. Doing all the things he hated as a child, he certainly gets his enjoyment from seeing other's suffer the same way he did. His reign is all but stoppable when a young teenage boy and his friends find a scepter in the woods. Not just any scepter, but one that belonged to this emperor as a memento of his happier childhood times. Weary of it's purpose, the teens take the scepter for further knowledge. They are then met with the emperor's henchmen, who attempt to get the scepter back but ultimately fail, which persuades. them to have a further look taken at the staff. After some research, they finally figure out that the scepter does belong to the emperor. By the time they decide to return it, the emperor's army has already been given orders to eliminate them. Not knowing what to do now, they receive word that the scepter holds the key to a faraway ruin where all the secrets to the empire are held, and revealing those secrets would end the emperor's reign and restore peace once again. However, they have to keep their plan to find the ruins and secret, as one of the group's father is a lieutenant in the military, and is on the trail for the people who have the scepter. Throughout towns, villages, dungeons, and puzzles, will these likely but somehow odd heroes be able to uncover the truth of their authoritarian government? Or will their ambition, good looks, and high intelligence get the best of them and come crashing down on them?

The Characters

Lance Lagrand - a typical 16 year old boy with high ambitions about his life. Moving from the common village to a house deep in the woods, he maintains a close friendship with Max and Hailey, whom he's known since he was able to toddle. Aside from only living with his mother, he typical finds solitude in his treehouse that's far off into the forest and very large. He is a full-blood Eraski, just as as the others in his village are, which seperates him from his friends who are a mix of races and one who has a birth defect that makes their hair red. He was voted number one in his class for perviness (rumor has it he was caught peeking into the girls' locker room) and is thought to have a romantic relationship with Hailey Myslin.

Max Rygiel - once taken under the tutelage of penguins, Max Rygiel is a highly intelligent and nerdy individual. He is seen as weak by his peers, but proves to be very acquainted with physical combat. Max is a huge fan of Nobeliumman, a superhero who has the ability to turn himself into green goo with his gooeyness, and tends to be very creepy, especially around girls. His father is a lieutenant in the Siobhan Army and can sniff out any trail of wrong-doers. Max and Lance have been best friends since the playpen and became friends with Hailey in the fourth grade when they were assigned to a project on furry insects (of which Hailey was terrified of and Max even ate one) and despite Max peeking up Hailey skirt (which was no good since she was wearing shorts underneath), they remain friends to this day. Although Hailey highly disapproves of his creepiness.

Hailey Myslin - blessed with good looks, a great personality, and some other things that can't be mentioned due to child innocence laws, Hailey is the more relaxed of the group. She is thought to be born with a natural talent to kick anyone's butt and destroy a promised man's potential. She is a full-blood Eraski, however she was born with a defect that caused her hair to become red instead of green. She became friends with Lance Lagrand at the age of seven, when she moved next door to him in Xeatrra Village and mistook him for a girl (much to Lance's surprise). Many say that there is a romantic relationship going on between Lance and Hailey. Some say they're just friends, some say they're dating, and some say they've gone further than that, but that's a story for a different game. She is highly against Max Rygiel's creepiness, and despite this, she remains friends with him solely because he's friends with Lance.

Siobhan Zaunbrecher - Emperor (henceforth 'King') of the Planet Ilyss, he witnessed his mother be killed by the military police and his sister be taken away as a young child. He was taken under King Kraenu's wing as a disciple to learn from him and grow up to become a potential heir to his throne. He is said to be highly intelligent, as he spent most of his childhood reading about history, science, and just about everything. He deliberately oppresses the people of Ilyss, even though he does all the things that he hated as a child. He highly values his position as King as it's the highest achievement he's had in his life (besides his brief job as a puppet-maker), and will do anything to protect it. Even if that means killing a couple of kids...

Raymonde Rockstad - Bodyguard of King Siobhan, Raymonde is very mysterious individual. Not much is know about him, except that he is a veteran of the Ilyss Civil War of Year 873, which explains the eye-patch that he wears. He is an excellent fighter, which explains why he was able to escape a war prison with only a toothpick and booby pin.

Malie Mayle - Bodyguard of King Siobhan, not much is known about Malie. She, like Siobhan, is highly intelligent and was once a spy for the Kraenu Military Logistics Association in Year 884. She is also an excellent fighter and was even the martial arts champion of her Class of Year 824 and once killed three men with one kick to the gonads.

The Setting

Planet Ilyss - The Planet Ilyss is a serene but poverty stricken planet. Despite it's eight continents, most are used for government property. One is even devoted to King Siobhan's castle, which is surrounded by a huge poison swamp (also owned by the government). The planet has 15-hour days, with 7 hours of daylight (to set up a good eight hour sleep schedule regulated and enforced by the government). Planet Ilyss has 10 moons, all owned by King Siobhan and one is devoted entirely to his idea of a one million square foot bouncy house. It also has a 133-day long year, which explains Malie and Raymonde's older history yet aged appearence. It has 3.42x earth gravity, meaning you weigh a lot more and it actually isn't because you're fat. Therefore, Planet Ilyss has a very low obesity weight (being obese is actually a felony and is punishable by execution by boiling). It is 3.9x the size of earth, allowing for a lot more water, which is made up of salt and liquid metal that tastes like bubblegum but is illegal to consume by government law. Ilyss is in the Cambrian period, along with a few more boring science facts. And is about earth-distance from its sun, which is a big ball of gas and isn't very hot but somehow keeps the planet warm due to it's closeness and hugging-ness.