Part 2: Byuu's Journal: First Entry

8th day, 4th month, 2 years after the fall of Kahna



Today after being away for more than a year, I rejoined my friends on the tiny lagoon that has been the stronghold of the Resistance since the fall of Kahna. I suppose The Resistance might be a bit of a grand name for our group, as small as we are, but it has to start somewhere.



In that time Truce, Rush, Bikkebakke and I have managed to gather the four dragons that used to be members of the Kahna Dragon Squad. Pinky wouldn't leave me, but the others scattered after the battle. Our latest dragon is a little bit odd looking, but he's incredibly strong. I can't help but think that he looks like a Clyde for some reason... He's actually very fond of poison grass, oddly enough. None of the other dragons really want to go near it.



There was a bit of a fuss when we came in, but I think that everyone was more or less glad to see us. Some more than others, obviously...I can't imagine that Matelite has missed me all that much. He was barely willing to get up from his nap to come out!



I could hear Melodia yelling on the way in. I think she's happier to see Pinky than me, but I would have been a lot like that when I was younger.



Truce and Rush might consider switching names, since Truce was in such a hurry to get started implementing our plan. I feel a bit bad about the fact that she's been held by the Granbelos empire for the past two years while we gathered our strength, but there wasn't anything to be done. I only hope that she's too valuable a prisoner to be mistreated.



I decided to take a moment to look around the small house that everybody else has been sharing for the past several years. Right away I could tell that the food situation has gotten pretty desperate if they're eating what I think is a sea urchin grub.



Around the corner, however, I found a stash of gin. Somebody's been keeping a stash on the side, and the list of suspects is pretty long. It has medicinal use, however, so I appropriated it for the Resistance.



Matelite was inside talking to himself when I stepped in. He's had...something of a fixation on Yoyo for a while now, which is probably why he's never much liked me. I don't really understand what he's thinking, considering his age, but his feelings have probably made the past two years really hard on him.



After he scuttled out the door I found the memento that he was poring over. For some reason, it makes me think back to a time years back when Yoyo and I ran off from the castle for an afternoon.



Matelite was furious, but Yoyo had ordered some of the servants to keep him busy...he was left fuming at the castle gates while we flew off together.



I certainly didn't complain about getting off alone with the princess for an afternoon. I still wonder, though, why I made that promise...



I suppose it could have been the abandoned church that we visited and the atmosphere, but it could be that we were just young. But when she asked if I wanted to go in, I said yes. Even though she laughed and said that we were too young, she wanted to know if we could come back some day.



It was our secret, but as we grew older I have to wonder if she still remembered. I can't imagine that there's much of a chance after she's been a prisoner for two years... and in those two years, she's seemed very far away.



At the same time, Lukia has been enduring the same difficulties as an outcast of the new empire. I don't really know what's going on inside my head sometimes. At any rate, I kept looking around after finding Matelite's memento, I kept looking around.



I'm really not sure what to make of some of the things I found...



Although I did find another stash of alcohol next to Matelite's bed. I'll have to watch and make sure he's not drinking too much.



Zora, who used to be one of Yoyo's servants, has evidently been saving various kinds of grasses for the dragons. They've been undergoing hard times living out in the wild and away from civilization, and I guess it's starting to tell on them. Bikkebakke said when we left that we'd have to be more careful in how we fed and cared for them in the future, and I really can't disagree with him.



Pinky refused to move until I let him eat something, and the others weren't much better. I'm a bit concerned about the fact that he ate a piece of armor, but I guess dragons can eat just about anything. He certainly seemed to have a healthier look after even that meal.



I'm a bit worried about how Clyde is filling out, but everybody else doesn't seem to find it any stranger than how he used to look. Dragons are pretty amazing creatures when you think about it.



Inky, meanwhile, has been eating everything in site and has, more importantly, apparently sprouted a second head. I asked Sendak what he thought about it, and he said that it was a perfectly normal part of a young dragon's development. I'm not sure if he understood the question..



Speaking of Sendak, he said that I seem different since coming back from our trip. I don't really see it myself, and I'm wondering if he's quite himself. I'm not entirely sure if he always knows who he's talking to..



This question seemed really disturbingly familiar for some reason...



And he didn't want to take no for an answer when I said I felt kind of awkward. It makes me feel a bit strange.



A couple of mini-devils came up at the last moment and jumped on board. I'm not sure what they wanted, but they seemed excited. I can't follow their jabbering at all. I'm glad to have them, I suppose. We've got an opportunity to take back Kahna's flagship, and we can't afford to miss it.



Sendak handed me a letter that he had evidently been saving for some time. It said:

Dear Byuu,

How are you? Where are you traveling to now? Several winters have passed since the war...since our Kahna was destroyed... since the Granbelos Empire conquered the world... Those battles are now old history. The resistance group created as per the deceased king's final wish is only but a name. Without you, Byuu, everyone seems saddened. Yes... the snow has already begun to fall here. Winter looks like it will be gold again this year. Well, that is all. Please take care of yourself.

From Sendak

Why did he write a letter like this to me, and how did he think it was going to be delivered with all over Orelus looking for dragons?



Mechanics Explanation



All the talk about feeding dragons might require some explanation. In order to increase the stats of your dragons, you have to feed them items and equipment. Most will increase one or two stats, while a few might improve a stat at the expense of another. Dragons will change shape as their stats reach certain relative benchmarks, as you all saw in the case of Clyde and Inky. Generally the benchmarks for these things are at stat multiples of 10.

Obviously this results in a careful balancing act between whether you give equipment to your characters or to your dragons. The fact that you can manipulate enemies into dropping items suited to an element also comes into play for customizing your dragons. Right now I'm keeping Flammie as the life dragon, turning Inky into a jack of all trades, gave Clyde an improvement in his poison stat, and just kept up with the flame on Pinky.

Art!



Sendak



Matelite



Mini-Devil