ToSS Rewrite

Quiz Start: Your dream turned dark suddenly, warping into the nightmare that plagued you since you could remember.
You were standing in a glass tube of some form, a rune glowing under your feet, in a room full of advanced magitechnology and screens. The purpose of the machines wheedled at the back of your mind somewhere, but despite how much you tried to recall it, it just wouldn't come.
A voice, familiar but unidentifiable, came from a human figure that stood in front of one of the screens, "You'll have to run, Aura... Run fast, and far."
"I know," you say, your voice quiet and heavy with a type of sad assurance.
The figure entered a few numbers. "You'll be in Sylvarant, near Lake Umacy."
"Won't they--"
"I'll wipe the data."
You make a small noise of acknowledgement, shifting uneasily. Doubt swirled around you, and sadness was making your throat tight. Why were you so sad, though? Had someone died? Perhaps a friend of yours?
"Once we do this, you can't stop. Don't worry about me, and don't think about him..." They mumbled firmly, glancing over their shoulder. Despite having this dream almost a hundred times now, their form was still nothing but a human-shaped fog tinted gray.
It was hard to talk without letting your voice waver, "I know."
"Don't talk with anyone, especially near the ranch. Kvar will scour everywhere for you."
"I know."
"Run far, and run fast. They already know you're gone."
"Yu--" You begin, but then light overwhelms you, burning your eyes and filling you with a strange, weightless sensation.
Gravity returned suddenly and slammed you onto your feet in bright sunlight. The dark room and the figure were gone. You laid your hand on your exsphere, resting in the middle of your collarbone. You stood that way for a long moment before pulling the stone and keycrest from your neck and melding it to the back of your right hand instead. Your mana shifted and flowed through you, making your muscles ache and your head feel dizzy until it finally leveled out.
A pounding sound jerked you awake, your heart racing.
"Aura!" Lloyd's voice called from outside. "Are you still asleep in there?"
"L-Lloyd?" You call back, kicking off the covers and staggering out of bed. The heavy curtains blocked all the light in your tiny bedroom, leaving you at a loss for the time. A sheen of sweat plastered your brown bangs to your forehead, and the curtain of hair falling down your back made you feel even warmer.
"Class starts in ten minutes!"
"What?!"

You'd never gotten dressed as fast as you did right then, pulling on your sleeves and carefully adjusting the sleeve on your right arm to hide the long, spiraling scar that lurked there. Lloyd was waiting for you as you left your small, one story home.
Your home was an oddity-- the small, one story building standing just outside the village's walls. A few small homes clustered around yours, only a few of them occupied. According to the mayor Iselia wanted to expand somewhat, with how many people were drawn to the village with the Oracle coming so soon...
The village of Iselia was so small that your new face was noticed immediately when you first explored the town nearly two weeks ago. Despite your age, twenty one, you enrolled at the school, hoping to recover any schooling that your memory loss may have stolen from you. The professor, Raine Sage, was very understanding of your reasoning and let you join her class.
Lloyd, Colette and Genis were quick to adopt you into your friend group.

"Hey, do you know a guy with blue hair?" Lloyd asked as you locked your door.
"Blue hair?" You ask, looking at him quizzically. "No. Why?"
"I saw some guy with blue hair and a cape standing over there when I got here." He pointed to a hill on the opposite side of your home from the village. It was near enough to be considered in your 'yard', but the not close enough for someone to easily, say, look into your windows, "He was watching your house, but disappeared when I noticed him."
You frown. "Is he from the village?"
"I don't recognize him." You squint at the hill, finding nobody there now. The idea of someone watching your house made you wish you actually lived inside the village walls.
"Maybe he was a traveler... We can worry later--we have to get to class!"
Genis and Colette were waiting outside of the schoolhouse as the two of you puffed your way through town. Colette grinned and waved at you while Genis shook his head.
"Lloyd being late I understand, but you, Aura?" Genis asked as you walked inside.
"I didn't sleep too well, I must have missed my alarm," you say.

Class passed by uneventfully. The material seemed new when Raine explained it, but felt simple and familiar once you worked it over yourself a few times. As the afternoon wore on, Lloyd managed to doze off and fall asleep on his desk. After a long lecture from Raine, he was forced to stand in the back of the room holding up to buckets of water.
The professor explained the story of the goddess Martel to the class, seeming to enjoy the task. You let your mind wander as she went on, the story feeling familiar but strange, like it always had. Something about the details irked you somehow, like when someone incorrectly answered a question you knew the answer to.
"Lloyd Irving wake up!! Lloyd!" Rain yelled, making you jump She lobbed one of her erasers across the room, nailing the teen square in the face and leaving a chalky print in its wake.
Lloyd groaned, shaking his head as he woke, "Gahh..."
Rain sighed and went to retrieve her eraser. "How do you manage to sleep standing?"
Lloyd grinned at her hopefully "Oh...Professor Raine...eh...is class over?"
Raine frowned, good naturedly, at him and returned to the front of the room. "Never mind. Let's have someone else answer the question. Genis, how about you?"
"Yes, Raine." Her little brother stood, "Mithos, the hero, brought about the end of the Ancient War in the Holy Ground of Kharlan."
"Correct." She nodded, "Afterwards, Mithos, the hero, formed a pact with the Goddess Martel to seal away the Desians whom caused the war."
"But the Desians came back and are now causing everyone to suffer!" Lloyd argued from the back of the class.
"We covered that in class last time, remember?" Raine said patiently. "When the Seal weakens the Desians reappear. Just like they have now."
"I...I knew that. I....I just forgot..." He said, shifting abashedly.
"Today is the Day of Prophecy. It is a very important day, which the Chosen of Mana will receive an oracle from the Goddess Martel." The professor said, "Now, Chosen One...Colette."
"Yes, ma'am." Colette stood. It was a real surprise for you when you learned Colette was the Chosen. She was so simple, sweet and...klutzy. It didn’t' quite fit the image of 'Chosen' that you'd had in your mind.
"Tell us about the journey of world regeneration," Raine said.
"It is a journey to seal the Desians," Colette recited. "Upon passing the trials of the Goddess Martel, the Summon Spirits that protect the world awaken, and mana is restored."
"Correct. I suppose we should expect the Chosen herself to know the answer to that one." Colette took her seat. "Mana depletion is the cause of the current food shortages and droughts. It is said that this occurs because the Desians consume vast amounts of mana in their human ranches. The Chosen's journey has two purposes--to revive mana as well as defeat the Desians. Now, for the next question, Aura."
"Yes ma'am." You stood.
"Each seal the Chosen releases is the seal of a Summon Spirit," she said. "Name each Summon Spirit and its attribute."
"U-uh..." You quickly filtered back through the Spirits in your mind, "Uh--Y-yes ma'am. Undine is the Summon Spirit of Water... Efreet is the Summon Spirit of Fire... The three Sylphs are the Summon Spirits of Wind, Volt is the Summon Spirit of Lightening, Celsius is the Summon Spirit of Ice, Shadow is the Summon Spirit of Darkness, and Luna and Aska are the two Summon Sprits of Light."
"Yes. And..."
"Oh--! Origin. He's the King of Summon Spirits. And Maxwell controls the four principal elements." Raine gave you a satisfied smile,
"Yes. Very good, Aura. You may take your seat." You sat down with a relieved sigh. Maxwell? You didn't remember her speaking about Maxwell during the lecture, but the name just came to you.

Raine was about to ask another question when white light flooded in from the window, momentarily blinding everyone.
"What was that?" You ask, looking out the window as excited murmurs and whispers broke out all around the class.
"Settle down," Raine said, firm but understanding. "It seems the time for the Oracle has come. I will go and check on the chapel. The rest of you stay here, and study on your own."
"Professor, I'll go with you," Colette said hopefully, jumping to her feet as Raine made for the door.
"No Colette," the professor said, "If it is the oracle, the priests will come for you. Stay here with everyone else."
Colette's smile dimmed, "Yes ma'am..."
Once Raine was long departed Lloyd abandoned his buckets and tried to leave.
"Lloyd! You aren't thinking of leaving are you?" Genis exclaimed, running after him and blocking his path.
"I wanna see what happens," Lloyd said. "Besides, it research!"
"Lloyd!"
"Hey Aura!" He called over his shoulder "I'm gonna go to the temple. Do you want to come with me?"
"S-sure!" The talk of Oracles and the Chosen was one of the few things that genuinely felt familiar to you. You were willing to take any chance to learn more about it--even if it meant disobeying the Professor. "Colette. Why don't you come to? This is all about you!"
She nodded and moved to join you two, "Okay."
"Yeah. Come on, Genis!" Lloyd urged.
The little elf looked between all three of you before sighing, "Fine..."
No one else seemed to care that four of you left class, and outside you found the village, still, silent and deserted.
"What's going on?" you ask.
"Where is everyone?" Genis agreed, looking around.
"Colette!" Frank came rushing towards all of you.
"Father!" Colette exclaimed.
"Thank goodness you're all safe," he sighed.
"Frank, what happened to everyone in the village?" Genis asked.
"What do you mean safe?" you add.
"They're all hiding. The Desians invaded the village just a short while ago. Thankfully no one was hurt. They passed through the village and headed for the temple."
"The temple... Oh, no!" You gasp.
"Why?! Iselia has a non-aggression treaty with the Desians!" the little elf exclaimed.
"You mean that agreement where they don't attack the village as long as we leave the Human Ranch alone?" Lloyd asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Yes..." Colette said, fidgeting. "Grandmother said it was to protect me... Oh! Where's grandmother?"
"Phaidra is in the temple, preparing for the ritual," Frank said, clearly uneasy about her being left alone where the Desians were heading.
"Raine was going there too," you say.
"But that's where the Desians..." Lloyd clenched a fist.
"The priests are there with them. There's no need to worry," Frank said, though he still looked nervous. "Now, Colette..."
"I know. I promise to fulfill my duty as the Chosen," she said.
Frank smiled and nodded. "Good luck, Colette. Lloyd, Genis, Aura, you three should on home."
"I'm worried about letting Colette go by herself," Lloyd said. "I'll go with her."
"There's no telling what's going on at the temple if the Desians are headed there. I'll go too." You add.
"Me, too." Genis finished.
"But..." He paused. "All right. Thank you. I'll wait at the house. Come back immediately if anything happens."

Monsters loomed on the horizon, and you were grateful the village allowed you to carry your weapon at all times.
"I thought the Professor said this northern territory was a sanctuary," you say, channeling mana through your sword to shift it into a naginata.
"She did... I don't like these monsters being here," Genis said. "I hope Raine's ok!"

It took nearly a half hour of battling and rushing to reach the temple, an old structure carved into a hill, surrounded by fallen ruins. Winding stairs lead the way up to the temple's entrance. You hadn't taken the time to explore this northern territory, and the temple was a new sight. Pain flashed across your temples and for a moment you saw it differently-- the stones not so worn, the ruins less damaged and with less moss... People moved into the temple and light shown from it... And then it vanished, and sat only as it was. An uneasy feeling had the hairs on the back of your neck standing up as you eyed the doorway. A strange feeling of darkness hung around this place, something not fitting a holy area in the least.
You lean your head in your palm, "Ah..."
Genis paused, "Aura, are you okay?"
Lloyd and Colette paused, looking back.
"I...I have a bad feeling," you say. "Something feels weird here."
"Perhaps because it's a holy place?" Colette suggested.
Disagreeing would make her worry. "Perhaps, yeah. My head's bothering me. I'm going to look around for Raine out here, you guys go on."
"Are you sure?" Colette asked.
"Yes, I'll be fine." They turn and make for the stairs while you move towards the ruins instead. You found a seat at the base of one pillar, resting in the shade.
"I've never been here before, yet..." you mutter.
"Run Colette!" A voice yelled from the temple's entrance.
You jump to your feet and grab for your sword. You couldn't see the temple's entrance from your position... Take the stairs? You'd lose the element of surprise if you did that. A pillar to your left had fallen against another, making a bridge that would take you almost to the temple entrance's height.
Swords clashed and you heard Genis shout a spell as you leapt onto the pillar. Your balance almost wavered, but your exsphere helped you keep your feet. As you scrambled to the top of the pillar you spied a large man-- bigger than any man you'd ever seen-- waving a flail over his head as Lloyd, Genis and Colette faced him. They couldn't possibly fight him... You were the only one among them with a real weapon! Lloyd's swords were wood and Colette and Genis's weapons were toys!
You desperately tried to think of something to stop the incoming blow--
A man dressed in purple armor with spiked auburn hair dashed up the stairs, flying between Lloyd and Genis and striking aside the large man's mace with his sword. Your shoulders slackened in both relief and amazement. How had he struck that blow aside so easily? The man looked over his shoulder at your friends giving him a clear view of his face. Your heart stuttered and your head throbbed.
A few vague pictures moved through your head-- a forest, a fight, his face amongst others that were less clear. Someone you knew before, maybe? You were sure you hadn't seen him in the four years that you'd worked as a mercenary between Triet and Iselia... You tried to find a concrete image of him or his face in your mind, but all of them were vague and fled as you tried to focus on them, like a dream disappearing when you woke.
Even from your distance you heard Lloyd's voice ask, "Who are you?"
You knew what the man's voice would sound like before you heard him speak, calm and firm, "Get out of the way."
You heard small mumbles now-- his voice, almost, speaking indistinctly as if in conversation. The tone and inflections jumped all over the place, like you were trying to remember a bunch of half-heard conversations all at once, and none of them were coming through clearly. Trying to focus on it all made your vision blur for a moment, but you shook it clear when you heard swords begin clashing again. Your friends had the help of this new stranger, but they were still fighting for their lives...
You drew your sword and held it in front of you, laying your hand against the flat of the blade and closing your eyes to concentrate. The spells you knew were few, and they were weak compared to the ones Genis cast, but at least they would be of some help. You murmured under your breath, picturing heat and balls of fire as you focused.
"Fire ball!" The spell flew forward as you opened your eyes and pointed your sword towards the large man. The three flames slammed into the man's back, knocking him off balance long enough for Lloyd and the stranger to each deal him a hard blow.
"Who?" The man flailed his mace to make your friends retreat before turning back and finding you. "You!"
You shifted your footing uneasily, trying to find a better place to balance on time-worn top of the pillar. Surely he couldn't reach you from there. The stranger in purple looked at you. Something in his expression changed. Recognition? Happiness? Confusion? ...Fear?
Your head throbbed as more blurry images whirled past your eyes, making you flinch and lower your guard slightly. When you opened your eyes again the huge mace was flying through the air, but not towards you. The weapon crashed into the pillar, crumbling its base and sending it toppling to the ground.
"Aura!" Lloyd yelled.

Your exsphere let you leap off the collapsing pillar, rolling when you hit the ground. Despite your smooth landing the ground rumbling under your feet cost you your balance. Three dark forms dashed at you from the shadow of the temple's stairs. You sacrifice what little balance you had to whip up your sword, catching one of them in the chest and causing the other two to hesitate.
As you struggled back to your feet the two moved in again. They were Desians. They both swung down at you with their swords, but... they attempted to strike you with the pommels? Strange. You ducked one strike and countered the other, forcing them back a step.
"I told you she was strong," a voice said from behind them. The wind picked up suddenly and the voice shouted, "Wind blade!"
The ground disappeared from under you, and a moment later you crashed into the wall of the stairs. Pain cracked through your back and head, your breath flying out and your vision going black and speckled with lights. You crumpled to the ground with a weak groan, your body fuzzy and unresponsive when you tried to move it.
"Is this her, sir?" A voice asked.
"She has to be. She perfectly matches the description he gave," the caster's voice said.
"Aura!" Colette's voice yelled somewhere overhead.
"Get away from her!" Lloyd yelled.

Hands grabbed your arms and lifted you, bracing your weight between two people. You felt the ground dragging under your feet as they began moving, still too dazed to put up a real fight to free yourself.
The movement stopped suddenly.
"Let her go," Lloyd's voice demanded, much closer now.
"I'm afraid you can't do anything to make us," the caster shot back. Your vision stated to clear, and you tried to figure out what was going on. The man leading the Desians had spiked black hair and was dressed in gray robes with only one sleeve. Something moved in the corner of your vision, off to the side in the ruins. Something purple.
"Now," the caster went on, "Unless you want this girl hurt, you will not follow us."
"Lloyd..." Genis muttered as the human boy growled in frustration.
"Let her go," the familiar voice ordered, calm and cold, as the stranger dashed in the way of your abductors.
"Do you want to see this girl killed?" The leader asked as one of the Desians carrying you raised his sword. "Get out of our way."
"You said she was someone your leader was looking for," the man said, taking a fighting stance. "You can't expect me to believe you'd kill her."
You raised your head, glimpsing the stranger's face over the leader's shoulder. His expression was set and blank, not giving any hint of emotion or what actions he might take. His auburn eyes were hard and unflinching.
A name surfaced from the sea of half-remembered blurs and muttering in your mind, small and fleeting. You managed to get ahold of it before it could slip away. "K... Kratos?"
The stranger's expression cracked, his mouth falling open slightly in shock.
Even he leader of your abductors was floored, and he turned back to stare at you. "She remembers? How?"
The stranger--no, Kratos-- dashed forward, sword flashing. The leader leapt aside, opening the path for Kratos to strike one of the Desians holding you. The other abandoned his task and dodged away with his leader. Kratos caught you as you fell, helping you find your balance while his attention remained on the last two abductors. Lloyd, Colette and Genis surrounded the both of you, weapons raised in challenge.
"Damn." The leader muttered.
"Lord Botta, orders?" Asked the last Desian.
"...Retreat," Botta said reluctantly. "There's nothing we can do now. Especially now that he's here..." They backed further away before turning and fleeing. Genis probably could have shot a spell or two after them, but he was more concerned with making sure you were alright.

Kratos helped you sit on the ground while you rubbed the last of the sparkles from your eyes and tried to work the ache out of your back. Lloyd, Colette and Genis flooded around you happily.
"Are you okay, Aura?" The Chosen asked.
"My head hurts a little, but other than that, yes." You try for a reassuring smile, though in truth most of you still hurt from your collision with the wall.
"I'm glad we could save you," Lloyd said.
"Kratos saved her." Genis corrected him.
Lloyd crossed his arms and frowned at the elf before turning his head away. "...Well, we helped."
Genis shrugged with a hapless sigh before turning to you. "How do you know his name?" Kratos had moved away, waiting patiently by the temple's stairs and watching all of you without comment.
"Honestly, I don't know... But I know his face and his voice from somewhere before." Kratos' attention shifted to you specifically.
"Before you lost your memories, you mean?" Lloyd asked.
You nod. "Yes."
"I'm so glad you're alright," Colette said. "I never thought we'd see Desians here..."
Genis looked to Lloyd, "What do you think they're doing here?"
While the human responded you approached Kratos, still waiting quietly. He watched you come closer, his expression stoic again but his eyes searching.
"Thank you," you say. "You saved my life."
He considered that for a moment before twitching one shoulder in a shrug. "It's alright." He paused, "I'm sure they didn't intend to take your life, but whatever fate they had planned couldn't have been good."
"My name is Aura Asakura," you say.
"Kratos Aurion... Though it would seem you already know it."
"Have I met you before?" You pause, "That sounds strange, I know. My memory is... Fuzzy."
"I don't mind. However, I'm afraid I don't recall meeting you before." He paused for a moment, "But you know my name, it's plausible we met once some time ago and I've forgotten." There were so many blurs and murmurs that were tied to his face... Surely you'd done more that met him once.
Kratos' auburn eyes met your silver ones and lingered there, holding your gaze.
Despite his innate familiarity, he still felt like a complete stranger to you. You had no concrete memories of what kind of person he was, what he'd done, how he battled or the way he acted around others. You knew his face and his voice, somewhat, but you didn't know him at all. The eye contact, and the way he seemed to expect something from you, like he wanted you to say something or react somehow, was beginning to unnerve you.
"What is it?" You ask, shifting uncomfortably.
Kratos' eyes twitched away. "Nothing." He tilted his head apologetically and added, "It was rude of me to stare, I apologize."
"It's alright," you say, waving his apology aside with a twitch of one hand.
"Alright, Colette," Lloyd said as your friends approached you, "Let's go so you can receive the oracle!"
Colette smiled at him and nodded. "Yes. Let's return to the temple."
"Are you alright to come with us, Aura?" Lloyd asked.
"Yes. We should go."